Black Bean Burgers

It had been a while since I had made any type of bean burgers. Why? I don’t know. It is probably because I am like a little who plays with one toy for too long and get stick of it. But if I rotate the toys (the food), maybe take a few away for a while (eat what is in season), once I get back to it, well it is just the best. So yeah, just like a little. Huh?

Black bean burgers. These are super simple with not a whole heck of a lot going into them. I used to make these with a lot more veggies but the mr really seems to like them more with less. I’ve got it down to just beans, onion, oats, and spices. Simple but very effective in both taste and in texture. One of the things thatI love about these burgers is that they don’t completely crumble apart when you bite into them so if that is an issue you have with your burgers, welp, hopefully this recipe will solve that. And will solve any food boredom rut you might be in. And solve the issue of being hungry because obviously you are going to be at some point. Hence the bean burgers.

Now to the burgers!

The stuff. Black beans, oats, an onion and a couple cloves or garlic. Then there is ground flax seeds. cumin, chili powder, and paprika, apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, and salt and pepper.

Start by cutting up onion and rough chopping garlic.

Place it into a hot skillet with the spices and some water or oil. Cook on medium heat.

While the onions are sweating, blend up oats into a course oat flour.

And once onions and spices are fragrant and soften a bit, add in beans, tomato paste, and vinegar. Stir around and cook for a few minutes or until everything has melded together.

Dump the bean mixture and flax seed into food processor with oat flour and pulse until everything is incorporated and smooth(ish).

Scoop into a bowl and refrigerate so mixture has time to set up.

Once mixture is set, divided into 6 equal portions and place on a baking sheet (lined or greased). With wet fingers, pat down into patties then pop them into hot oven. Bake until browned and crispy.

And that is it. Now get to eating cause that is why you made them!

-C

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Black Bean Burgers

makes 6 burgers

• 2 cups cooked and strained black beans

• 1 small onion

• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon cumin (higher amount if you really like cumin… ME!)

• 1 teaspoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1/2 heaping cup of old fashion oats

• 1 tablespoon flax meal

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 2 tablespoon tomato puree or paste

• salt and pepper

• Serving suggestions are Avocado, salsa, pickled onion on cornbread or regular bread or whatever!

Start by chopping up the onion into small pieces and slicing up the garlic (don’t mince) into a few small pieces. Place into a good sized skillet with the cumin, paprika, and chili powder, and a good splash or water or a little oil (I used water) and place on medium heat. Cook for a few minutes or until fragrant and onion has started to soften a bit.. Add a splash more water if it start to dry out to fast. Once slightly cooked, dump in beans, add tomato paste and vinegar and mix around. Keep on heat and cook for another 5 or so minutes until everything had melded together. Remove form heat and let cool for a few minutes.

In the meantime, place oats into a food processor and blend unit until it forms a course flour. It doesn’t need to be super fine and a few whole pieces is fine. Once bean mixture has cooled just a bit, dump into the food preocessor on top of oat flour. Add in the flax and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pulse until completely incorporated, stoping to scrap down sides if needed. Some chunks are fine and don’t blend more then it needs to be.

Once blended , scrap mixture into a bowl and place in fridge for 15 miutes- /2 hour so the mixture has time to set. (Can also be left in fridge (covered, for a few days)

Preheat oven to 400.

Once the mixture has been set up, scoop into 6 equal sized portionsl and place on a pan with parchment, a mat, or has been ightly oiled. With wet fingers, smoosh each ball into a patty. Place burgers into hot oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, flipping half way through. They are done when they are nice and brown and crunchy on both sides.

Once baked, remove form oven and eat them like you want. I suggest eating with salsa, avocado , pickled onions and if you want a bun, do a bun. I served mine with cornbread cause that is what I had and it was not hated at all.

Spinach and Mushroom Lentil Bake

A week out to the big holiday!

How are you doing? Are you making all the cookies and cakes and all the things? Are you getting all the cookies and cakes and things given to you? And are you eating all the cookies and cakes and things?

That is cool because that is what is suppose to go down right now. But one thing we all need to do is make sure we are eating some decent food (not cookies and cakes and things) as well.

