Odd and Easy part two

As you may recall a few months ago i posted an easy go to food for vegans, Asparagus Tofu. Well I come to you again with another easy vegan, go to food.
Rice and beans? Yes, that question mark is supposed to be there. This meal it just a little strange. Hannah came up with this one while she was moving from one place to another this summer, trying to use up some of the food on her shelves. What she had left was four items, rice pasta, pinto beans, ketchup and cumin. And so rice and beans? was born.
As a person who enjoys cooking or enjoys eating things that other people have cooked for you, you have run across the ratatouilles of the kitchen. This is one of them, a combination of items that are not normally found together finding harmony in a pot. I have to say, i was very suspicions of this when Hannah first brought it up to me. In fact I did not eat it until this last month when Hurricane Irene forced me out of my home and on the road with Hannah and having no other food to eat. I must say this combination of food really is a ratatouille. Delicious and filling.
So without further ado, Hannah's Rice and Beans?


Rice and Beans?
2 cups Tinkyada Rice pasta,
one can of pinto beans,
1 tbs cumin and
a couple squirts of ketchup (to your liking), sauteed onions are a valid addition to this dish.

Cook pasta as directed on packaging. Drain and rinse beans. Heat beans in a skillet on the stove. Drain pasta when finished cooking. Return drained pasta to original pan and combine all ingredients. Serve. Enjoy!

Black Bean Burgers

Hannah is a black bean burger fanatic.
I didn't know she was a fanatic until we were having a cookout in her backyard and were trying to figure out what she could eat. Soy meats were out of the question, they are just plain weird, and we really didn't want to go to the store and pick up boca burgers so we decided to make our our burgers. Now, I am not a vegan, as I have said before, so I was just thinking of the nice juicy burger I was going to eat. But being the great girlfriend I am, I was enthusiastic about helping Hannah find a burger recipe. I was all over the place looking at burgers with potato and flour, and so many other strange ingredients trying to make something fancy, but Hannah on the other hand already had the burger she wanted to make in mind.
I have to give all the credit to her for this recipe as she is the one who found it and made it her own. These burgers are delicious, and unlike many vegan burgers you make on your own are meaty, textured, stay together and do not come out like mush. Recipe altered from non-vegan black bean burgers found on allrecipes.com.


Vegan Black Bean Burgers

• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 bell pepper (any color, mix it up for really colorful burgers), cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/2 onion, cut into wedges
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 Tbs flax seed meal
• 3 Tbs water 
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 cup of rice flour or regular flour

1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty. Do not over mush it. Leave a few chunks.
3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. (If you don't have a food processor, a blender will work fine) Then stir into mashed beans. 
4. In a sauce pan combine the flax seed meal and the water, heat on high while continuously stirring  until the mixture is sticky and egg like
5. In a small bowl, stir together flax mix, chili powder, and cumin.
6. Stir the flax mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in flour until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
7. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.  

Enjoy these burgers at a nice sunny BBQ or any day at home, but don't forget the corn free ketchup :)