Thursday, April 29, 2010

Bean Burgers

No picture with this post, mostly because my recent batch of bean burgers were consumed on two pieces of whole wheat bread spread with Dijon mustard. Not the most photogenic - but darn tasty!

My bean burgers always start with the same three ingredients: chickpeas, dry oatmeal and prepared oatmeal. After that, anything goes! Here's the recipe for my last "not-ready-for-its-closeup" batch:

Olive Tapenade Bean Burgers
1 16 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 2.25 oz. can sliced black olives, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp. sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, with a little bit of the oil
1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal, prepared and cooled
1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal, unprepared (dry)
2 tbsp. roasted and salted sunflower seeds
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. flaxseed
cornmeal or breadcrumbs, as needed

Combine all the ingredients (except the cornmeal/breadcrumbs) in a food processor and pulse until combined and the chickpeas are still a little chunky. If the mixture is too wet, add just enough of the cornmeal/breadcrumbs to dry it out a little. Put the mixture in a covered bowl and let sit in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Form the mixture into six patties of equal size and put them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake the patties for 20-25 minutes or until they set and brown slightly. Serve on whole wheat buns or bread slices and top as desired.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Keen on Quinoa


For lunch leftovers this week, I made the Quinoa and Sweet Potato Salad from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. This is one of my absolute favorite recipes, but I'd forgotten about it because I haven't thought to make it in quite a while. When I was making out my dinner schedule/shopping list Friday night, I was thumbing through Bittman's book and came across this recipe again. It's simple, but incredibly delicious! Cooked quinoa, diced sweet potatoes, red bell pepper in a basic balsamic vinaigrette. His recipe calls for you to boil the sweet potatoes - I roast the dices in the oven for better flavor and texture. I also doubled the red bell pepper because they were so deep red and sweet. Then I added some fresh asparagus, cut into inch-long pieces and roasted along with the sweet potatoes. I ate it warm for dinner last night, but it is best served cold the next day. I can't wait for lunch!

Along side, I sauteed shreds of plain old green cabbage in a little bit of canola oil, then added a bit of melted Earth Balance. One of my favorite side dishes. When I was a kid, my mom would boil cabbage and serve it with butter. She and I were the only ones in our house who liked it - more for us! I've tried boiling it myself like she used to do, but I find I prefer the flavor and texture when the cabbage is sauteed.

(NOTE - I recently edited this post because I accidentally said that I used melted butter on my cabbage. Uh, hello - not accurate and certainly not vegan! I used Earth Balance. My bad.)

Friday, April 23, 2010

Leftover Night


I see now that I have three blog followers - shout out to my peeps! I guess this means I should blog more often, huh?

Tonight was "get mildly creative with leftovers" night. I had a small can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls in the fridge because I planned to make turkey roll-ups for Kids - half a slice of American cheese and a thin slice of turkey lunchmeat, rolled up in a crescent roll and baked. (I've mentioned that Husband and Kids are omnis, right?) I had two crescent rolls left. I read somewhere that this brand is vegan and nothing on the list of ingredients flew in the face of that statement, so...

I took some leftover baked tofu (baked after marinating in a dijon mustard/lemon juice mixture). I then sprinkled the inside of each crescent roll with some Eden Shake, lay some leftover baked tofu on it, rolled it all up and sprinkled it with more Eden Shake. Served with a side of leftover spaghetti squash with a bit of Earth Balance.

The results: not too bad. The crescent roll was the predominate taste, mostly because the tofu was pretty mildly flavored to start. I'll definitely try this one again, but with a stronger marinade for the tofu. My usual baked tofu marinade is olive oil, balsamic vinegar and spices and it has a much more pronounced flavor.

(Like my picture? What can I say - this website is not Vegan Lunchbox...my attempts to make cutesy food don't typically come off very well.)