Veggie Burgers

During my week in the Berkshires to celebrate summer, we knew we had to do the most quintissential summer thing from our childhood: burgers, hot dogs, and fresh corn. However, just about half our crew was vegetarian, so instead my cousin and I combined our stable recipes for black bean veggie burgers to make something with a grill-able consistency. 

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1/2 red onion

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cumin

2 15oz cans black beans

1 cup rice (pre cooked)

1 cup corn (pre cooked)

1 cup bread crumbs

Flour as needed

Makes 5 veggie burgers. 

Dice the onion and the garlic in to small or medium chunks. In a small pan, sauté the garlic, onion, with olive oil. When oil is warm, add the nutmeg and cumin. Continue to heat with xonstant stirring until the the onion and garlic begin to brown. 

Rinse and drain the black beans. In a large bowl, combine the black beans, rice, corn, and onion mixture. Mash together with fork or by hand until it sticks together and forms balls.

Add bread crumbs and flour until the burgers reach the proper consistency. It should stick together without being too wet.

Form in to patties and coat with bread crumbs.

Cook through until warm. I used a grill, but it's much easier to put it in a skillet on the stove. I put cheese on my burger and ate it with ketchup, but I've always had very plain tastes when it comes to burgers. It's a pretty mild burger, so you could easily add any condiment you'd want.

Happy summer! And so long to the heat wave. 

Zucchini Pasta

I'm spending the week in the Berkshires with 4 of my cousins to celebrate our mutual graduations. Today was our first day together and we got back from the lake right at dinner time, so I wanted to throw something together quickly, that didn't use too many dishes, and let us take advantage of all the great farmer's market veggies that are finally ready to go.

Zucchini Pasta
3 large zucchinis (I used 2 green and 1 yellow)
2-3 cloves garlic
Thyme
Oregano
Red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Pasta (any sort should work fine)

Serves 5

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Mince the garlic and add to the olive oil. Saute until the garlic begins to brown.

Rinse and chop the zucchinis into thin slices. Add to the skillet. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Saute until the zucchini begins to soften. Add more spices to taste.

At the same time, boil a pot of water and cook the pasta until very al dente. Drain, saving one cup of pasta water. Pour the water and pasta into the skillet and let simmer until pasta is cooked and the water has boiled down.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot. Add cheese (I used parmesan) if desired. I thought it added something and dulled the spice a bit.

We had a salad on the side with mint from the garden and tomatoes from the farmers market and it was the perfect way to start off our week together.