Vegan Burgers: Beet It

During the summer, it is always good to have some burgers on standby. In the past I have been really into black bean burgers, but I found a very interesting recipe for a beet burger and figured this would be a great way to get into cooking with beets. Beets are vegetable I do not cook with much. While I think they taste good and are pretty healthy, I also think they are super messy and since I am so clumsy, I didn't want to be staining my clothes and floor messing around with such a messy vegetable.

Photo Credit: http://thebubbaeffect.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/nobody-eats-beets-not-even-to-survive-p/

Beets are a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains and known for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification qualities. They also are rich in carotenoids which is very good for eye health. I read somewhere that the powers of carotenoids in beets may be as much or more important to eye health than beta carotene. A serving of beets is high in folate, manganese, potassium. They are low in calories and like many vegetables, have been linked to reducing the risk of cancers.

There are lots of good sources out there that can provide more details. Beets are an excellent way to get a red food into your diet. Oh and I heard you can use beet juice for food colouring!

Beet Burgers
*Adapted from Colour me Vegan

• 2 cups of grated beets (2-3 beets)
• 1 1/2 cups quinoa
• 1/2 toasted sesame seeds
• 1 cup toasted sunflower seeds
• 1/2 bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 Tbsp vital wheat gluten
• 3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• salt and pepper

The steps to this recipe are very simple. combine everything in a bowl and mix. I ended up using my hands to really get in and mix it all up. If you don't want to use wheat gluten/flour, you can substitute for another flour and increase to 3 Tbsp. I did this the first attempt and I found the burgers didn't hold well, but in the end worked.

To cook, I BBQ'd them. Heat the grill to medium heat, and cook for about 7-10 minutes a side. You can also bake in the oven (About 350 F for 7-10 min a side) or fry them. Up to you.

Makes 4 large burgers or 6 small.

Vegan BBQ Survival Kit

I am going to my first BBQ of the summer and it is sure to be filled with Carnivores or what they lovingly call themselves: meatatarians. my vegan BBQ survival kit. Basically, it is a cool I pack for these sorts of occasions. I am not the type of person to put everyone out and cook special meals for me. I enjoy cooking, so it is no trouble for me at all. I have learned though that it is smart to plan for picnics and BBQs so I don't end up chewing on carrots and pouting because I can't eat anything.

This BBQ would have been very unfriendly for vegans without my vegan survivor kit!

My BBQ survival kit varies depending on what I have in stock, but base on the following:

1. Salad and/or salad dressing
2. Veganaise
3. Salsa or Guacamole
4. Veggie burgers or some marinated seitan or tofu
5. Dessert
6. Coconut Bliss Ice cream (Yes, I consider this separate from dessert)
7. Wine

I don't always bring all of these items, but usually most of it is there. My friends are not always so vegan-friendly. I always bring enough to share and I try to pack things that won't scare off the meatatarians.

Because it is Canada Day, I thought I would try to pack some red and white foods to theme it a bit. Unfortunately I did not get to making the salad... I did pack a vinaigrette in case there is salad there. I made some delicious beet burgers that I adapted from Colour me Vegan, packed tomato, mango avocado and lime to make a salsa to go with it. Hazelnut fudge Coconut bliss and Canada Day Surprise Cookies! I adapted my lemon sugar cookies and there were some mistake that I think I recovered from to make a wonderful, light and fresh cookie.

Canada Day Surprise Cookies

• 1/4 margarine
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 chia egg (1tsp ground chia seeds and 2 Tbsp water, whisked)
• 1-2 Tbsp Milk (I didn't measure it)
• Zest of two limes
• 1 1/4 cup white flour
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder (could omit, I didn't mean to add this!)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350F. First beat the margarine and sugar together until fluffy. Add the lime juice the egg and the milk and mix again for 2 minutes. Combine the dry ingredients (Flours, zest, baking powder and soda, salt) in a separate bowl. Pour the dry into the wet and mix until it is well combined/

Take about a tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball and place on a baking sheet. using a fork, press down on the balls to form cookies. Top with raw coconut and some sugar (I used a red sugar to get into my theme). Bake for about 10 minutes and then let sit on the cookie sheet for 5 more and then transfer to a plate.

Pretty easy and they are pretty tasty. Originally I was not planning to add the baking powder (I thought it was the baking soda!) and I think it dried out the dough so I added the milk at the end. I think you could omit both of these ingredient and get a nice cookie from it, but the addition of these ingredients didn't wreck anything. In fact, I think it made the cookies a bit more cakey.

Why are these Canada day surprise cookies? Well, I think the finished product looks like a basic sugar cookie with red sugar on top, but when you bite into them, they have a yummy tropical surprise with the lime and the coconut. You cannot go wrong with that!

Try something new and make these into a ice cream sandwich: Get your favourite ice cream (I used coconut bliss, coconut flavour). Take two cookies and put a good sized scoop on top of the first cookie, top it with the second cookie, sugar side down to trap in that coconut and sugar topping. Serve. All I can say is... YUMMM!!