Black Bean Burgers (and some other fun things)

The summer is almost gone, and I have yet to accomplish most of my summer "to do" list. BUT, we have had a ton of fun vacationing with family, celebrating our anniversary (YAY!), and relaxing overall. I have *almost* gotten my normal running pace back, so it's about time to up my mileage! I'm debating sinking my teeth into a half marathon this fall. I think I'll see how September goes first.

I've been doing a fair share of cooking and baking, and a terrible job at documenting it here for you all. I made this

amazingly

delicious

cake.

And, unfortunately, it goes in the vault. Based on my Grammy's banana bread, this cake is seriously addicting. I will usually pass anything by in the name of chocolate, but I think if there was a war for my affection between this cake and brownies... This cake would win. I know that's some serious talk, but it's that good.

I did make a chocolate cake for a friend's birthday this week. Each piece had chocolate mousse filling in the middle (shaped like a heart), but I neglected to get pictures of the inside.

The frosting was my (heavily adapted) version of Magnolia's chocolate butter cream, and the cake was just a straight-forward chocolate cake. Very rich, and very tasty.

I have a goal. It is that at least 2 nights a week in our home, we will eat meatless entrees for dinner. I love a good black bean burger. My husband was a little hesitant to (even for one night) trade out his turkey burger for the meatless alternative. But I finally convinced him, and it was a hit!

There are probably a million different ways to make these, and here's mine.

Black Bean Burgers:

(I chose to go vegan on these out of habit, but I know that some people use an egg to help their burgers stay together. I did not have any problems.)

This makes 4 good-sized burgers

• 
  
  1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 
  
  1/2 cup (ish) cooked rice (I used some leftovers we had from another meal)
• 
  
  1/3-1/2 cup diced onion
• 
  
  1/3 cup diced green pepper
• 
  
  2-3 gloves of garlic, minced
• 
  
  1 small carrot, diced
• 
  
  salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet over medium heat, saute your veggies in some olive oil until softened (about 5 minutes or so - the carrots will take the longest). Add your minced garlic just at the end so that it cooks a little but does not burn.

In a medium bowl, use a fork or potato masher to smush your beans. You don't want puree (some whole beans are okay), but you do want most of your beans to be smashed. Add your rice (start with 1/2 cup and add more if needed) and veggies to this. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Mix by hand (literally - don't be afraid to get messy), adding more rice if necessary, until your mixture comes together enough to for patties. Shape black bean mixture into 4 patties.

Heat a little bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat (you can grill these, too, but that's my hubby's department). Cook burgers until golden on each side (about 2-3 minutes per side). Serve with ketchup, etc. like a "regular" burger, or go Mexican with some salsa and sour cream. Enjoy!

A shot from our anniversary weekend - we got to visit some beautiful places (and enjoy some good food!)

Black Bean Salsa and some yummy pretzel dip!

Settle in, dear readers, while I tell you a little story.

One day, while strolling through Harry and David's, my husband and I came across that fabulous counter where they sample foods and coffee. As I made a beeline for the coffee, my husband had his sights set on a different prize: the food sample. What resulted was us buying 3 jars of Harry and David's "Charred Pineapple Relish" so that I could recreate this dip at home (*and as a side note: this relish also makes a great marinade/dressing for some sweet and sour-esque chicken).

They served the dip with those skinny pretzel sticks, and we have found Trader Joe's honey wheat pretzel rods to be our favorite dipping utensil. I'm sure you'll find yours!

Charred Pineapple Pretzel Dip:

• 1 jar of Harry and David's "Charred Pineapple Relish"
• 1- 8oz block of cream cheese, softened

In a large bowl, combine 2/3 of a block of cream cheese with the entire jar of pineapple salsa. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Cover and refrigerate or serve right away!

And the pineapple relish:

Now, I love black beans. In Mexican dishes, with rice, black bean burgers... They are delicious and nutritious. The following is one of the simplest, most delicious ways to enjoy black beans - you don't even have to cook anything! This is perfect as a side for a Mexican inspired dinner, as a snack, or mixed in with rice/cous cous.

