Beyond Meat's The Beyond Burger

1/4 quarter pound of succulent awesomeness thanks to the power of beet satisfaction.

At long last, I finally tried Beyond Meat's The Beyond Burger. Funnily enough, it took a new art project to arrive here. I requested friends of mine to pose for a new pencil/watercolor series at their apartment and offered to bring these epically amazing burgers (according to word of mouth).
First of all, Beyond Meat's latest creation is not located with the other frozen veggie burgers. In fact, the meat aisle carries several facings. That alone is a terrifying prospect for a vegan-- venturing into a painful grocery area, holding in stomach, trying not to scream aloud or retch violently at sight of dead carcasses wrapped in cellophane. It is both solid (maybe meat eaters will be curious) and loathsome (why surround ourselves with body parts and ice) that Beyond Meat's would strategize placing their product here. Still, I grabbed a package and left as quickly as my body allowed.
At $5.99, I thought it quite reasonable. That is, until I entered my friend's establishment. They wondered why I only had one. I felt incredibly stupid for not reading the fine print. There were only two patties. Two. I had this crazy assumption that veggie burgers came in fours. These burgers are pretty pricey.
Overall, The Beyond Burger is quite enjoyable. It has plenty of flavor especially a believable meaty, grisly texture, a good fulfilling portion (20 grams of protein is nothing to sneeze at), and an aesthetical beauty with the gorgeous beet red and all.
Perfect for functions like barbecues, parties, and drawing gatherings, but one has to know to buy enough for everyone.

Pan seared in olive oil, smelling really burger fragrant.

Situated on a whole wheat bun, topped with melted Field Roast Coconut Herb Chao, lettuce, tomato, and Just Mayo with baked shoestring fries and a gravy smothered gardein turk'y cutlet (unseen) on the side.

This thick scrumptious burger has an irresistible exterior crunch, pliant juiciness, and seasoned flavor that captures all the essence of real meat without the cruelty.

Citrus Basil Tempeh Burger

This is no ordinary tempeh burger. Citrus flare and basil notes make for an amazing dalliance. And melted Field Roast Chao and tahini dressing ties yumminess together.

 I have humorously discovered that a Starbucks holiday drink can be decaffeinated (hey it's the start of 3 days of buy one get one free!) amongst other things. Tovah and I went out to SB this afternoon, excited and relieved from receiving good critic feedback. When she ordered chestnut praline decaf, I was shocked and grateful. Now I no longer have to endure painful stomach cramps just to celebrate free deliciousness. I enjoy Soy Gingerbread Latte with no whipped cream-- wonderful sweet treat. After SB, we were off to Blick's. More litho crayons! I need them since lo and behold our spring schedules were in our mailboxes yesterday!

Whoo hoo! Scored painting and lithography electives for the spring! I haven't drawn on stones since 2010- way too long a separation! Plus the amazing Titus Kaphar as my visiting critic!!! Very, very excited for 2015!

I have been reading overwhelmingly stimulating poems, criticism, theory, and artist books. Between revisiting Zora Neale Hurston and Wallace Thurman, I've been introduced to poet Paul Celan to artists Abigail Deville (my visiting critic this term), Mark Bradford, Carrie Schneider, Awol Erizku, and countless others.
In fact yesterday, PAFA started a new series entitled Painting and Photography-- lectures by Artcritical's David Cohen. Four parts will focus on the painter's love and hate marriage with the camera-- both artistic practices manmade inventions meant to capture the world. Back when daguerreotypes and whatnot were being used many painters outright quit and considered careers over.  Turner himself said, "end of art is upon us and I'm glad to have had my day." This quote from  John Berger's Ways Of Seeing, however, provides most invigorating thought about cameras and their intent.
"They're not truth, although appear so... deprives us of the best pleasures of society."
Lately, I have been feeling bewildered how much snapping takes place as opposed to simply enjoying moments or documenting in other ways. We're in a digital age of nonstop sharing and one wonders if revelations are beginning to be too much inconsideration. 
Yet something I'll never stop sharing is one of my favorite subjects-- food. Most specifically: vegan food.
First off, Pretzilla Soft Buns are amazing. Moist and pliant, easy to pull apart. They taste incredibly "buttery" and almost melt on the tongue. Half unsalted pretzel and half hamburger bun this is a holy matrimony everyone has got to try! Perfect to hold citrus and basil flared tempeh with oozing Field Roast Original Chao Slices.I used both dried basil (part of marinate to glaze tempeh) and fresh basil mixed into baby arugula. Feel free to use one or the other if not desiring to choose both.
This is a two serving meal. Unless you want to eat these two tempeh burgers on your own.

Basil Tempeh Salad Burger Ingredients and Preparation

1 pkg Trader Joe's 3 Grain Tempeh
2 tablespoon olive oil
juice from one lemon
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup baby arugula
1/4 cup fresh basil
red onion slices
Field Roast Chao Slices
2 tablespoon tahini dressing
Pretzilla Soft Baked Pretzel Buns

Heat skillet lightly doused with olive oil.
Cut tempeh in half.
Mix olive oil, lemon juice, lemon pepper, garlic, basil, and salt together.
Lightly brush concoction onto tempeh halves.
Layer them in hot skillet, cooking each side for 7-8 minutes.
Add one slice of cheese and cover. Turn off heat.

