Burger Cravings

Big huge juicy beef burgers are my thing. I'm the girl that ordered a huge burger at my bachelorette party two days before the wedding. One that orders a burger when all the other girls order salads. The girl that once cried when they brought me a veggie burger when it was supposed to be a turkey burger (it had been a REALLY long program and the turkey burger was the one redeeming quality of the hotel). 

I've found a veggie burger that I reallllly like. Not like as a back up burger -- as the burger I've starting craving on a semi-regular basis. I know, I KNOW. Dangerous words from a carnivore like me. 

It's worth sharing. I know.  A blog post on a veggie burger from ME. Alas. I digress. 

It all started when Joel and I had our friends over for a grill out. They are vegetarians, so we wanted to honor them with the food we had (we were still in the -- do they eat fish? part of the friendship -- answer, yes they do). I went on a search for a great black bean burger. Of course I had to make it myself. I started reading -- these were the links that tickled my fancy the most. Being Anna, I couldn't just follow a recipe - I combined a few. 

Serious Eats - Best Black Bean Burger
Oh She Glows - Our Perfect Veggie Burger
Skinny Taste - Spicy Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle


Disclaimer -  this recipe has quite a bit of prep and ingredients, but I definitely think it's worth it. Spices and mix ins are totally flexible if you're not a fan of one or two - these are just what I like. 

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THE BOGGS BURGER (SPICY BLACK BEAN VEGGIE BURGERS)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats, pulsed in a good blender or food processor (doesn't have to be ground down to flour, but chopped work better than whole oats)
• 1.5 cups bread crumbs (I use whatever I have on hand - usually comes out to about 3 slices)
• 1 cup grated carrots (I use the largest holes on my grater)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed, drained and mashed (I mashed with my potato masher for a chunkier mash or you can use a fork for more pasty mash -- up to you)
• 1/2 cup almonds, chopped KIND of finely. but still enough to be crunchy in the burger patty! (I've also used cashews successfully)
• 1 chopped bell pepper (I used a mix of red/yellow that I had leftover, doesn't matter what kind!)
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 2-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped finely (I used 4 of them and the burgers are not overwhelmingly hot) 
• 1 tsp minced garlic 
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp coriander
• 1 tbsp oregano
• Salt and black pepper, to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp onion salt and 1 tsp black pepper)

Accompaniments: 

• Chipotle mayo (Use a 3 to 1 ration of mayo to adobo sauce, leftover from can of chipotle in adobo peppers used in the recipe)
• Sliced avocado
• Additional items I like: cheese (favorites are pepperjack or provolone), Sliced tomatoes, lettuce, pickles
• hamburger buns

Prep ingredients. Mash up the black beans, pulse the bread crumbs and oats, chop the almonds / peppers / onions, shred the carrots 

In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, oats, carrots, almonds, bell pepper, chipotle pepper, onion,garlic and black beans. Mix together thoroughly with a spoon or your hands. 

In a small bowl, combine dry spices and mix together. Add spices to the big bowl along with soy sauce and olive oil. Stir together. Stop. TASTE THE MIX - do you like how it tastes? No? Add more spice / soy sauce / garlic to taste. I loved that one of the recipes I read said that if you don't like the mix- you won't like the burger! Once you like how it tastes, add the egg and mix thoroughly with your hands or a spoon. The mix will be pretty gooey (similar to how a beef burger mix feels). 

Grab a big cookie sheet and put wax paper down to cover the whole cookie sheet. Form the mix into patties and evenly space patties on the wax paper. This recipe made 8 generous patties for me. Once you are happy with how the patties look, put the entire cookie sheet into the freezer (if your freezer is smaller than your cookie sheet, you might need to use 2 smaller pans like cake pans or pie tins for this part). Freeze for at least one hour, or until patties are firm. Once frozen, cut squares of wax paper around each burger, then place the individual burgers together in a large ziplock back. Store in the freezer.** 

Once ready to cook - peel off the wax paper. 

