(Almost) Bean-Less Vegan Burgers

What's a veggie burger without beans?

Delicious. That's what.

Let's get something straight first: You know I love my bean burgers. I like 'em with Great Northern beans, chickpeas, and kidney beans. I devour them with homemade buns, and sometimes just crumbled over a salad. And don't even get me started on homemade condiments. Fresh guacamole can bring bliss-filled tears to my eyes.

Basically, if it's bean-y, I'm loving it.

But tonight we went with a novel concept for our veggie sandwich filler: bean-less burgers. Check out the star ingredients of these palatable patties:

• Edamame (As soybeans, I suppose they technically count as beans. But I'm not splitting hairs here.)
• Chopped apple
• Toasted sunflower seeds
• Brown rice
• Soy sauce
• Superstar condiment: Peanut Sauce

The peanut sauce put these over the top...in the best possible way. It's pretty much the condiment of my dreams. We enjoyed our burgers perched atop a slice of homemade bread, and buried under a mountain of sauteed onions and peppers, with a drizzle of peanut sauce.

Burger it up, friends! And for a side dish? I definitely recommend a bowl of beans.

Edamame & Apple Burgers with Peanut Sauce

(adapted from a recipe in Veggie Burgers Every Which Way by Lukas Volger)

As with most veggie burgers, you may have to work with your ingredients to reach the right consistency (e.g., adding more liquid or dry ingredients as needed). Just do me one favor: Don't forget the peanut sauce!

Burger Ingredients:

• 1 cup frozen edamame
• 2 TBSP ground flaxseed
• 3 TBSP water
• 1 - 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds
• 2 TBSP toasted sesame seeds
• 1 apple, diced
• 2 TBSP bread crumbs
• 1 TBSP molasses
• 1 TBSP soy sauce
• Plenty o' salt and pepper
• Sauteed onions and bell pepper for topping

Peanut Sauce Ingredients:

(from Cooks Recipes)

• 1/3 cup all-natural peanut butter
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 TBSP lime juice
• 2 TBSP reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/3 cup water

Directions:

1) Bring a small saucepan of water to boil; add edamame and cook for 5 minutes, or until tender.

2) Whisk together the ground flaxseed and water. Pour into a food processor with the edamame, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds. Pulse until the mixture is chunky.

3) In a large mixing bowl, combine the edamame mixture with the apple, rice, bread crumbs, molasses, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Season to taste. Shape into 6 patties.

4) Heat a dash of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Ad the patties and cook for about 4 - 5 minutes until nicely browned on the bottom. Flip burgers and cook for an additional 4 - 5 minutes on the other side.

5) To prepare the peanut sauce: Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well-combined. Serve burgers with peanut sauce and sauteed onions and bell peppers.

Creative Curry

We've all worked the curry circuit in our kitchen at some point, right?

You know the drill: You start with curry powder and build slowly. A dash of cinnamon here, a diced onion there. Maybe some sweet potatoes? And, of course, don't forget the chickpeas. With such endless possibilities of curry-pairings, it's hard to mess up when you're cooking with this traditional Indian spice.

While I love my curry dishes as much as the next gal, I recently found myself with a hankering for a more creative use of the spice. I was suffering from a bad case of the "Been There, Done That" curry syndrome.

Fortunately, I found the solution in my mailbox last week when the latest issue of Cooking Light arrived. They featured an awesome curry dish loaded with vegetarian-friendly (and "outside-the-box") ingredients.

Mango. Edamame. Cilantro. Cauliflower. Does it get any better?

Yep. Throw in some toasted almonds.

And with a few adaptations, I was even able to vegan-ize this bad boy (A veggie-based vegan meal just makes it all the more easy to justify Almond Butter Cookies for dessert, right?).

Rock on Edamame Curry. You killed the "Been There, Done That" curry blues.

Edamame-Mango Curry

(adapted from a Cooking Light recipe)

I had never before considered pairing edamame with curry...and after tasting this delicious dinner, I'm beginning to wonder why?

Ingredients:

• a dash of olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 apples, diced
• 1 TBSP all-purpose flour
• 1 TBSP curry powder
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups of veggie broth
• 1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 cups cauliflower florets
• 2 cups frozen edamame
• 1/4 cup chopped, toasted almonds
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro,
• raisins (however many you want!)
• chopped green onion, for garnish
• 3 cups brown rice, cooked

Directions:

1) Heat a dash of oil in a pot; add onion and saute until tender (about 5 minutes). Add apple and saute for an additional 2 minutes. Add flour, curry, and garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and add mango, salt, cauliflower, and edamame. Cook until everything is tender (about 10 - 15 minutes, but you can let it go 'til it reaches your desired tenderness).

2) Once the curry mixture is cooked to your liking, stir in raisins, cilantro, and almonds. Serve on top of rice, and garnish with green onions.

Post Holiday Cooking

The remnants of Christmas are still lingering.

A box of decorations is sitting by the stairs, waiting to be packed away in the attic.

