Quinoa Black Bean Burgers

As much as I love cooking, I sometimes fall down a rabbit hole and arrive in The Land of No Ideas.  I don't really like it there.  It's cold, uncomfortable, and I spend waaayy too much time trying to come up with new dinner ideas.  As much as I enjoy experimenting, I fall into cooking patterns just as much as anyone else.  And you can only make (and eat) a frittata so many times before you never want to see another egg in your life.  So when I stumbled across a bag of tri-colored quinoa, I couldn't resist buying it.  I don't use quinoa very often, so it seemed like it would be fun to work with a different grain.  One of the suggestions on the back of the bag was to make veggie burgers, which just intriguing enough.

If you've ever tried to make (or eat) a veggie burger, then you know that there are TONS of different ones out there.  Vegetable, soy, rice, millet, egg, grain, bean, mushroom... The list goes on and on.  Having eaten veggie burgers my whole life, I can guarantee that they have improved in flavor over the last couple of decades.  When I was a kid, they were pretty awful, but now?  Now, most of them are quite delicious (although there is always room for improvement).

And as easy as it is to just buy a package of frozen burgers and cook them, there is a certain appeal in making your own because there is so much more versatility.  You can add (or eliminate) any ingredient you want.  So I encourage to to go ahead and try these out.  They are simple to make and they are begging to be adapted.  You could use different vegetables, add spices, or throw some curry powder in the mix.  Whatever you decide to throw in, I'm sure it will taste fabulous.  The only thing is, you'll have to invite me to dinner.
 

Quinoa Black Bean Burgers
Serves 6-8

Note: while veggie burgers seem inherently simple, there is something incredibly difficult about making them.  They often crumble and fall apart, making the cooking rather perilous.  Upon experimenting, I have found that many cook better if you add a little water to the pan, cover, and allow them to steam for a couple of minutes before browning/frying them.  It allows the burgers cook through and become more stable before the browning.

Olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 kale leaves, sliced thin
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn
3 cups cooked quinoa
1 can black beans, drained
1/4 to 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cups dried bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a skillet and saute peppers and onions 3-5 minutes.  Add garlic, corn, and sliced kale and continue to cook until soft, 2-3 minutes more.  Remove from heat and combine in a food processor with the black beans, and puree until fine.  In a large bowl, mix black bean mixture, quinoa, beaten egg, cheese, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper.

To cook patties, form and let chill in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.  [Also, see note above] In the meantime, heat skilled with oil and fry patties until browned, 3-4 minutes on each side.  Serve on a bun with your favorite toppings.

Almond Tuiles

When I was a little girl, my mom and I would walk down to a local French bakery.  It was always a fun trip, where I would look wonderingly at the breads, cookies, and tarts.  They always looked so perfect, so deliberate.  The beautiful curls of chocolate, the delicately displayed fruit, and the perfectly curved almond tuiles.  We would walk home with a beautiful little pink box full of delightful goodies, and them share them over a cup of tea and juice (in a teacup, of course).

This has always been a wonderful memory, but it had been years since I tried an almond tuile.  So when I stumbled across this recipe, I was excited to see if it would live up to my expectations.  And I have to say, these were surprisingly delicious!  Even better - they are incredibly easy.

Considering how pretentious and almond tuile looks, you would expect there to be a corresponding degree of difficulty in the execution of said cookie.  But no.  These are incredibly simple (as in: one bowl, one whisk, a few ingredients. Done).  The batter is just a tiny bit awkward, but if you have a little faith and push through, it is surprisingly forgiving, resulting in consistently beautiful cookies.     

And you are welcome to leave them flat.  I just can't resist the traditional, curved, tile-shaped cookie.  After all, foods always taste better when in funny shapes.  Everyone knows that.  Look at all the different shapes of pasta, for goodness sake.  So curve away.  You don't really need any special equipment.  Just a rolling pin.  And who doesn't have a rolling pin?

Almond Tuiles

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking

1/2 cup cake flour

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

2 large egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly

1/2 cup sliced (flaked) almonds

Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.  

In a large bowl, whisk together flour and confectioners' sugar.  Add egg whites, vanilla, and almond extract, and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Whisk in melted butter until blended and batter is smooth and shiny.

Using a scant tablespoon of batter for each cookie, form six 3-4 inch rounds on a prepared baking sheet, spreading them with a narrow, thin offset metal spatula and spacing them about three inches apart.  The batter will look translucent and the parchment will show through in some places.  Scatter the cookies with slivered almonds.  Bake cookies until they have a border that is evenly brown, but the center remains light, 6-8 minutes.  

Remove cookies from the oven, and with the help of a thin metal spatula, immediately lift warm cookies from the baking sheet and rest on a rolling pin or wine bottle, making sure they do not touch.  

When cookies are firm and slightly cooled, remove from rolling pin and allow to cool completely on a baking rack.  Repeat with remaining batter.  Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two days.  

Makes 18-24 cookies

Blueberry Muffins

I have a personal gripe with most muffin recipes.  By design, muffins are supposed to be an easy quick bread.  They are often referred to as the "1-bowl" recipe.  And yet, so many muffin recipes require a stand mixer of all things.  Whenever a muffin recipe has directions that begin with "cream the butter..." or "combine the wet ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer..." I tend to look the other way.  It's not that those recipes aren't any good, it's the fact that muffins are supposed to be a quick, simple, throw together food that makes a great grab-and-go breakfast, not a delicate sit-down cake.  Unfortunately, the "muffins" you find in coffee shops these days are - more often than not - heavy, overly sweet confections better found in a cheap bakery.  Not that I'm complaining, or anything.

So when a dear friend of mine gave me a container of blueberries the other day (because she had bought too many...darn!), I was immediately drawn to whipping up a batch of muffins.  The problem is, I just didn't want a complicated, heavy, or overly sweet recipe.  I wanted something light and delicate without being, well, cakey.  And I wanted it to be simple.  One, two bowls, tops.  And I wanted to mix it with a spoon.  Not that I don't love my Kitchen-Aid, because I do, I just wanted to giver her a rest...she works very hard as it is.

So there I went on a quest for simple, hand-stirred blueberry muffins.  You would be surprised at how many recipes I read through before finding one that held promise.  You won't be surprised that the promising recipe came from America's Test Kitchen.  Goodness, I love those guys.  I wasn't a fan of the high fat content in their muffin (much as I'm sure it would taste delicious!), but I was sincerely intrigued by their mixing method (all by hand, of course).  And oh, they were wonderful.  So of course, the next time you have blueberries...or raspberries (yum!) be sure to check these out.

Blueberry Muffins
Adapted from Baking Illustrated

Note: the original recipe claims to get 12 muffins, but I got 18 with regular-sized muffin tins filled 3/4 of the way with batter.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 350 degrees F.  Grease a standard muffin tin or fill with muffin paper liners.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.  Whisk the egg in a medium bowl until well-combined and light colored, about 20 seconds.  Add sugar to egg mixture and whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add melted butter in three additions, whisking to combine after each addition.  Add yogurt in two additions, whisking just to combine.  Add dry ingredients and fold in with a spatula.  Do not over-mix.  Add berries all at once, and fold into final mixture until evenly distributed.

Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way with batter.  Bake until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.  Let muffins cool on wire rack before eating.  Muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature, however, they taste the best on the first day.