One of the many things I really love about summer is bean and veggie burgers. I don't know why I associate these foods with summer, but I seem to. I have so many created recipes and ideas for bean, grain, and veggie burgers that it is often hard to know where to start. I've noticed now that I've been regularly going to market for a few years now, that we go there and let the produce plan the meals. Based on what is available, what looks best, a menu begins to form in my head and we just roll with it.
With the weather being warm and summer-like and the local veggies abounding, I decided to make a local bean and veggie burger. These burgers were amazing and they have so much potential to be even better. I will share the initial recipe, but let me tell you - this, like most of my other recipes will be tweaked to our liking over time until we get it just right. You all get what I like to call the "rough draft" of the recipe. Sometimes when we are done modifying these recipes, they are nothing like their originals, but that is part of the fun of evolving recipes.
We served our burgers with local garlicky roasted asparagus. I sliced up about 4 baby garlics, tossed the asparagus with olive oil, salt, and the garlic, and roasted it on 375 for about 15 minutes. So, so good.
The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms
Local Kidney Bean and Veggie Burgers
Makes about six patties.
4 cups kidney beans, mashed with a fork +
1 habanero, seeded and minced * (frozen from last year)
2 hot Hungarian wax peppers, seeded and minced *** (frozen from last year)
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and minced *** (frozen from last year)
1 cup oyster mushrooms, minced *
6 spring onions, minced *
4 baby garlics, minced *
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced *
1/2 cup garlic chives, minced *
4 tbsp regular rolled oats
6-8 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour +
1 egg *
squirt sriracha
chili powder
cumin
black pepper
salt
Combine all ingredients and seasonings except egg in a bowl using the seasonings to taste. Add the egg.
Form into patties and refrigerate for about an hour to allow patties to get a bit more firm.
Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Bake burgers in oven for 15 minutes, flip patties and cook for an additional 15 minutes on the other side.
Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes.
Serve on a bun with your favorite toppings, we used:
veganaise
organic ketchup
pickles +
sliced tomatoes *
leaf lettuce **
These were so good. I cannot wait to try out all the crazy combinations I have for burgers and patties in my head. I love summer!
There hasn't seemed to be too awful much interest in the It Seemed Like A Good Idea At the Time Writing Contest, but I'm not too upset by that. I am a fan of quality over quantity, so if just one person writes a good piece, I will think the contest has been a success.
A bit of house cleaning related to the Writing Contest - if you want to participate, but do not have a blog, just send your entry to jheartschilepeppers@live.com and I will post it on Veg*n Cooking as a guest post.
Also, while you can still vote for what you think the prize for the contest will be, the winner will ultimately get to decide between the choices given.
I hope you all consider writing a short (or not-so-short) piece for the contest, I know there are a lot of witty people out there with great minds, let's use 'em!
'Til next time.
11 comments:
i associate burgers with warm weather too, even though I eat them all year round. I guess they have good memories related to BBQs! Have a great holiday.
I LOVE burgers too. I think it's the fresh tomatoes that brings them to mind. Mmmm!
speaking of burgers, jennifer, they have the black bean burger as the special today at main squeeze!!! you and brett should go have them for dinner tonight! :)
I think letting what is locally available plan your meals is by far the *best* way to shop and plan! Your meals will taste better for it, for sure due to the local fresh ingredients, AND it is fun :o)
I wonder if these would work with a "flax" egg? Hmmm...I see a kitchen experiment in my future!
Courtney
oh my goodness, Jennifer – your beanie burgers look absolutely awesome and they sound so scrumptious! mmmmmm! dan and i are beanie burger addicts – so you know we’ll be trying these! i’ve never put mushrooms in a burger before and i can’t wait to try it out! dan’s been trying and enjoying mushrooms lately and this is just perfect! superw00t! sorry that i haven’t had time to write a piece for your contest! i’ve been meaning to, but it’s been banana pants around here lately! eek!
Yum! Love homemade veggie burgers! And all the local goodness you stuffed inside. One of the best parts of market season is letting available produce plan the meals!
Homemade veg/bean burgers are the best, I love starting off the season with them because they combine the local of the winter (beans, a staple) with the local of the spring/summer to come (the veg). Yours look really good. I've made a variation of this without the egg, and it still works great.
Veggie burgers make me think of cookouts, which means summer! (Also, all of the things that go with burgers . . . fries, chips, coleslaw, veggies and dip . . . all picnic food!)
But what steals my heart in this post is your garlic-roasted asparagus. YUM.
I eat bean burgers all of the time. I will give this recipe a try next time! Thanks for sharing it!
OMG that burger looks divine!!!
Lisa - I think there is the whole grill aspect to the summer burger association. Thanks, we did, we hope you all did as well.
Heather - Aren't they wonderful, so versatile, you can do many things with them. I think so too, I am so happy that tomatoes are back in season.
Laura - OH NO I MISSED THEM! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Courtney - I agree, it brings out my creativity, and I generally try to play up the flavors naturally occurring in the produce.
I think you could definitely use a flax egg in place of the real thing, not a problem at all!
Jessy - Oh I know, I see them on your blog all the time and I want to try each and every one of them, especially your butter bean burgers.
I love the "meaty" quality the oyster mushrooms gave the burger. They have to be the best mushrooms there are.
Hey, no worries, I know it is a busy time, and I won't be upset if NOBODY actually writes anything, it was just an idea, maybe one that seemed like a good idea at the time? ;-)
Bianca - I couldn't agree more, you stand there in front of all this beautiful perfectly ripe produce and the menu pretty much plans itself.
Living in a Local Zone - Yes, exactly! The beans are a staple of winter and get used quite a bit less in our house over the summer (though we still eat plenty), this is a great way to pile in all the fresh stuff.
Yep, you don't gotta use the egg, you can use a flax egg, or just make sure you have enough wet to dry for the patties to stick together.
Catherine - Oh my goodness, all your picnic sides are making me hungry. The garlicky roasted asparagus has my heart. YUM.
Sarena - I hope you like them if you try them.
Vegan Cow Girl - Thank you!
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