Chipotle Black Bean Burger

This recipe has gotten pushed back several times, and so I decided today it was finally time to explore the vegan realm of burgers.

Chipotle Black Bean Burger

Unfortunately, this one didn't quite turn out so well. This was a little bit of a pain to make simply because there were a lot of odd ingredients and the beans had to be mashed and whatnot. Once I added the oatmeal and panko to the wet black bean mash, the dough had to set for a few minutes.

Black bean and bread crumb "dough".

After that I formed the dough into patties and dropped them in a hot pan to brown on both sides. The first burger immediately burnt and then I accidentally dropped it on the floor. No good. I was much more careful with the second burger, and it seemed to be perfectly seared. It even smelled amazing!

Frying the burger was harder than I thought it would be--it burnt quickly.
This is the second one I made; you can tell because it's not completely black.

The taste really wasn't too bad, but the texture was completely off. The outside was good, but the center was mush, kind of like the consistency of raw hamburger meat. I ate most of it, but only because I was hungry. I was thinking that maybe a sliced tomato on top would make it a little more palatable, but I found my tomato to be frozen completely solid in the back of the fridge. So much for that.

One thing that did turn out pretty good earlier today however was the roasted sweet potato with breakfast.

Roast Sweet Potato

Salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of Pam spray is all these babies needed. Well, that and maple syrup for dipping, of course. I'm thinking I'll have to do some savory garlic and herb ones next time for dinner or a snack. Yum!

Gallo Pinto

This is breakfast for day two of the 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart. The main part of my meal is called Gallo Pinto ("Painted Rooster"), also known as Costa Rican Rice and Beans!

Costa Rican Rice and Beans, Pineapple, and Pumpernickel Toast with Apple Butter

You might notice that the meal plan today called for mango in the pineapple salad and orange jam on the toast. I couldn't find any orange flavored jam at the store, so I got this organic vegan applebutter (just apples and apple juice), which tasted wonderful. I have never had pumpernickel bread either, and it was quite good. While I was making breakfast I was thinking that if I hurried I might be able to make it to class, so I skipped the mango. Well, I didn't make it to class, and decided just to eat the pineapple by itself anyways. Argh.

The gallo pinto is completely out of my comfort zone. I have never eaten a plate of rice in beans in my whole life, and that includes dining in Latin restaurants. I guess it just seems like a cheap dish to eat when you need sustenance, and not something yummy to cook and eat because it sounds good. Also, the recipe said to put hot sauce on it, which was equally out of my comfort zone. I don't do hot sauce.

Onions, red bell pepper, garlic, salt, water, and rice simmering together. Just stir in black beans when the rice is done.

Well, it looked pretty good. It smelled really good while it was cooking. My skepticism was slowly slipping away...

Gallo Pinto

It turns out that it was actually quite tasty! After a few bites I felt like I was missing something, and then I remembered the hot sauce. This was against my better judgement as well, but I went ahead and put a few drops on to start. Suffice to say, I ended up using a lot more hot sauce. It was really, really good. Who knew!

Texas Pete is the only hot sauce that I know and like. Any others I should be trying?

As weird as this was to me, I can actually see this as a staple--for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Day 1

Blacksburg has a lovely farmers' market Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings, and I fortunate enough to be able to go this morning and start my shopping for the week. I've got to go to Krogers still to get my dry ingredients and a few out-of-season fruits that were on the meal plan. I'm not quite sure how this is going to work out financially yet, but I'll keep you posted about that as well.

I spent $33 at the market this morning (minus the two dollars in the tip jar of a wonderfully talented guitarist) and walked away with a bunch of herbs, several onions, some rather pricey garlic, a watermelon, and bunch of other green produce. Oh, and a 40 ounce $8 package of organic, home-made sundried tomatoes. These should last a while, and I would consider them more of a treat to use in special recipes.

Here is tomorrow's menu:


Breakfast
Mango Lime Pancakes with maple syrup (recipe)
Fresh Strawberries

Lunch
Blue Corn Chip Salad (recipe)
Sliced watermelon drizzled with lime juice

Dinner
Fettuccine with Grilled Asparagus, Peas, and Lemon (recipe)
Caldo Verde (recipe)
Pears in Balsamic Glaze (recipe)


I am buying for meals throughout Wednesday, and the cool thing is that since I am cooking small portions I can use half of an ingredient I buy for a recipe later in the week. I wish the book would have provided a shopping list as well, but it isn't a big deal to figure it out on my own. Except for the beans... Every single day I think I am eating beans, which isn't bad--I'm just not used to it. In four days I am scheduled to eat 72 ounces of beans, which is roughly half a gallon or two pounds of cooked beans. Holy crap!

I am going to prep a little tonight and a lot tomorrow in order to get things started for the week. Get ready for lots and lots of photos.