Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers

June 21, 2012June 21, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 6 Comments

I spent most of this morning looking up new recipes I could whip up with the ingredients I have on hand. I was lucky to come across Meg’s recipe for these tasty burgers. I didn’t want to use quinoa, so instead I doubled the oats portion. I also added unsweetened cocoa powder to make these taste a little bit more like my vegetarian chili. I went ahead and rolled them in Panko to help them develop a crisp exterior. And oops! I forgot the sunflower seeds, but these burgers turned out pretty tasty.

Sweet Potato Burger

Black Beans

Uncooked Veggie Burger Patties

I somehow had these prepped and cooked within minutes of my husband coming home for lunch. I love the illuminated look on his face when he comes home, sniffs the air, and asks “what’s cooking?!” Pure joy.

His veggie burger was served up on artisan bread with iceberg lettuce, 1/4 of an avocado, red onion and provolone. Mine was served in a wheat tortilla, with Dijon mustard, 1/4 of an avocado and arugula. I also threw on some chopped onions on top. It was delicious.

Here’s the recipe, via Meg at Peaches & Cake:

3 cups of sweet potatoes, peeled and mashed
1 1/2 cups of black beans, rinsed (I cook a big batch of these almost every week, but feel free to use canned)
1/2 cup yellow onion
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 1/2 cups of Panko to roll the patties in
2/3 cup rolled oats, chopped finely in a food processor
4-5 tablespoons of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
3 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
cracked sea salt to taste
cracked pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°F
Line cookie sheet with parchment paper
Baked sweet potatoes can take up to 1 hour to bake at 400°, feel free to microwave them instead for about 7 minutes. Not ideal, but it works if you’re pinched for time like I was.
Place half the bean mixture in the food processor and chop until they have a mashed consistency
Add all ingredients into large mixing bowl and stir well until they are well mixed
Form into patties about 1/2″ thick, or thinner for more crisp burgers
With your Panko poured into a shallow bowl, lay your patties on the Panko, one at a time. Flip over to make sure both sides are evenly coated with Panko crumbs.
Bake for 15 minutes, flip burgers then bake for 15 more minutes.

With nearly all veggie burgers, it’s fairly easy to tweak the ingredients list to create a delicious meal. If you have a winning combo of seasonings, try it! If you prefer a spicier burger, add jalapeños! The possibilities are endless. We’re having this for dinner tonight, alongside my favorite green bean salad. Can’t wait!

Chambers Bay

June 16, 2012December 9, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 6 Comments

The weather this weekend has been heavenly! We’re looking at sunny skies and 70°F weather until next week. On days like this, there is no better place in the metro to be than Chambers Bay in University Place. There’s plenty of room at this park to lay out and soak up some rays, fly a kite, or take a long run.

Or if you’re like me, you’re out snapping pictures of the Olympic mountains and bird’s nests with your underused tele lens. And when you’re out doing that, a group of teenage girls call you ‘ma’am’ and ask you to take their photo (with three different cameras) while they sit on a log. No worries, happy to oblige, just don’t call me ma’am, please!

This brings me to my next topic: when does a ‘miss’ become a ‘ma’am’? When she gets married (which I am), when she looks to be about 30 years of age (which I speculate I do), or otherwise? I have no idea, but somehow my honest face automatically contorts into a stink-eye scowl when I’m referred to as ma’am. Maybe I need a lesson on embracing the aging process, because it’s a long journey and I’m really just starting out.

Until I’ve come to terms with the inevitability of teenagers getting younger as I get older, I’ll just continue bird watching on Puget Sound while sucking on lemon drops and listening to This American Life podcasts.

California Sojourn

May 29, 2012June 21, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 9 Comments

It’s been three years since I’ve been to my home state of California. I spent the first seventeen years of my life there, leaving only for Oklahoma where I went to University. Oklahoma was good to me for nearly a decade, but I’m glad that my husband whisked me away to good ole Washington State. We live much closer to my family in California than before, but after nearly 28 hours in the car this weekend, I realize it’s not quite as close as I imagined.

Yango and Iggy, our dogs, had a really cozy pallet in the rear of our Subaru Forester where they napped during our scenic drive through Oregon. We stayed overnight in Oregon twice during the drive to crop the driving sessions shorter.

We didn’t make it all the way down to my hometown of Bakersfield; instead we kicked around Northern California with my brother, mother and nephew as tour guides. It was our first time being to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, CA. Part Marine World, part theme park, the amusement park hosts tourists with animal shows and roller coasters. The dolphin show was one of my favorites, mainly because they caught some sick air. See what I mean?

We also got to check out a few small aquarium-like exhibits and a Tiger show. My nephew seemed to enjoy the animal activities.

On our second day of the California sojourn, we kicked around San Francisco. Every time we visit the city, we like to check out new areas. This time around, we did a lot of drive-by sight seeing (good shutter-speed practice on the ole canon) and hiked around the Sutro Baths.

I’d never heard of the Sutro Baths until my older brother Justin suggested the visit. We hiked around the site, trying to imagine what the original structure looked like. It opened in 1896 as the world’s largest indoor swimming pool establishment (thanks, Wiki!). Now a National Park, the land yields a small cave corridor, old stone structures and various hill shelves where large mason walls one stood.

They even filmed a small portion of Harold and Maude on the site! Remember where Maude protests the war, and ‘falls’ down the cliffside after a scuffle with Harold (or something to that effect)? Yep! It was here. I love stuff like that.

No trip to San Fransciso is complete without a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge. Our journey across the bridge just so happened to coincide with it’s 75th Anniversary. That day, 75 years ago, the Golden Gate Bridge opened to the public. Presidio was nearly shut down for related events, so we didn’t get to check out the park area, but the bridge isn’t going anywhere.

We were sad to say goodbye, but no vacations are endless. We can’t wait to further explore the Bay Area in the future. Until then, we’re contented to kick around our local Puget Sound.

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend!

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P.S. As a new military wife, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a big thank you to all the men and women who have served our country. Many thanks!