Veggie Burgers: The Beginning

Early in venture of eating a plant based diet I used pre-made vegetarian food.  I remember buying spicy black bean burgers and giving them a stamp of approval.  The more I ate them, however, they began to taste processed and kind of like solidified oil.  Maybe it's the law of declining marginal utility or maybe they just aren't that good but I stopped buying them.  Plus, at $4.00 for a box of 4 that's pretty salty.

I began experimenting with my own version of a veggie burger.  I don't want my veg burger to taste like dead cow - but I want it to taste good.  Most of my efforts have failed miserably and end up getting deep sixed.  The good thing about making veg burgers is that the mixture can be tasted during the process and adapted without waiting until the cooked product.

Last night I got decent reviews from my family on a new burger.  If I were to rate them I would give them 3 out of 5 stars but I am really picky about how my food tastes.  Both my children ate their entire burger and didn't complain because their were serves sans cheese. 

Here is the basic recipe:

Ingredients

2/3 cup rolled oats

2/3 cup cooked and cooled quinoa

1 can rinsed and drained (very well) chick peas and then smashed

1 tablespoon hummus

1 tablespoon fresh diced parsley

2 tablespoons finely diced jalapenos

1 tsp each, chipotle powder, garlic salt, chili powder, onion powder, and coriander

Directions

Blend all ingredients together thoroughly.  Wet hands and gather a handful of mixture and roll into a ball and then flatten into a patty.  I prefer thinner patties.  Fry in a skillet until browned and cooked through.  Serve immediately and top as you like.

I will continue to work to perfect the veg burger.  There are an unlimited amount of combinations that should be tried, such as beet burgers, pecan burgers, use black beans, different herbs and spices.  These will only get better.