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Vegetables

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Black-Bean-Beet Burger

I love black bean burgers (especially Adair Kitchen’s), and I love beet burgers (especially Tiny Boxwood’s). So the other day, I began to search the internet for the perfect black bean and beet burger. I found a number of recipes, but this one stuck out. I tried it. The burgers are heavenly. I made one swap – I replaced the rice for barley, and oat flour for quinoa flour. They still taste amazing. While I’m a full time vegetarian, Sasha only observes Meatless Mondays, so 3 black-bean-beet-burgers are packed in his lunchbox today. Pair them with whole wheat buns (for him), or bunless (for me), with a grilled veggie salad, and you’ve got the perfect meal.

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Patties (makes 6):
8 ounces beets, steamed or roasted and peeled*
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, washed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, washed and drained
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup rolled oat flour**
1/2 red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sumac
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
Salt
Pepper

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Pulse beets in a food processor until roughly chopped. Add beets to a large bowl, along with the garbanzo beans, black beans, brown rice, oat flour, red onion, garlic, sumac, thyme leaves, ground cumin and ground coriander. Mash with two forks until all the beans are incorporated. Salt and pepper to taste. (I added about one teaspoon of kosher salt and half of a teaspoon of pepper.)

Using a half cup measure, form six patties. Cover them with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. (Since we aren’t using egg to bind the mix, this step helps the patties hold together.) Melt butter or olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Toast the hamburger buns for 1-2 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add more butter or olive oil if needed. Add the patties and cook on both sides for 3-4 minutes and until the tops are lightly golden brown. Optional: Place slices of cheese on top of each burger and cook for 1 minute longer, until cheese is melted.

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Urban Harvest Farmer’s Market

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On Satuday, I headed to the Urban Harvest Farmer’s Market (Eastside location) – something I’ve been meaning to do for ages and had never gotten around to. One thing’s for sure – I’ve been missing out. Enticing aromas welcome you when walking towards the long two rows of tents selling everything from brightly colored vegetables to fresh flowers, organic beef and vegan treats. I went with Sasha’s aunt, Zlata, who enjoys markets as much as I do. We left with a full (recyclable, of course) bag, stuffed with basil, portobello mushrooms, peppers, flowers (top left picture), limes, and last (but definitely not least) vegan pumpkin pie! I was giddy with excitement when I saw Sinfull Bakery‘s stand (my favorite), as I’ve been trying various vegan pumpkin recipes to little success, and wanted something tried-and-proven on that particular morning. Sasha scarfed it down when we got home and gave it two-thumbs up, which means a lot coming from a carnivore who eats eggs but doesn’t like desserts.

My favorite stands were:

Sinfull Bakery – as mentioned above, the vegan treats (and samples) are so tasty
Pat Greer’s Kitchen – I was handed a vegan sauteed veggie taster and it was heaven-in-my-mouth (need to head to her restaurant!)
Billabong Fresh Flower Farm – where I got my gorgeous flower arrangement
Utility Research Garden – the juiciest limes I’ve ever tasted
Shade/Canopy – I love the restaurants, so naturally loved the booth
Knopp Branch Farm – some of the best portobello mushrooms we’ve ever eaten
Revival Market – a little sneak peek before I headed there for lunch with friends on Saturday

My love for farmer’s markets dates back to my time in Austin at The University of Texas – I wrote an article for the UT newspaper, which was linked to here.

Have you been to your local farmer’s market?

Weekend Food Adventures

I love trying new restaurants. I got to knock out three that I’ve been dying to try for ages this weekend – Mockingbird Bistro, Underbelly, and Latin Bites. My thoughts on each place are below!

 

 

I met two of my good friends, Paola and Guillermo, at Mockingbird Bistro on Thursday to celebrate their recent engagement. I ordered the Organic Beet Salad, which was great. As a beet lover, I will always order a beet dish if it’s on a menu. This one definitely did not fail to deliver. The spicy walnuts were the perfect touch to the dish. The service was amazing – our waiter brought a Congratulations dessert plate without any of us even mentioning the occasion! He must have been very attentive!

I’ve been to Underbelly for drinks before, but not for a meal. The menu is not super conducive to vegetarians, but the atmosphere makes up for the slim pickings. We ordered the eggplant appetizer (amazing), and then I got the Crispy Market Vegetables, which was a bowl of green beans (slightly strange, although they tasted great). The best parts about the evening were meeting Chris Shepherd (Executive Chef) and bragging on one of my good friends, Bryan, who did some of the art work on the wine menu (illustration and Bryan’s bio on page 10 here).

At Latin Bites on Saturday, I ordered the Quinoa Salad. It was heaven on earth. The ingredients include crispy quinoa, poached quinoa, carmelized cashews, mint, mozzarella, choclo, fava beans, avocados, tomatoes confit and passion fruit dressing. It came with baby iceberg lettuce wraps – one of my favorite dishes in Houston. See their dinner menu here. My only complaint about this amazing Memorial gem is the logo. As a typography nerd, it kills me.