Like lentils with some veggies. You really can’t go wrong with lentils because they are the best and don’t you dare say otherwise. This bake here is packed with lentils, mushrooms and spinach, is creamy and crispy, hearty and warming, and tastes so freaking good. A no fuss, easy peasy meal that can be thrown together fast and when you are eating it, you are feeling good. And once you start eating it, you probably won’t be able to stop (that was me anyway…)

So make yourself something nice to go along with all the cookies, cakes, and things. You need it.

To the lentils!

The stuff. Red and green lentils, a few big mushrooms, a couple handfuls of spinach, an onion, crushed tomatoes. dill, thyme, sage, and red pepper flakes, chick pea flour, a couple cloves or garlic, water, oil, and and pepper.

Start with the lentils. Just dump them all into a pot with the water. Place on stove and bring a boil.

Now chop up onion into small bits, mince garlic, and slice the mushrooms thinly and in half.

Add a splash of oil to a large oven safe skillet and place on stove on medium heat. Once skillet is hot, add in the garlic, onions, and mushroom. Start to cook, adding in all the spices once they start to sizzle. Cook until the onion starts to become fragrant and translucent and fragrant and the mushrooms are slightly browned.

Once the lentils come to a boil, let cook for another minute or two then remove from heat. (If there is a bunch of foam on top of pot, just scape it off.) Add in the chickpea flour, the tomatoes, and all the spinach. Season with sat and pepper too.

Dump the lentil mixture into the skillet with the mushrooms and onion and mix everything all around until its all incorporated. Level off top and then stick the whole thing into the oven. Bake covered for 30 minutes then remove cover, give the whole thing a (careful, it is hot) good stir, re-level off the tope, and keep baking for another 30-35 minutes or until the top of the lentils are nice and crispy ans the inside is nice an creamy.

The crispy top lentils are everything.

Scoop into bowls, add some fresh chopped something of another if you want ( I had fresh dill and parsley) and eat away.

What is not pictured here is the yellow mustard I had in waiting. Mustard on this… AMAZING!

-C

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Spinach and Mushroom Lentil Bake

feed 3-5 people

• 3/4 cup each red and green lentils (or 1 1/2 cups of either)

• 1 cup crushed or diced tomatoes

• 1 small onion

• 2 cloves garlic

• 2 tablespoons chickpea flour (can sub with cornmeal or oat flour)

• 1 teaspoon each dried sage, thyme, and dill

• 2 large handfuls spinach (about 3 cups)

• 2-3 large white or cramini mushrooms (about 1 1/2 chopped)

• 2 1/2 cups water

• splash of olive oil

• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400

Dump lentils into a pot with the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, let cook for a minutes or two then remove from heat. If there is a bunch of foam on top, just scrap it off. Mix in the chickpea flour, tomatoes, and spinach. Season with salt and pepper

While lentils are cooking, chop onion into small pieces, slice mushrooms in half, then the halves into thin pieces and mince garlic. Place a large oven safe skillet on stove on medium heat. Add a small splash or oil and once heated, dump the onion, garlic, and mushrooms to the hot skillet. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the mushrooms start to brown and the onions and garlic are fragrant. Add in the spiced and stir around.

Take skillet off heat and carefully dump in the lentils mixture and mix around with the mushroom and onions. (if you don’t have a large enough oven safe skillet just dump it all into a casserole dish) Level off mixture and place in the oven, covered for 1 hour, removing cover 1/2 way through and giving he whole mixture a mix ad re- leveling it off.

Once baked and nice and crispy (the longer you bake it, the crispier it gets) remove from oven and serve immediately. Toss some fresh dil and parsley on top if you have it. Also mustard as a condiment goes amazingly with this!

Chickpea Carrot Ginger Fried Rice

Rice is a hit or miss in this house. Whenever I make it fresh, I either make too much or not enough so I like to air on the side of too much because when there is too much, you just save for a later day and make fried rice, which to some, might be even better then fresh rice. So there you go.

Fried rice. Not really a complicated dish. Basically it is just reheating rice up in a skillet with some stuff. This version is carrot ginger with chickpeas because those flavors are on point and also I had just made a huge batch of chikepeas and always have carrots and ginger on hand. The rice was just waiting to be reheated and I was glad for it because fried rice take a quarter of the time to make then fresh rice (I use brown rice) and I was trying to get dinner done without having to make much of an effort. And because there is veggies and chickpeas in this rice, it is a complete meal and did not need to make anything else. One pot dinner and done. Good things.

