Over the years, we've had some pretty "blah" veggie burgers. Meaning, I've made some pretty "blah" veggie burgers. Somewhere along the line, though, I figured out what I was doing wrong, and it was so simple, it almost hurt to discover. Seasoning!
Um, yeah.
Beans and grains are amazing. They are a massive portion of our diet; but they need some help. Garlic, cayenne, onion and pink Himalayan salt are combined with the ever-popular buffalo sauce to take chickpeas and quinoa somewhere even they never thought they could go.
If your life is anything like mine, you get the kids home from school, and the rest is a blur until dinner time. I don't ever seem to know where those two hours go. They're filled with after school snacks, homework, cleaning rooms, wrestling matches, sorting through the day's school papers, etc....
It gets a little chaotic.
Veggie patties can be made ahead of time and will patiently wait in the fridge until you're ready to cook them. Just stick them in the oven with some sliced potatoes 30 minutes before you want to eat, and somewhere in the middle of the third wrestling match and the second pile of school work, the oven timer will give you a much welcome reprieve from the late afternoon chaos.
I guarantee you're going to love these buffalo burgers.
Buffalo Chickpea Burgers with Spicy Aoili
1.5 C. Cooked Chickpeas (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)
1/2 C. Cooked Quinoa
2 Carrots, diced
2 Celery stalks, diced
1/2 Medium onion, diced
3/4 t. Cayenne powder
1 t. Salt
1 t. Onion powder
1 t. Garlic powder
1/3 C. Buffalo sauce (I used Frank's Original)
1/4 C. Oat flour, chickpea flour OR flax meal
1 Chia or flax "egg" - 1 T. ground flax or chia seeds mixed with 3 T. water and allowed to set for 5 min.
Spicy Aoili
1/3 C. Vegan mayonaise, such as Veganaise or Just Mayo
2 T. Buffalo sauce
1/2 t. Smoked Paprika
1/2 t. Garlic Powder
Water to thin, as needed
Preheat oven to 400, (unless you plan on making the patties ahead of time and cooking later).
Pour a splash of water in a large skillet or frying pan and saute the carrots, celery and onion over medium-high heat until soft. Stir in cayenne, salt, onion powder and garlic powder and cook another 30 seconds to a minute. Remove from heat.
Put chickpeas and quinoa in the bowl of a food processor and add veggie/spice mix. Pulse unil incorporated, pour in buffalo sauce, oat flour and egg replacer. Process until well mixed.
Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15 minutes. Carefully flip and cook another 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler in your oven and broil for 5 minutes or so, until nicely browned.
While burgers are cooking, simply mix your aoili ingredients together. Adjust spices to your personal preference.
We're not big bun people here, so we enjoy these on romain leaves, or Ezekiel toast, or in a salad. Or on a plate, with a fork. Or without a fork. Whatever.
Leftovers will come in very handy throughout the week, so consider making a double batch and saving some for later!
Bowl of the Week!
This week's bowl has a complex flavor profile, but is not complex to put together. You could have a hearty, delicious bowl of food on the table in 30 minutes flat. Also, those roasted veggies and chickpeas are going to make your house smell ah-mazing.
The real star here, in my opinion are the maple roasted chickpeas. These babies are delicious, and so versatile. They make great crouton substitutes for salads, and I often find myself snacking on leftovers straight out of the fridge.
If you've never worked with beetroot before, I feel I must warn you...these guys can be messy! Everything they touch will aquire a reddish-purple stained hue. It will come off your skin....eventually. Beets are crazy delicious and incredibly nutrient dense, so I put up with this somewhat annoying attribute.
Roasted Beet and Apple Chickpea Kale bowl with Honey Dijon sauce
3 Beets, peeled and diced
2 Small- medium apples, cored and diced
1 T. Balsamic vinegar
Dash of salt
Maple roasted Chickpeas
1 Bunch Kale
1- 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 C. Uncooked Millet
Dijon honey mustard sauce
Chopped walnuts (optional)
Maple roasted Chickpeas
1.5 Cups cooked or 1 can Chickpeas
1/4 C Maple syrup
2 T. Tamari, liquid aminos or soy sauce
2 T. Apple cider vinegar
2 t. Liquid smoke (optional)
Dijon honey mustard sauce
1/4 C. Raw local honey
1/4 Dijon mustard
Dash of salt and pepper
Preheat your oven to 400.
Toss the apples and beets together with balsamic and a dash of salt, set aside. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together maple roasted chickpea ingredients (all except chickpeas). Pour chickpeas in an another shallow baking dish and pour maple mixture over, carefully stir to coat chickpeas.
Bake apples, beets and chickpeas for 20 minutes, until beets have softened and the liquid in the chickpeas is mostly gone.
While those are baking, prepare your millet, kale and honey mustard sauce.
Prepare millet according to package directions - I use a 1-1 grain-water ratio.
Remove the kale leaves fromt the stems and chop leaves roughly to 2-3" pieces. In a large skillet, heat 1 T. water and add garlic cloves, cook over medium heat until garlic is fragrant, then add kale. Cook over medium heat until kale is wilted.
In a small bowl, whisk together honey mustard ingredients and set aside.
When ready to serve, place in your bowl a serving of millet, cover with kale, add beets and apples, then chickpeas. Drizzle with honey mustard sauce and sprinkle with walnuts, if using. Voila!
Our most frequent meal here would best be described as simply a "bowl". I love experimenting with different vegetables, proteins, and flavor profiles. A bowl also makes an awesome burrito filling, nacho or baked potato topping.
You can plan on seeing a featured "Bowl of the Week".
Bowls are an easy way to incorporate a variety of vegetables and nutrient-dense whole foods into your diet. You can easily make a large batch on Sunday to enjoy throughout the week, allowing you to enjoy a healthful meal that will fuel you through your busy schedule when you're in a hurry.
Say goodbye to fast food and TV dinners!
Today I'm sharing a low-fat, yet filling bowl that has simple flavors and tons of protein.
Quinoa and Chickpea bowl with Spinach and Smoky Maple Tempeh (Serves 4)
3 C. Cooked quinoa
3 C. Cooked or 1 1/2 Cans (drained and rinsed) of chickpeas
1 Recipe of Smoky Maple Tempeh
1 medium red onion, sliced thinly
2 T. Fresh lemon juice
2 Garlic cloves, minced (You can just use one clove if you prefer, I like things garlicky!
Lemon Tahini Sauce (optional)
Several heaping cups of fresh spinach
Salt to taste
Lemon Tahini Sauce - taken from Forks Over Knives
This delicious dressing is super easy to throw together and will really bring the flavor profile of your bowl up a tier or two. Feel free to omit if you don't have tahini, but I highly recommend it!
1/4 Tahini
2 T. Fresh lemon juice
2 Garlic cloves
2 T. Water (or more, to thin to your liking)
Start by heating a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of water and your onion. Cook until the onion begins to soften, then add the garlic and cook for an additional two minutes. Add lemon juice, 1/2 t. salt, quinoa, and chickpeas and mix to incorporate. Then throw in your spinach and tempeh bites. Taste for salt and continue to cook until spinach has wilted and everything is warmed through.
Drizzle with lemon tahini sauce, if using, and serve hot!
