Black Bean Burgers

These have now become a top-favorite in our household.

Makes about 8 patties.

Ingredients:
        2 16oz cans of black beans, rinsed and well-drained
        1 bell pepper (color doesn't matter, but we use green)
        1 onion
        5-6 cloves of garlic
        2 eggs (use a vegan binder if you prefer to be a vegan purist)
        2 Tbsp chili powder
        2 Tbsp cumin
        Hot sauce (we use just a few drops, but if you want it spicy, go for it)
        1 Cup panko bread crumbs

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mash the black beans with a fork or potato masher until it's mostly a paste (some beans should still be intact).

2. In a food processor, finely chop the bell pepper, onion, and garlic.  To avoid gooey patties, put the chopped veggies into a strainer and the use the back of a spoon to squeeze out as much liquid as you can (this is the most annoying task in the recipe, but really necessary).

3. Once the veggies are as dry as you can make them, stir them into the mashed beans.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the eggs, chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce.  Stir this mixture into the mashed beans.

5. Stir in the breadcrumbs.  The mixture should be pretty thick.

6. Start taking a small handful of the mixture into your hands and forming them into patties (if it seems a bit mushy or gooey, don't worry - the next step will help them firm up).

7. Place each patty onto a shallow baking sheet or large plate(s) lined with wax paper. Once you have formed all the patties, put the baking sheet in the freezer to let the patties harden up.

8. Once the patties are firm or frozen, take them off the wax paper and bake them for about 8-10 minutes at 425°. Then, to get patties that are nice and crispy on the outside and hold their form, turn your broiler on and let the patties broil for about 5 minutes on one side. Flip the patties and let the other side broil for another 5 minutes or so.

Enjoy these burgers with the same fixin's as a regular hamburger. We usually accompany them with baked fries and salad or fruit.

About this Blog

In May of 2013 my wife and I finally got around to watching Forks Over Knives (see the trailer below).  We had considered ourselves healthy eaters before then, but after watching we felt compelled to try out what the movie calls a "whole-food, plant-based" diet.  A little nervous about taking the plunge into a diet we always considered the weirdest one out there, my wife found a book at the library called The 21-Day Kickstart, which suggests trying it out for just 3 weeks to see how we like it (For anyone on the fence about the vegan diet, we definitely recommend checking both that movie and that book out).

Over 4 months later, we're still eating whole-food, plant-based and have even encouraged some family and friends to try it out, too.  We've discovered and/or modified some great meals and are getting asked for recipes ideas, so I decided to start this blog.  I hope anyone who finds this enjoys these meals.

A few caveats that pertain to our diet (and therefore, many of these recipes):

• There are a lot of vegan "substitute" ingredients out there (cheese, eggs, margarine, etc.), but they're processed foods, so we don't use them at all.  Hence, you won't find any in these recipes.
• We are not fans of soy products.  This stems partially from the fact that it's one of the biggest GMO crops, but also because we've read enough about the controversies over soy that we choose to avoid it as much as possible.  Hence, you won't find any soy/tofu recipes here.
• Not all of these recipes are 100% vegan (gasp!).  When a recipe calls for an egg or two as a binder, we do not substitute it out for something vegan (see the first point above as to why).  However, that is the ONLY time these recipes include any type of animal product.

Thanks for visiting this site!