Now to the fried rice!

The stuff. Cooked rice, chick peas, carrots, fresh ginger, garlic, soy, red wine vinegar, olive oil, scallions, cabbage, and cilantro (optional). Also going to need a little water. And black pepper.

Start with veggies. Dice the carrots into very small little pieces. Toss into lightly oiled skillet with a splash of water and set on low heat. Then start mincing garlic and the fresh ginger. Toss that into skillet with carrots. Grab scallions and cut the thick white parts from he green and slice thinly and toss into skillet. And lastly shredded cabbage and thinly slice the greens of the scallions and set that aside.

Carrot, ginger, garlic, and scallions are in skillet getting a little heat. Turn heat up to medium, add a splash or two of water, and cook until the carrots are just starting to get a little soft and the ginger and garlic are fragrant. If the

Add in the chick peas, the soy, and the vinegar and cook away.

Once chick peas are warm through, add in the rice and another splash of water and mix around.

And when the rice is warm, add in he cabbage and greens of the scallion and mix until incorporated.

Done and ready.

Now scoop into bowls, toss some cilantro and black pepper on for good measure then grab a eating utensil.

And eat.

-C

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Chickpea Carrot Ginger Fried Rice

serves 2-3 as a meals or 5-6 as a side

• 3 cups already cooked rice (white or brown, I used brown)

• 2 cups cooked chick peas

• 2 carrots

• 2 inches fresh ginger root

• 2 gloves garlic

• 3-4 teaspoon soy or liquid aminos

• 1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar

• 1-2 teaspoons olive oil

• 2-3 large scallions

• small hunk of cabbage

• black pepper

• Few tablespoons water

• fresh cilantro (optional)

Start by prepping the veggies. Cut the carrots into very small little pieces and toss into a large, lightly oiled skillet Place on stove on low heat with a splash of water. Now mince the garlic and ginger and toss it into the skillet was well. Shredded the hunk of cabbage and set aside Grab the scallion, cut the green parts from the white, then thinly slice the the white, thicker part and toss into the skillet and thinly slice the green and add to the pile with the shredded cabbage. Mix all the veggies around, add another tablespoon or two of water, turn heat up to medium, and cook until carrots are slightly soft and the garlic and ginger are fragrant.

Once it is all starting to cook, toss in the drained chickpeas and add in the vinegar and 2-3 teaspoons of soy. Mix and cook until chickpeas are warm all the way through.

Now for the rice. Toss that in and mix around. Once rice is warm, toss in the greens of the scallions and the shredded cabbage. Cook until the rice is hot. Taste, and if you need more soy, add in in another teaspoon.

Once its all hot, it ready to eat and that is what you do. So scoop into bowls, add some chopped cilantro and black pepper and eat.

Cauliflower, Kale, and Lentil Bowl with Peanut Sauce

I am freaking hot. We are currently in a heat wave right this very minute and I am not happy about it. This is my problem with summer, the heat. Or better yet, the heat with humidity. It turns me sour and I can’t deal with anything, including myself. It is not a good look on me.

But a redeeming quality summer does have is all the fresh produce. The farm share is really starting to pick up and we are getting a good amount of fresh goody goods and that is something I can’t not be happy about. But it is still to hot and when it’s to hot, no one (I think) wants to cook. So don’t cook, just compile. A big ass bowl of veggies, some lentil (or use beans if you want) , and creamy peanut sauce. Thrown together within minutes, hardy and satisfying without being heavy and hot, and tasted really freaking good. A meal on it’s own or a fantastic side dish or snack dish or you know, anytime eating time food dish.

It is just a good dish to make and even better to eat. Heatwave or not.

Now to the cauliflower, kale, and lentil bowl with all the peanut sauce!

The stuff. Half a head of cauliflower, a few big kale leaves, half an onion, cooked lentils, peanut butter, apple cider vinegar, hot water, soy sauce, ginger, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.

Cut up cauliflower. Just go at it with a knife until it is a pile of small little pieces. Then dice up the onion into small pieces and cut up kale into small pieces as well.

