Big Bertha and a mean curry

About a week ago, I stumbled onto the Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP) website, which contains a whole slew of vegan recipes created and compiled by Seventh-Day Adventists.  Almost all of the recipes look really yummy, and the two I've made so far did not disappoint.  Tonight, we had "Big Bertha Burgers" (I think oat-pecan burgers sounds much nicer), along with roasted purple potatoes (a-MAZ-ing!) and sliced pineapple.  I should have taken a picture, but since I had to be three places at once, I didn't take any.  If you really want a picture, there are a few here.  Picture or no, they're worth the effort.  I thought they were the best "veggie burger" I've ever had, and E told me never to buy store-bought ones again.  ;o)

The other recipe we tried and loved was the black bean curry (recipe below the burger recipe).  It's rare that we find a dish that ALL of us like, but everyone loved this one.  (I substituted spinach for the kale and diced sweet potatoes for the carrots.)  I served it with a red lentil dahl, brown basmati rice, and fruit salad.  Normally we would have had naan with this meal, but since the grocery store versions have ghee, I will have to learn to make naan myself.  There's a recipe in The Joy of Vegan Baking that I'm planning to try.  For desert we had L2's birthday s'mores cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.   Recipe is reproduced here. 

Big Bertha Burger

• 4 cups water 
• 1⁄2 cup Braggs Aminos (or low low-sodium soy sauce) 
• 1⁄4 cup nutritional yeast flakes 
• 2 Tbsp canola oil 
• 1 Tbsp flaxseed meal 
• 1 Tbsp dried sweet basil 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 large onion, finely chopped 
• 1 tsp ground coriander 
• 1 tsp dried sage 
• 1 cup chopped cashews, walnuts or pecans 
• 4 cups rolled oats

Place a 3-quart pan on burner over medium heat and add the ingredients in the order given above, except for the rolled oats.

Bring the water to a slow boil, quickly stir in the rolled oats and immediately remove from heat. Cover and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 375°. Form oat mixture into three-inch round patties and place on oiled baking sheets.
Bake for 25 minutes on each side. Serve with whole-wheat buns, soy mayonnaise, lettuce and slices of onions, tomato and pickles.

Black Bean and Coconut Curry

• 1 med. onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
• 1 carrot sliced 1⁄3-1⁄2” pieces (I subbed three diced sweet potatoes which made plenty for all of us)
• 1⁄2 c. water
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 1 head of kale, cored & chopped (I subbed spinach)
• 1 can black beans, rinse & drain
• 1 t. salt
• 2 t. curry powder or
• 1 14-oz. can coconut milk
• 1-2 t. cornstarch (depends on how thick milk is)
• 1⁄3 c. raisins, golden are nice (I omitted.  Gross.)
• 1 T. lemon juice

Steam the first five ingredients in a covered skillet for five minutes.

Add zucchini, kale, black beans, salt and curry powder and simmer for three minutes, adding additional water if necessary.

Whisk cornstarch in a couple of tablespoons of the coconut milk, and then combine with remaining ingredients.  Add raisins and lemon juice to skillet and cook until just thickened.

Serve over brown basmati rice.