Black Bean Salsa:

• 
  
  1 can black beans
• 
  
  1 can of corn (I usually use about 3/4 cup because I use frozen corn)
• 
  
  1/4 cup(ish) red onion, chopped
• 
  
  1/4 cup(ish) green onion, chopped
• 
  
  1 tsp cilantro
• 
  
  1/3 cup red wine vinegar (or 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar + 1 Tbsp lime juice) -give or take

Dump your (drained) beans, corn, onion, pepper, and cilantro in a bowl. Add your vinegar a little at a time, to taste. Refrigerate or serve right away. Keep in mind that, as this salsa sits, the vinegar will soak in. For this reason you may want to add a little more vinegar to "freshen up" before serving. The other great thing about this salsa is that, as it sits, it also becomes tastier because the flavors have time to meld together. I try to let it sit about an hour before serving. I love this dish and hope you will too!

Black Bean Soup

It's gotten pretty chilly here as of late, so yesterday I decided to try my hand at some black bean soup to warm us up! Super easy and very tasty, if I do say so myself...

Black Bean Soup:

• 1 "big" can of black beans, or 2 normal size ones (about 30 oz of beans)
• 1 jar of salsa
• some diced onion (about 1/4 cup)
• some diced bell pepper (a little less than half of a pepper)
• cumin
• 1/2 - 1 cup broth

Start by sauteing your pepper and onion with a little bit of oil in the bottom of your soup pan. Give them about 2-3 minutes to sofen up. Then add 1/2 cup of broth (if you want to thin it out a little, you can always add more broth later).

Puree about 2/3 of your beans in a blender or food processor until the desired consistency (I like mine a little on the chunky side). Add the pureed beans and the whole black beans to the broth mixture. Dump in about 1 jar of salsa (more or less to taste), and give the soup a couple hearty shakes of cumin.

Simmer until ready to serve! Very easy, and very yummy!

Feeling spicy?

I ran across this recipe on some vegetarian website and it caugh my eye. For one, it's vegan. For two, it pairs 2 of my favorite things: black beans and bananas. Boy have I been on a banana kick lately! Anyway, if you're feeling adventurous and looking for a yummy meal, give these a try.




Banana Black Bean Empanadas:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 4 Tbsp butter (or vegan butter!), cubed
• 1/2 cup applesauce (it said unsweetened, I only had sweetened and it worked fine)
• 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 cup (ish) chopped onion
• I added 1/3 cup(ish) chopped green pepper, although the original recipe did not call for it
• 1 cup cooked black beans (or straight from a can)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 bananas, chopped into small chunks
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp cilantro
• a dash or 2 of your favorite hot sauce (I don't like hot sauce, but I put it in anyway and it was great!)

Okay, to make the dough, mix together your flours, salt, and chili powder. Mix in your butter (or vegan butter) with your fingers until the flour makes a coarse, crumbly meal.

In a separate bowl, whisk together your vinegar and applesauce. Add this to your four mixture and mix until it forms a dough. Knead in additional flour (not more than 1/4 cup) if necessary for dough to come together. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour (or as long as overnight...).

Now, when you're ready to make your filling, saute your onions (and peppers) in a little bit of oil for about 5 minutes - until the onions become clear. Add in your black beans and garlic and simmer on medium heat for 2-3 more minutes. Throw in the bananas and cumin and cook until the bananas become soft and mushy. Then remove from heat and stir in your cilantro and hot sauce.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grab your dough from the fridge and divide it into 8 pieces (the recipe said 12, but I only got 8 out of it. This did leave me with some left over filling, but John ate it all - straight from the pan no problem. Seriously. See below)















Take each piece of dough and roll it into a small circle (about 5 or 6 inches). Place 2 heaping tablespoons of filling in the middle of each dough circle. Brush the edges of the dough with a little bit of water, fold dough over the filling, and seal by pressing the edges with a fork. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Chill empanadas in the fridge for 10 minutes (I put them in the freezer for 3 and we survived), bake for 20, and let cool for 5 before serving. Enjoy your scrumptious creation!















Yum yum!