Veggie burger

     This is a recipe I have had for years but don't dust off often. I am a born and bred carnivore who loves a good steak, which ,by the way, is all most vegetarian recipes are missing. LOL I do have quite a few friends who are veg and more and more vegans are popping up so I have collected a few recipes so they aren't consigned to the crudite plate when they come over to my house.

     I am not a fan of tofu so don't like most of the commercial options out there but have had a few that are good. I like this recipe better. The rice and beans for the binder, provide the complete amino acid profile you need and the mushrooms provide a nice texture.

     I'm also posting this because of my house mate Kristen.

      That's her in the red looking all sweet and innocent

She's holding her grandmother's molasses cookie recipe hostage until she gets this one. LOL You owe me a recipe, Kristen.

     Seriously, it is always nice to have something for all of your guests to enjoy so you can make this one into sliders, they seem to be all the rage this holiday, or meatballs for cocktails parties. Serve them with on salsa, with a little guacamole, or slice of avocado, and your veg friends will love you.

Veggie Burger

Ingredients

2 tbsp cooking oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup fresh mushrooms, diced

2 cups cooked rice, brown or white

1 can kidney beans

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp parsley

½ tsp thyme

½ tsp sage

Directions

In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté onions, mushrooms, garlic and herbs in cooking oil. Cook until onions are transparent, about 5 min, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In a bowl, mash together beans and rice with a potato masher or fork, or pulse in food processor. When you have the consistency you like, the finer it is the stickier it is, add the cooled mushroom mix. Mix until well combined.

Form patties and cook as you would for your favourite hamburger, fry, grill, broil or bake.

If the patties are too sticky, dredge in a little flour, white, whole wheat or spelt before cooking.

     As mentioned above, the beans, rice and mushrooms are the legs of this recipe, everything else is for taste. Use as little or as much as you like, or change them completely.  This recipe works really well with all the spices from the curried lentil recipe, or make your own creation. You can add other vegetables to this but I prefer them grilled and on top as garnishes. If you don't dredge this in flour it is as gluten free recipe as well.

     For anyone who is interested, Self magazine's site has an amino acid profile guide. It is a great tool to use to combine foods to make sure you are getting your complete sequence. Your body can't make DNA, RNA or ATP with out it. Enjoy.