Black Bean Burgers - Best firm texture and delish vegan burger

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burgers

 I was all set to make my "Black Bean Sun Burgers" at the request of my husband. As usual I didn't have all the ingredients in the house. So I took out all the the food I did have and made a new version of my burgers.  Wow, I love being inprompu, it's the mother of invention. We just loved the combo of the black beans and the sweet potato. Unlike other veggie burgers that a mushy, these are firm and they really stay together. A true vegan delight.  

Ingredients:                                                                        Serves 12 burgers

1 cup ground flax seeds (more if needed)

¼ cup filtered or distilled water
1 large carrot

1 med sweet potato

2 cups of cooked black beans or 1 cans organic black beans
1 cup ground sunflower seeds

2 tsp. salt or Braggs seasoning (to taste)

¼ cup of grape seed oil
1 T. ground cumin
1 T. curry (to taste)
1 clove garlic or to taste

Directions:

1.       In a coffee grinder, grind the flax seeds then place in a large mixing bowl
2.       Also in the coffee grinder, grind the sunflower seeds, and then place into the mixing bowl. Then mix together

4.       In a food processor using the grating tool or hand grate the sweet potato and carrot. Place all into the bowl and then mix together.

5.       Then the black beans, place into the bowl, then mix together with the balance of ingredients.

6.       Add water slowly till all the mixture sticks together. Really kneed the mixture with your hands. (Hint: if the mixture does not stick together add more ground flax seed)

8.      Form into 12 ½ inch thick patties and place rack inside a cookie sheet.
9.       Bake at 400F on one side till starting to brown, brushing with oil before you put into the oven.
10.    When the burgers start to brown, flip over using a flipper and a spoon.
11.    Bake till burgers are brown and heated through.

Enjoy these wonderful high protein and high fiber and delicious burgers

Serving suggestions: serve on multi grain bun with all the fixings for burgers or on a plate with a salad and grilled veggies.

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Save money and heal your self. With this easy to make old world recipe!

Sparkling Vegetables or Sauerkraut

Beyond easy to make, extremely valuable for healing your gut and it’s cheap. More strains of probiotic than the 50.00 per month probiotic you are getting from the health food store. Reason enough, right.

Fermenting. How does it work?  The process is called lacto-fermentation. On the surface of the cabbage there is beneficial bacteria present.  Lactobacillus is one of the many bacteria’s found, it’s also present in yogurt as well as many other fermented food products. For the food safety questions: When the cabbage is submerged in brine the bacteria begins to convert the sugars to lactic acid, a natural preservative inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria.

Ingredients
1 medium head green or red cabbage
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher/sea/Celtic/Himalayan salt (your choice)
1 tablespoons caraway seeds (optional, for flavor)

Equipment
Cutting board
Chef's knife
Mixing bowl
1 liter wide mouth canning jar with canning lid
small bowl that the Mason jar will sit into.

Instructions

1.     Make sure your Mason jar and lid are washed and rinsed of all soap residue. Make sure your hands are really clean. You'll be using your hands to massage the salt into the cabbage.

2.     Discard any limp outer leaves of the cabbage. Keep the first good leaf by pealing it off and placing it aside. Trim out the core and cut into quarters. Slice each quarter down its length, making 8 wedges. Slice each wedge crosswise into thin ribbons.

3.     Transfer the cut cabbage to a big mixing bowl and sprinkle the salt over top. Begin working the salt into the cabbage by massaging and squeezing the cabbage with your hands. At first, it may not seem like enough salt, but gradually; the cabbage will become watery and limp. This will take 5 to 10 minutes. Let your cabbage sit for an hour covered. Then massage again. If you'd like to flavor your sauerkraut with caraway seeds, mix them in now.

4.     Put your Mason jar next to the bowl with the cabbage in it. Put handfuls of the cabbage into the Mason jar and pack it down tight. If you have a canning funnel, this will make the job easier. Pour any liquid released by the cabbage while you were massaging it into the jar. The cabbage should be covered with liquid.
Get the outer leaf that you put aside and fold it till it fits into the mouth of the jar. Place over the surface of the sliced cabbage. This will help keep the cabbage submerged in its liquid.

