Tuesday, June 21, 2005

What is a Veggie Burger, Really?

Its that time of year when a person's palate craves things that fit on a bun. There's something mystical and uniquely summerish about a burger on a bun. We've been vegetarian so long its just understood that when we say burger, we mean veggie burger.

As you might imagine, veggie burgers for a family of six can become a pricey proposition. I stumbled onto a solution to this by accident, as I do with so many of my culinary achievements. One morning I was making a big breakfast and we were out of tofu. I wanted some type of veggie sausage to go along with the pancakes so I played around with some leftover beans and rice. The results were pretty good.

Since then I've discovered that almost anything can be made into a veggie burger as long as you include a binder (flaxseed meal and water along with a cup or so of uncooked oatmeal is my binder of choice.) Make sure any spices you add complement the spices in the original dish. A squirt of Bragg's Aminos goes a long way to improving flavor. Sometimes I puree the ingredients but more often I just mix them together with a heavy spoon. I cook mine on a cast iron griddle and viola!

Of course ketchup makes many culinary disasters edible, so its best to have some on hand, especially for the early experiments!

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