A Christmas nut roll, half-eaten, is waiting on the counter to be devoured.

And then there's that penguin-shaped hand-soap I can't bear to pack away yet. He has a bell on his Santa hat for crying out loud! Who doesn't want to look at something that cute when you're washing up for dinner?

While the holiday baking has been a blast, my body is begging for some vege-head normalcy, so yesterday we enjoyed a huge bowl of Edamame Succotash for dinner. I absolutely love this stuff. My mother-in-law first made it for us during a visit in July, and I've made a repeat creation several times since. It makes an awesome after-work snack, too :)

Edamame succotash makes a great side dish, or you can enjoy it as a main course as we did (we ate a dish of stir-fried carrots and bell pepper on the side. Talk about a vegan delight!).

Enjoying any fun eats during this post-holiday week?

Edamame Succotash

Ingredients:

• 1 bag (1 lb.) of frozen edamame, thawed
• 1 bag (1 lb.) of frozen corn, thawed
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Consume copious amounts, guilt-free :)

Chinese Food Re-Mix

Tonight's dish will remind you of a staple component of Chinese take-out: veggie fried rice.

Except nothing is fried. And I used bulgur instead of rice. And the sodium content won't land you on blood pressure medication by tomorrow.

So it's not anywhere near the same as veggie fried rice. But it tastes pretty darn close. Awesome.

When Adam was in college he occasionally treated himself to late night Chinese take-out with his buddies. Despite the man's small frame and feather-light weight, he could pack away cartons of veggie fried rice like it was his job.

Although he hasn't had the salt-laden dish in a few years, he got a random craving last week and suggested we "re-mix" the classic into a rockin' health-i-fied dinner.

Easy as pie: Prepare bulgur. Saute veggies. Mix together. Season with soy sauce. Reminisce about college (and your college metabolism). Smile...those were some good times, weren't they?

A Chinese take-out twist on Bulgur and Veggies

(Otherwise known as "Not-Fried Not-Rice")

(A Hungry Spoon Original)

This recipe will remind you of veggie fried rice, but won't leave your doctor lecturing you about salt-intake. Mmm..Mmmm..good :)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup bulgur, uncooked
• 2 cups of broth (veggie or chicken)
• a dash of olive oil
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen edamame
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• Low-sodium soy sauce to taste

Directions:

1) Prepare bulgur: Bring broth to a boil. Add bulgur, remove from heat, cover, and set aside for approximately 25 - 30 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. When time is up, drain any excess liquid.

2) Heat a dash of olive oil in a pot. Add onion and carrot and saute until onion is translucent (about 5 - 7 minutes). Add peas, edamame, and garlic. Stir frequently until all veggies are softened, about 5 more minutes or so. Add bulgur to the dish and stir frequently, cooking until it begins to remind you of veggie fried rice (about 5 more minutes). Season with soy sauce. Serve, eat, enjoy.

The Moose is Always Right

Well, the Moosewood is always right.

I do believe the Moosewood Collective compiles some of the most creative, classic, and fantastic vegetarian recipes out there. Unfortunately, their cookbooks have been collecting a little dust on my shelf for the past few months, and they've been feeling a bit neglected. As such, I decided to salute the Moosewood Collective this week with a week's worth of dinners from their cookbooks. Neglected no more!

Tonight's recipe, "Quinoa Pine Nut Pilaf," comes from my favorite of their cookbooks: "Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites." This was my first purchase amongst their cookbooks (a solid 3 years ago), and it boasts over 300 recipes for unique and healthy breads, soups, sandwiches, pastas, entrees, desserts, and much more. Needless to say, the pages are covered with smudges, stains, and other evidence of my somewhat messy cooking skills. If you're looking for a starter Moosewood with especially healthy options, try this baby first :)

As for tonight's recipe, who doesn't love quinoa? With pine nuts? And veggies? Holy yum. We served ours with Herb and Cheese Muffins (recipe, of course, also hailing from the Moosewood).

Geez. I'm starting to sound like a sales-woman.

Rock on, Moosewood. I promise to keep you at the front of the cookbook stack from now on.

What's your favorite cookbook right now?

Quinoa Pine Nut Pilaf

(adapted from a recipe found in the Moosewood Restaurant's Low-Fat Favorites)

This recipe is just fine and dandy on its own, but if you require some sort of vinaigrette on your grain salads, try a simple mix of red wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, and a pinch of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 yellow or red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 cup quinoa (we used red quinoa tonight)
• 1 - 2/3 cup broth (veggie or chicken)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 - 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1 cup frozen edamame
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Directions:

1) In a heavy saucepan, saute the onions and garlic in the oil over medium heat until softened (about 4 -5 minutes). Add the bell peppers, cumin, and coriander, and saute for an additional 5 minutes until softened. Add the quinoa and broth to the saucepan, cover tightly, reduce heat, and simmer gently for about 15 minutes. Stir in basil, corn, and edamame, and cook 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until quinoa is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed.

2) Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in pine nuts.