BBQ: The Vegetarian/Vegan Edition

I get a feeling of calm and accomplishment from cooking. I sometimes forget this. For about a month, I ate out and felt stressed regularly. I continued to say that I did not have time to cook with such a busy schedule, but then a friend of mine passed on some wise words. She said, no matter what, cooking gives her a sense of calm. She turns her computer off and takes a break to drink some wine, listen to music, and cook dinner. This is my favorite way to unwind at night. There is nothing more relaxing than throwing on some sweet tunes, opening up a new bottle of wine, and letting the magic begin.

I have a couple of recipes that I have been dieing to share. If you know me, I'm very bad at holding my excitement in. I tend to let it all explode out, but I'm working on it, and I will gradually disseminate the recipes I have recently discovered. To begin, here is my favorite of the bunch. These are vegetarian, but they can be vegan if egg substitute is used. I'm so excited about these burgers that just about everyone I know, knows about these:

Southwestern Black Bean Burgers

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onions

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash of ground black pepper

1 cup finely chopped mushrooms

1 cup grated carrots

1 fresh chile, minced, or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 cup orange juice

1 cup ground tortilla chips (ground these in a food processor until they are similar to coarse meal)

2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 large egg, lightly beaten (or egg substitute)

Preheat the oven to 375.

Put onions over medium heat on a warm skillet for about five minutes. Add cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper and cook until the onions are soft. Add mushrooms, carrots, chiles, and orange juice, lower the heat to medium, cover and cook with occasional stirring until veggies are tender. This should take about eight minutes.

While the veggies cook, combine tortilla chips, beans, and egg in a bowl. Mash them together or pulse in a food processor. Drain the veggies and stir them together with the bean mixture. From this mixture form six patties, and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the patties are firm and lightly crusted.

Nutritional Facts:

Calories 252

Protein 13g

Carbs 41g

Dietary Fiber 13g

Total Fat 5g

Cholesterol 36mg

Sodium: 847 mg

These are the perfect substitute for a hamburger or turkey burger. In fact, they taste just as good, but leave you without the greasy heavy feeling. You feel a sense of full until later in the day because of the black beans, which is always good to scare away the sweet tooth that seems to suddenly appear right before bed. I had left overs and ate them over fresh salsa the next day.

Music to grill to:

Another thanks to Moosewood Restaurant for this recipe. I have yet to go wrong with this fabulous cookbook.