Grill - brush the top of the patty with oil and place frozen patty directly on a medium heat grill - oil side down, about 4-6 minutes. Brush the top of the burger with oil, then flip and cook for an additional 4-6 minutes. I'd suggest adding a slice of cheese in the last 2 or so minutes of cooking! 

Skillet - place frozen patty in a highly sprayed or oiled skillet at medium heat, cook about 4-5 minutes per side. Sometimes I have to get a lid from another pot to put over the top of the burger (it gets a little smoky). I'd suggest adding a slice of cheese in the last 2 or so minutes of cooking!  

Oven- I'm sure you can bake these in the oven. The other recipes said a 375 degree oven

**If you are wanting to make these right away and NOT freeze them, I'd suggest putting in an additional 1/4 cup pulsed oats to hold them together a little better. 

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ENJOY. I really hope you do. These have made me into a veggie burger fan. My new summer favorite thing is to keep these in the freezer for an easy and super yummy lunch. 10 or 12 minutes later, and I have an awesome burger to eat. Just as good without a bun if you're avoiding gluten - pile toppings on and knife & fork the heck out of it! I would post a picture of the veggie burger I ate for lunch-- but I ate it too quickly. oops. 

Quinoa Cooking...TAKE ONE!

What better to rouse a sleeping blogger than a midnight snack? I agree, NOTHING! I just had this delicious concoction for the second time today because I couldn't imagine going to sleep without another bite. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Spicy Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad with BACON

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 2 cups chicken stock (or water/veg stock)
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste!)
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 cup cooked bacon, crumbled (or more if you want! "real" bacon bits work for this too) 
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional, depending on allergies)
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 425˚. Peel and dice sweet potato into 1/2" cubes. Toss sweet potato with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10-20 minutes until sweet potatoes and tender and just beginning to brown. While the sweet potatoes are in the oven, rinse quinoa and place in a pot with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 12-15 minutes (or until the liquid is absorbed). Once the sweet potato is roasted and quinoa is done, put the quinoa, red pepper, bacon, and sweet potatoes in a medium sized bowl. Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Toss everything together and stir in the dressing. Garnish with feta cheese when served. Can be eaten hot or cold! Adjust Cayenne pepper to taste (I used a tad more than some people might prefer to give the recipe a kick).

This recipe was a marriage of a few different recipes I was inspired by: http://www.fourgreensteps.com/community/recipes/salads/sweet-potato-and-quinoa-salad and http://vegetarian.about.com/od/soupssalads/r/spicyquinoa.htm, along with my great imagination. In other words, I added BACON.

I had it for lunch. Then again for a midnight snack. Great hot or cold. YUM. My first experience cooking with quinoa was a complete success!! Anybody have any recent favorite recipes?? I'm inspired as of late and am ready to dig in. In other new news...I have a job interview on Tuesday. I'm REALLY excited and hopeful. woo.

TREATS: GFDFSF Banana Streusel Muffins

I made some ridiculously amazing pumpkin muffins last week and had a hankering to make another quickbread--but alas, 1/3 of the muffin consumption in our house (aka my mom) has allergies to all things gluten, dairy and soy. I decided to just use a recipe that I've loved previously and doctor it to be allergy conscious. 

Banana muffins that are allergy friendly and completely edible even if you DON'T have allergies!! Yum. Enjoy friends.  

2 cups gluten free flour mix

1 teaspoon xanthum gum

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup vegetable oil (or butter if dairy is not a concern or applesauce for flair)

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/3 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 4-5 medium bananas)

Optional streusel topping:

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons brown or white sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter (depending on allergies)

If using vegetable oil in the topping to make this dairy free, you may want to also add 1 tablespoon of water so there's a little more binding in the streusel. Not a must, but it will make the topping stick to the muffins better.

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease either a 9x5 loaf pan or set out muffin tins with liners for about 18-20 muffins. 

