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meatless monday

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Black-Bean-Beet Burger

I love black bean burgers (especially Adair Kitchen’s), and I love beet burgers (especially Tiny Boxwood’s). So the other day, I began to search the internet for the perfect black bean and beet burger. I found a number of recipes, but this one stuck out. I tried it. The burgers are heavenly. I made one swap – I replaced the rice for barley, and oat flour for quinoa flour. They still taste amazing. While I’m a full time vegetarian, Sasha only observes Meatless Mondays, so 3 black-bean-beet-burgers are packed in his lunchbox today. Pair them with whole wheat buns (for him), or bunless (for me), with a grilled veggie salad, and you’ve got the perfect meal.

Etsy_VeggieBurger_ingredients (1)

Patties (makes 6):
8 ounces beets, steamed or roasted and peeled*
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, washed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, washed and drained
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup rolled oat flour**
1/2 red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sumac
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
Salt
Pepper

Etsy_VeggieBurger_raw

Pulse beets in a food processor until roughly chopped. Add beets to a large bowl, along with the garbanzo beans, black beans, brown rice, oat flour, red onion, garlic, sumac, thyme leaves, ground cumin and ground coriander. Mash with two forks until all the beans are incorporated. Salt and pepper to taste. (I added about one teaspoon of kosher salt and half of a teaspoon of pepper.)

Using a half cup measure, form six patties. Cover them with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. (Since we aren’t using egg to bind the mix, this step helps the patties hold together.) Melt butter or olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Toast the hamburger buns for 1-2 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add more butter or olive oil if needed. Add the patties and cook on both sides for 3-4 minutes and until the tops are lightly golden brown. Optional: Place slices of cheese on top of each burger and cook for 1 minute longer, until cheese is melted.

Etsy_VeggieBurger_header

Houston Food + Drink Awards

Alison Cook just published her Top 100 Restaurants of 2013, and I was inspired to post my own “awards” of such. I came up with my own categories and picked winners (listed below). I’ve still got a few places that I’m dying to go to in the city, but these are my favorites to date. We are so blessed in this amazing foodie city (speaking of, read this article).

relish1

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Best Happy Hour: Anvil

Best Mimosas: Backstreet Cafe

Best Ladies-Who-Lunch: Tiny Boxwood

Best Girls Night: Canopy

Best Guys Night: Beavers

Best Lunch-to-Go: Relish (salad pictured above) and Zoe’s Kitchen

Best Dinner Atmosphere: Sparrow and Underbelly

Best Intimate (and Hipster) Vibe: Roost

Best Healthy Options: Harvest Grille

Best “Skinny” Cocktails: Cyclone Anaya’s

Best Sunday Brunch: Buffalo Grille and Rainbow Lodge

Best Farm-to-Market: Haven

Best Views: The Grove Rooftop and Brenner’s on the Bayou

Best Porch Area: Cedar Creek

Best BYOB: Jonathan’s The Rub and La Vista

Best Romantic Date Night: Mockingbird Bistro or Glass Wall

Best Asian: Uchi

Best Indian: Indika and Pondicheri

Best Italian: Coppa, Dolce Vita, and Giacomo’s

Best American: Benjy’s

Best Mexican: El Tiempo

Best Mediterranean: Island Grill

Best Middle Eastern: Maryz

Best French: Phillipe

Best Southern Cooking: Lucille’s

Best Bar Food: The Tasting Room

Best Bar(s): Anvil, Bar Boheme and Mongoose vs. Cobra

Best Coffee: Antidote and Catalina

Best Frozen Yogurt: Pinkberry

Best Vegetarian Options: Baba Yega and Field of Greens

Best Tofu Dish: Ruggles Green

Best Quinoa Dish: Latin Bites and Relish

Best Falafel: Brasil and Barnabys

Best Veggie Burger: Adair Kitchen

Best Brussels Sprouts: Benjy’s and Uchi

Notable missing from the list (and high on my list of places to go): Oxheart, Triniti, Revival Market, Radical Eats, RDG, Ouisie’s Table, Da Marco, Hugo’s, and Irma’s. Anyone up for dinner?

Bon appetit!