5.     Cover the mouth of the mason jar with Mason jar lid. Keep a little loose as the fermentation process may kick some of the liquid out of the jar.

6.     If after 24 hours, the liquid has not risen above the cabbage, dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of water and add enough to submerge the cabbage.

7.     Ferment the cabbage for 3 to 10 days: As it's fermenting, keep the sauerkraut away from direct sunlight and at a cool room temperature — ideally 65°F to 75°F. Check it daily and press it down if the cabbage is floating above the liquid.

8.     Now that you have made your first jar of sparkling vegetables, start planning to go crazy by adding carrots, ginger, garlic, sea vegetables. The sky is the limit, have fun.

Because this is a small batch of sauerkraut, it will ferment more quickly than larger batches. Start tasting it after 3 days — when the sauerkraut tastes good to you.  Screw on the lid and refrigerate. There's no hard and fast rule for when the sauerkraut is "done" — go by how it tastes.

While it's fermenting, you may see bubbles coming through the cabbage, foam on the top, or white scum. These are all signs of a healthy, happy fermentation process. The scum can be skimmed off the top either during fermentation or before refrigerating. If you see any mold, skim it off immediately and make sure your cabbage is fully submerged; don't eat moldy parts close to the surface, but the rest of the sauerkraut is fine.

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Green Juice Feasting ... I'm feeling great!

Red Green Juice

I'm on a one week green juice cleanse ending on Thanks Giving. I can say this cleanse is a great freedom from preparing regular meals. I've been making my juice in the morning and bringing it with me in a 1L mason jar. I drink it through the day, have a salad for lunch and make another juice for dinner. I'm feeling great now that I'm on day 5 with two more days to go. I had some detox the second and third day and my clolonics have really helped to clear the toxins too.

Check out the sweet potato in this recipe, easy to find in the store and full of vitamins and minerals too.

Ingredients

6 large red Swiss Chard leaves (more if they are small

1 whole red pepper (seeds removed)

1 med size sweet potato

1 large apple

juice of one fresh lemon (squeezed by hand)

Directions

simply juice and combine

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Fall is here ... but the Black Bean Burgers are still around

Black Bean Sun Burgers
If you are Vegan or Vegetarian, the persuite of a good burger is a on going challenge.  This is my version of a yummy burger. I've served this burger to my meat eating friends and had resounding complements and requests for second helpings.

Serving 12 burgers 

Ingredients:

½ cup ground flax seeds
½ cup water
1 cup carrot pulp from juicer or ground carrots

3 cups of cooked black beans or 2 cans organic black beans
1 cup ground sunflower seeds
½ cup finely minced onion
2 T. finely minced red pepper
1 cup finely diced celery
2 tsp. salt or Braggs seasoning (to taste)
1 T. cumin
1 T. curry (to taste)
1 clove garlic or to taste

Directions:

1.       In a coffee grinder, grind the flax seeds then place in a large mixing bowl
2.       Also in the coffee grinder, grind the sunflower seeds, and then place into the mixing bowl. Then mix together

3.         Add to the bowl the juicing pulp and brake up the pulp into fine pieces

4.       In a food processor pulse the onion first and place into the bowl and then next the celery. Place all into the bowl and then mix together

5.       Then again in the food processor pulse the black beans till they are coarsely cut up, then place into the bowl, then mix together

6.       Add water slowly till all the mixture sticks together when cupped into your hands and pressed together. (Hint: if the mixture does not stick together add more ground flax seed)

7.       Balance water and ground flax seed so the mixture can be formed into a ball into your hands

8.       Form into six ½ inch thick patties and place on a oiled cookie sheet.
9.       Broil on one side till starting to brown, brush with olive oil and continue to brown.
10.     When the burgers are a little browner, flip over using a flipper and a spoon.
11.     Repeat process till burgers are brown and heated through.

Enjoy these wonderful high fiber and delicious burgers

Serving suggestions serve on multi grain bun with all the fixings for burgers or with a salad and grilled veggies. 

www.trustintheprocess.com