Sunday, February 5, 2012

Homemade baked black bean burgers: with or without avocados, they are superb


These are baked and delicious.
Once you eat these, you'll be hooked and not want to buy the frozen ones (that will suddenly taste way too salty and overprocessed) anymore.

Ingredients:
  • 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped fine
  • 1/2 onion, chopped fine
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon (or as little/much as you like) chili powder
  • 1/2 (or more) teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot sauce
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • Salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3. Finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic (you can also use a food processor).  ***At this point, I suggest the optional step of sauteeing the peppers, onions, and garlic in a pan with a little olive oil and letting them cool.  It makes the burgers taste great this way, but you can also keep them raw when you add them to the black bean mash mix.***
4. Stir the vegetables into the mashed beans.
5. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce.  Add a little salt at this point, if you like.
6. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together (we use our hands). Divide the mixture into four patties.
7. Place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10-11 minutes on each side.  Keep an eye on them until they feel thoroughly cooked.

Stuff we like to top the burger with, in various combinations:

Cheese
Avocados
Lettuce
Thinly sliced bell peppers - red or green
Sauteed mushrooms
Mayonnaise
Ketchup
Mustard
Thousand Island Dressing
Pickles or relish
Fresh tomatoes

Sometimes we toast the buns.  Sometimes we like them soft and squishy.

My vegetarian spinach mini pizzas were delicious

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Peanut Butter Spirals

If you love peanut butter (as I do), this is a tasty, unusual recipe.  So good and so easy.  You can serve it with a drizzle of hot chili oil, if you are a lover of spicy things.


  • 12 oz. uncooked spiral pasta
  • 2/3 cup natural peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 3-4 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons mild vinegar
  • 1 scallion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon honey or rice syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon (or more) ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 1/2 cup frozen peas
1. Cook pasta.  Set aside.
2. Combine all ingredients except peas and blend until smooth.
3. Add peas and sauce to pasta and gently mix together.  The sauce will thicken on its own.