Mix together all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. 

Using stand mixer or hand mixer, beat eggs, vanilla, sugar and oil until well blended. Add banana to liquid and blend. Slowly combine dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. **ONLY STIR UNTIL JUST COMBINED** Over mixing at this stage can make quick breads dry or chewy. 

Pour batter into loaf pan or muffin tins. The original recipe claims that this makes 12 muffins, I came out with 18.

If making the streusel, use a small bowl and combine all ingredients. Spoon mixture evenly over muffins or loaf then bake . 9x5 loaf should take an hour to an hour and 10 minutes, give or take a few minutes (depending on your oven) OR until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the loaf. Muffins should be done in 20-30 minutes (toothpick test or gently test them with your finger to see if they spring back at all). 

I despise over-cooked breads, so watch carefully---no dry breads/muffins for us!

foodie allergies...what to do?

Time at home and moving has meant lots of high qual bonding time con mi MADRE. She has some not so fun dietary restrictions that have opened my eyes to the challenges that people with food allergies face every time they want to cook or eat out at a restaurant. I've been attempting to bake things that my mom can eat. My mom's food qualms: Gluten, Dairy and Soy.

One cookie success:

Power / Energy Cookies (adapted from another recipe that still had dairy in it):

1 cup applesauce (previous recipe had 1.5 cups of butter or margarine, I subbed 1C applesauce and 1/2C canola oil to be sure to stay gluten dairy AND soy free--if you don't have allergies, butter away in place of the applesauce and oil!)

1/2 cup canola oil 

1 cup brown sugar 

2/3 cups white sugar

2 eggs 

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups all-purpose wheat flour (I used gluten free flour mix)

2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp xanthum gum (only needed if you're using GF flour mix, this is what makes it stick together)

2 cups oats (if you're making these GF, make sure to get GF oats!)

1/2 cup coconut

3/4-1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup of dried fruit (I used craisins)

1 cup of chocolate chips (for gluten free/dairy free, be sure to get GFDF chocolate chips)

Start with applesauce and oil in a large mixing bowl.

Stir in sugars, add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Add flour, then baking powder, xanthum gum and soda.

Blend until all flour is moistened.

Add oats, nuts, fruit and chocolate chips and stir.

Drop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 F for approximately for 15 minutes.

Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and cooling rack for 20 minutes more.

YUM. Very hearty. Non allergen people liked them too! Lots of room for alterations (take out coconut, more nuts, vary what fruit to add etc). 
Hey you blog readers-do you have any recipes you think would be good to try gluten free/dairy free? Let me know--I'm thinking of even trying to make that banana cake from a few posts ago into a GFDF masterpiece. Ha. THAT could be challenging!

Another success was by the FABULOUS Chef Kevin from the Hyatt - he made a farewell dinner for us when my mom was in town to help me move. It was AMAZING. My mom has mentioned at least 5 or 6 times and told a bunch of her friends how great the meal was (so Kevin-if you opened a restaurant in Ames, Iowa, my mother alone could fill the tables with her friends!). How wonderful it was not to have to worry about her allergies since he had them taken care of. What we had was a 5 course foodie fest that was gluten, dairy and soy free. It was super. Kevin is proof that yes, it CAN be done: Gluten Free Dairy Free food can taste good AND still have normal textures. A pork taco with mango salsa; potato cake with carmelized onions, spinach, mandarin oranges and smoked salmon; chili seared scallops with watermelon arugula salad; venison with fresh lentils and some awesome kind of cherries; lastly three fresh sorbets. HOLY CRAP. 

A few envy worthy pics from the night:

Bon APPETIT

Two crazy ladies (if you didn't know...that me on the left and my mom on the right): 

One movie that served as our inspiration:

Google search for "julia child boeuf bourguignon":

Drool worthy smells all day long:

Success:
So stinking good. We may just have to introduce "Julia Child Appreciation Night" once a week!