Keen-on-Quinoa Black Bean Burger

In the words of Samuel L. Jackson,

 

“MMMMM MMMMM MMMM, that is a tasty burger!”

 

Who doesn’t love a good burger? If you hate burgers, you probably hate kittens and puppies, too.

 

These burgers are low in fat, high in plant protein and have flavor that even and omnivore can enjoy. In fact, I had an entire table of non-vegetarians going gaga over them! They were also very surprise at how good quinoa is for them.

 

Quinoa is an ancient grain rich in complete proteins, and a much healthier alternative to rice.

 Keen on Quinoa Burgers

 

-2 baked sweet potatoes

-1 cup cooked quiona

-1 can drained black beans

-1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

-1 medium onion

-1 T smoked paprika or chipotle

-1 knuckle length chopped ginger

-2 cloves garlic, chopped

-1 T sea salt

-1 T freshly cracked pepper

-1/3 cup oats (blended for coating the patties)

-1 cup oats (quick oats work best)

 

Cook the quinoa and sweet potatoes, chop the sweet potato and set place n blender or food processor. Place all ingredients except the blended oats, in the blender.

 By the way, it’s probably a good idea to grind the oats before you grind up the wet ingredients!

 Blend until it’s just mixed, not liquefied. Favor the “pulse” button to a running blade, as you still want the grainy quinoa and oat texture.

 Once the mixture is done, place in the fridge for 2 hours to let the mixture settle.

 Form into burger size patties and coat generously in the oat mixture.

 Place burgers into a very well oiled pan, I use coconut oil for a delicate flavor (these guys are thirsty, so you may need to re-oil!). I prefer cast iron to create a crispy crust. Cook well on both sides.

 

Serve as you would a burger. Or try it in a lettuce wrap! Perhaps this time you can make it quesadilla style. Maybe just jazz it up with some guacamole, make it your own!

 

Se

 

Vegan Gluten-Free Raspberry Brownies

To me, baking has always been a science. Change a few key ingredients or “variables” and achieve and completely different result. Attending culinary school to learn traditional baking techniques helped me to learn the science of baking. Knowing the traditional science to baking helped me to change around those “variables” to make tasty vegan or gluten free versions of my favorite foods.

My new roommate is allergic to dairy, eggs and gluten, so baking something for everyone has been a challenge. I am proud to announce my first vegan and gluten free recipe that I feel can rival any traditional recipe out there.

Vegan Gluten Free Raspberry Brownies.

-2oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

-1/2 cup brown sugar or sucanat
-1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
-1/2 teaspoon almond extract

-1/4 cup teff flour
-1/2 cup rice flour
-3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
-1/4 teaspoon baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1 1/2 cup frozen raspberries mixed with 1/4 lukewarm water

Preheat oven to 300 F. Line an 8 inch pan with parchment paper and lightly mist with non-stick cooking spray.

Melt the chocolate in either a double boiler or the microwave. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, vigorously mix together the sweetener and apple sauce. Stir in the extracts and the melted chocolate.

Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix very well until a stiff dough forms. Fold in the raspberries mixed with the water. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan. It will be very thick, you’ll probably need to use your hands to evenly spread the batter.

*For a fun twist, sprinkle with shredded unsweetened coconut or a handful of walnuts.

Low Fat Banana Cake as “Vegan Stuffed Rabbit”

This Easter I thought that I would use some of the many cake pans I had lying around and opted to tackle the 3-d bunny pan I bought at the thrift store a few years back. After a little research I discovered that the cake will naturally rise, and take on the form of the “lid” pan.

Seemed simple enough. The end result was indeed a cute 3 dimensional rabbit, but I did not want to frost it for fear of loosing the cake’s definition.  My solution was to carefully cut a slit through the center of the rabbit, and stuff it was a almond butter and coconut stuffing. The end result was stuffed rabbit.

That’s right folks, I made vegan stuffed rabbit for Easter. It was actually devoured by my family before I could even take a picture of it, but for some reason, I feel like the stuffed rabbit needs to make another debut.

The recipe also happens to be surprisingly low in fat because of how many bananas are added.

• 2 cups flour (you can use whole wheat if you like)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar or sucanat
• 1/4 cup oil
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 rice milk (or any other replacement milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan.In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil, then add bananas. Add rice milk and vanilla, stirring to combine.

Add the flour mixture, stirring just until wet.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Skinny-Bitch Pumpkin Muffin Tops

I recently helped taste test Vegan Cookies for the “Alternative Baking Company” at work. Fuck yeah, I got paid to eat cookies and drink dry soy cappuccino today. My boss and I took bits and peices from 9 varieties of cookies, and finally chose the pumpkin spice as a good vegan option for our coffee shop. The cookies may have  had a decent flavor, but are sold wholesale at $1.35 a cookie (they would have to retail at about $2.35 a piece), and weight in a a whopping 480 calories with 20 grams of fat.

I headed straight to the kitchen to try to come up with a better Vegan cookie. The goal to have the same amount of flavor, but to try to reduce the amount of calories, and ended up with not a cookie, but a scrumptious muffin.

Ingredients :

2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cup canned pumpkin
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple sauce
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon each – cinnamon & nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans
1/2 teaspoon shredded ginger

1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

Beat vegan sugar, pumpkin, oil applesauce and vanilla.

Sift together dry ingredients. Stir into the pumpkin mixture until smooth.

Blend in raisins and nuts and carrot.

Drop by spoonfuls or oiled baking sheet, and bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes.

Serves: 5-6 doze

Hearty Vegan Carob and Walnut Cookies

I have been trying to battle my sweet tooth while still staying conscious of my sugar and fat intake.  I was was able to concoct a decent vegan cookie out of whole grains and a minimal amount of sweetener. Agave nectar has been shown to have a minimal impact on you blood sugar, which is good for diabetics and those trying to watch their weight. When the body’s insulin level is raised, carbs in the body turn directly into body fat. The carob is also a great replacement for chocolate and the walnuts are full of omega 6 fatty acids and protein. This way you can have your cookie and eat it too!

1 cup oat flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 sup carob chips

1/2 cup unsweetend applesauce

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 light agave nectar

1 tsp vannilla

1/2 cup vannila rice milk or other non dairy milk

1 tbsp baking powder.

sift the dry ingredients together. This is very importent to remove all clumps, who like clumpy cookies anyway? Mix with the rest of the ingredients and drop spoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. I like to lay parchment paper on the tray to use less oil and make clean up easy. Bake until the edges brown which shoudl take anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes.