Vegetarian Burger

Tomorrow I am off with my family for 2 weeks to a cottage on Lake Huron at the base of the Bruce Peninsula. I have been going there in summer, quiet literally, since I was a fetus. It may be the most beautiful place in Canada. I have been to the Rockies, the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and everywhere in between, and I have never seen anything like it.

We will be staying with my father who has been a vegetarian for over 30 years. So I thought it was time to crack open the old Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook and get my carnivore brain thinking about yummy alternatives. I tried the Mushroom pecan burger recipe although I used almonds instead of pecans, and I passed the lot through my Kitchen aid robot (food processor), so that no mushrooms would be visible to the naked eye as my kids are not fond of mystery chunks and neither likes mushrooms. What I got was a very tasty vegetarian burger.

Mushroom pecan burgers
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tbsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp dried thyme
4 cups chopped cremini or other mushrooms
1/3 cup toasted pecans
2 tsp soya sauce
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 cup cooked brown rice
3/4 cup rolled oats
1tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 tbsp miso
1 cake firm tofu, pressed 16 oz
salt and black pepper to taste

• Pre-heat the oven to 350. Generously oil baking sheet.
• In a medium skillet, saute the onions in the oil. Cook on medium heat until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the herbs and mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are tender, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Spoon the mushroom mixture into a bowl. Add the pecans, soy sauce, bread crumbs, rice, oats, dill and miso. Mix in the tofu mashing it with your hands or a potato masher. Add salt and pepper and mix well.
• Shape the mixture into six round patties and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Serve on toast or in a bun.

I was able to make 9 medium patties. I blended all the ingredients in my food processor as I mentioned and this may have made it easier to grill the burgers without having them fall apart. I grilled them in a grill pan and then finished them off in the oven (about 15 minutes).

I served the burgers with brown rice salad and green beans and froze 4 patties to bring with us so that my dad can enjoy a BBQ with out getting stuck with 3 kinds of salad.

While making the brown rice for the burgers I made extra to use in a cold salad.

Quick Brown rice salad:
Cooked brown rice, cucumber, onion & tomato diced, squeeze of lemon, olive oil, finely chopped garlic & salt and pepper. I really wanted to put some fresh dill in but my kids do not like green bits...sigh.

The littlest carnivore approves the veggie burger

On another note I hope to find some Edamame (soybeans) at the grocery store where we are visiting because I love them and just recently read that they are considered very high quality protein which means that soybeans contain:

...the nine essential amino acids the body needs to build the proteins that help maintain muscle, bone and organs. Unlike most amino acids, these nine can't be generated by our bodies, so they have to come from food.

David L. Katz, MD July 2009 The Oprah Magazine

I would like to find some interesting ways to incorporate them into meals. And I think my dad would appreciate a higher quality source of protein considering he rarely eats eggs or dairy products either.

Below is a salad from Eating well that is a nutritional powerhouse:

Warm Quinoa salad with Edamame & Tarragon

I will not be able to post while I am away but when I am back I will be preparing and revealing the Daring Baker challenge. It will be my first and I am excited! Until June 25Th!