Toss all of that into a bowl and top with the lentils.

Peanut sauce. Mix together the peanut butter, vinegar, soy, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Stir and add in enough hot water to make it creamy, smooth, and pourable.

Dump the peanut sauce into the bowl with everything else.

Toss until everything is evenly coated. And don’t forget to add a good amount of black pepper.

And that is it. Now grab a bowl and a fork and eat. It is really really good.

-C

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Cauliflower, Kale, and Lentil Bowl with Peanut Sauce 

Serves 1-2 as a big salad or 3-4 as a side

• 1/2 head of cauliflower

• 1 1/2 cup cooked lentils

• 2-3 large kale leaves

• 1/2 a small onion

Peanut Sauce

• 1/4 heaping cup of peanut butter

• 2 tablespoons soy or liquid aminos

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

• 4-5 tablespoons hot water

• black pepper

Start by chopping up cauliflower into little pieces. Some pieces will be like crumble and that is good. Also dice up onion into small pieces and chop kale into small pieces. Place it all into a bowl and top with the cooked lentils.

Make peanut sauce. Place peanut butter, soy ,vinegar, the ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes, and 4 tablespoons hot water into a jar or bowl and mix until incorporated. It should be smooth and thick, but pourable. If to thick, add in another tablespoon or two of hot water.

Once sauce is made, dump into bowl with the rest of the stuff and toss until everything is coated and combined. Top with lots of black pepper and then, well, eat. Or set aside until meal time. Then eat.

Chickpea Flour Onion Rings

I love me some onions, I mean I eat one everyday so I asked myself why the heck haven’t I made onion rings before? Probably because when I usually think onion rings, I think greasy and fried and that is not really my jam. But early in the week the lightbulb went off in my brain. I have been making a lot of stuff with bean flours lately and thought that chickpea flour would make an excellent batter for onions. And low and behold, I was right. Very very right.

These onion rings are so f-ing amazing. Sure they might not be the most traditional of onion ring but they are for sure just as good. A spicy crispy crunchy outer layer with a soft and creamy onion inside. Baked, not fried, and just really delightful. Easy to throw together and yeah, you got onion rings. I have made them twice this week already. Probably going to make them again tonight because why the hell not? They are simply a vegetable covered in bean. I should be eating them every day and you probably should be eating them everyday too.

Now to the onion rings!

The stuff. Onions (I used valida but any sweet variety will work) chickpea flour, spices (garlic, ginger, cumin, chili powder, paprika, and a pick or red pepper flakes), warm water, oil, and salt and pepper.

Mix up the batter. All the spices get mix together with the chickpea flour. Add in the water and then mix unit completely combined and all batter like.

Cut onions into rings.

Dip the onions into the batter and place on a oiled baking sheet. Try not to overlap too much and use the insides of large rings to place the small ones!

Into the oven and out of the oven. Crispy, dark, and delicious!

Get those rings onto a plate while they are hot, grab some dipping sauce of choice (tahini for me) and eat.

Get into this.

-C

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Chickpea Flour Onion Rings

• 3/4 cup checkpea flour

• 1 teaspoon each cumin and chili powder

• 1/2 teaspoon each garlic, paprika and ground ginger

• pinch of red pepper flakes

• 2 medium sized valida onions (or whatever onions you have)

• 3/4 cup warm water

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• cracked pepper

• tablespoon or so of oil to oil baking sheet

Preheat oven to 425.

In a wide bottomed bowl mix together the chickpea flour. salt. and all the spices. Add in the warm water and mix until completely incorporated and smooth. You want the batter to coat the onions when dipped but not be overly thick. If you think it needs to thicken up a bit, add a tablespoon more chickpea flour. To thin it, just add a splash more water.

Grab onions and peel off papery skin then slice into 1/4-1/2 inch rounds. Take onion rings and dip them into the batter then place rings on a large oiled baking sheet. Try not to overlap to much and definitely place smaller rings inside bigger rings. Also use a second baking sheet if you need to.

Once rings are all battered, place in preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes, giving them a flip atfter about 25-30 minutes.

Once dark brown and crispy, remove from the oven. Place rings on a plate and eat. Dipping sauce recommendation is tahini but anything or nothing at all is also right.