Curried Quinoa Veggie Burgers

I plucked a recipe for sweet potato black bean burgers from Big Girls Small Kitchen. I was excited to try this one since I love veggie burgers. A couple vegan recipes I've tried from their website have all worked out great, but this one was a disaster. The mixture was extremely mushy and did not hold together at all. I thought I was going to have to scrap the whole thing. Since I was home alone with my rambunctious toddler, making a whole other meal was out of the question. Thankfully I was able to doctor the original recipe up a bit, and by "a bit" I mean A LOT. After I made this I read the reviews (which I should have done first) and I saw that I'm not the only one to have mushy burgers, so I know it wasn't just me.

I made quinoa for a side dish, but decided to add it to the veggie burger mix, along with a 1/4 cup of flour to thicken it up. The taste was a little bland also. I skipped the coriander since I didn't have any, and added curry powder in its place, which also abated my craving for Indian food. This seemed to do the trick. The mixture was still mushy, but it did form together into loose patties. They held together well once they hit the frying pan, but not so much when they were on the bun. It was more like eating a sloppy joe, and I needed a fork.

I used the leftover mixture to make burgers the next day for lunch. They held together much better since the mixture was cold. Next time I make these I'll chill the mixture in the fridge before making into patties. If you decide to make them I would suggest adding more spices. I made them on the mild tasting side since I don't think that Logan would appreciate the kick of curry powder like I do.

Curried Quinoa Veggie Burgers

Makes 6 small burgers

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 Tbsp. safflower oil (olive oil would work too)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 cup black beans
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. whole wheat flour

1. Simmer the quinoa and water in a pot until cooked. About 10 minutes.
2. Boil the potato cubes in a pot of water until soft. About 10 minutes.
3. Saute the onions and oil in a skillet until the onions begin to soften.
4. Add the spices and beans to the onions, and cook for a few more minutes.
5. In a blender, combine the potatoes and quinoa.
6. Add 2/3 of the bean mixture and blend until just combined.
7. Transfer to a bowl and add the rest of the bean mixture.
8. Chill in the fridge for one hour.
9. Form mixture into patties and fry in the skillet used for the bean mixture. 
10. Enjoy between home made buns and serve with home made ketchup.

Sweet Potato Fries with Home Made Ketchup

As of yesterday, Andrew and I challenged ourselves to 2 weeks of no grocery shopping. Our fridge, freezer and food pantry are filled with... well we don't know exactly what's in there. This is our time to get creative and use what would normally have gone to waste. It's like a detox for our cabinets. The exception to this hiatus is fresh produce, which we buy on an as needed basis.

I'm not sure how or why we accumulated so many sweet potatoes, but I decided to use them for lunch today. Tired of the same old baked potato, I got to work on sweet potato fries. Then I realized we didn't have ketchup. Andrew is a ketchup fiend, and fries without ketchup is like cookies without milk to him. Using the allrecipes.com app on my iPhone, I searched ketchup recipes. I couldn't find one that I had all the ingredients for, so after gathering an idea of what's supposed to be in ketchup, I put together my own. Wow. I'm normally not a fan of the viscous red condiment that's full of high fructose corn syrup and artificial dyes, but this was amazing! It had a smooth texture and a spiced, almost smokey taste. I didn't have molasses, so I used organic brown rice syrup from Whole Foods. To compensate for the lack of sweetness I added a little extra brown sugar. The only thing Andrew (the ketchup expert, apparently) had to say about it was that it was too sweet. So next time I'll cut back on the brown sugar. Sorry Heinz, but I'm never going back to store bought again!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Serves 4 as a side

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into strips
• 3 Tbsp. safflower oil
• 2 tsp. paprika

1. Preheat oven to 400º.
2. Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until fries are crispy.
4. Serve warm.

Home Made Ketchup

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar
• 5 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. brown rice syrup
• 1 Tbsp. safflower oil
• A pinch each of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground black pepper
• 3/4 cups of water

1. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan.
2. Simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes, until you reach the consistency of ketchup.

Logan's a fan!