Carefully place tempeh "patties" onto Pretzilla bun and top with arugula, basil, and red onions.

Add tomatoes or mushrooms too for juicier, "meatier" flare. Otherwise admire your "salad" lunch.

Pour chose sauce atop and slap that Pretzilla bun on top!

Hand held melted goodness.

Vegan Pumpkin Chickpea Patties

Crisp, flavorful patties fill bellies and plates with yummy goodness.

I went grocery shopping yesterday and kept saying to myself "don't forget the bread." I walked past the bread aisle every few seconds; making sure that I remembered that no loaf graced my kitchen counter. Since I use a reusable tote, I have to get bread last. Otherwise I get unwanted smushiness.
Well, needless to say, I forgot the bread, but recalled wanting to make some great patties for this beautiful, rain threatening Meatless Monday. 
Today's patty, or veggie burger that is, combines chickpeas and pumpkin with quinoa that makes it all compact and wonderful. Curry powder gives such a delicious flavor and paprika spices things up just a little bit. But it's the flour (you know the main ingredient in bread!) that makes it delicately crunchy perfection.
I should have actually attempted to bake fresh bread, but opted for a simple salad. I figured who needs croutons when you can make these irresistible patties?

Vegan Pumpkin Chickpea Patties Ingredients and Preparation

1 cup quinoa, cooked
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 tablespoon coconut oil
2 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoon flour

Combine all ingredients together. You can choose to puree this, but I preferred the large chickpeas presence.
Heat a skillet with oil.
Make four rounded patties and gently place one in the skillet.

Fry each side for about 5-7 minutes or until a nice brown sear happens. Repeat with remaining three.

Enjoy inside a bun or with spinach & a side of fruit.

The Happy Labor Day Black Bean Burger & Mashed Potato Plate

Happy Labor Day!

Yay! It's a holiday!
A great way to celebrate this nice September Monday of kicking off your heels with no school and no work is by having a casual meal that is good inside or out. Today's dinner is inspired by intimate grill out parties that often featured nothing for me to eat and these friends never knew what to "cook" besides an opened can of baked beans or mixed vegetables.
Seriously, I'm not joking.
When all those grilled portabellas are gone in minutes flat, what's a little vegan to eat?
A black bean burger and mashed potatoes. Yum.
But due to raining and lack of sunshine no grilling to be had.

Simple Chunky Mashed Potatoes

8 little potatoes sliced in half
6 cups water

After bringing water to a boil add potatoes and more water if potatoes are not fully underneath.

Cut up and boil red skinned potatoes for about 50 minutes or until they are soft and tender.

Mash into a bowl with a spoon or a masher, adding a bit of salt and pepper along the way.

Black Bean Burgers Ingredients

1 can, rinsed and drained reduced sodium black beans
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Drain black beans.

Using this as my oat component because it was on clearance for $1.14. Cooking on a thrifty budget here, haha!

Stir ingredients together and blend for a few.

Fry the patties in balsamic vinegar. Turn in 5-7 minutes.

Dinner is served with Roma tomatoes and Pop Eye's best friend- spinach! And yes, there's piping hot cauliflower "cheese" sauce on top of the chunky mashed potatoes.

Close up of the big black bean burger.

The burger was good, but a little too grainy. Next time, adding more black beans, Roma tomato, and yellow corn in the mix, maybe some diced carrots to bring out a juicier flavor to the patty. And hot sauce! Yes, definitely need hot sauce on my bad boy.
Mashed potatoes- a whole other story entirely.
I shamefully admit to having seconds of the chunky red skinned madness coated in that delicious, rich sauce that would bring any vegetarian closer to the vegan side of life. Leaving the potatoes unpeeled was certainly a wise decision! Now this is one of the few skins that I find mighty tasty.... ;)
A very good holiday meal if I must say so.
Hoping everyone has a lovely time spent with family and friends!

Baked Chickpea "Sloppy Joes:" The Happy Very Tasty Accident

Just another kitchen mishap that turned wonderful.

Since the excitement over my first handmade burgers and fresh out of black beans, my eyes leered over to the chickpea can with gleeful intentions.

Plus seeing as I loved the peanut butter, this new cooking intuition said, "use it again!"

So I listened....

Chickpea "Sloppy Joe" Ingredients

1/2 can drained and rinsed chickpeas

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1/2 cup of cooked diced carrots

2 tablespoons Peanut Butter & Company's Mighty Maple Peanut Butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cooked brown rice and carrots mixed into chickpeas. Camera blurred from hot steam...

Yummy. I had just a little spoonful sample first...

Mixing in peanut butter and other ingredients. Then add into a blender or food processor to

Two patties on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 40 minutes. Flip over.

But the ketchup made it all the better.

On the first flip, when the burgers mischievously decided to collapse, I almost cried and gave up on them, starved enough to almost make a peanut butter and preserves sandwich before lunch break was over.
But alas, hope told me and deprived stomach to wait twenty more minutes.
Now I regret not capturing that blessing in disguise.
Because no longer patties, this turned into a yummy mess that needed lots of napkins.
Good fashioned flavor wasn't so easily sabotaged- for the sloppiness lying on the wheat bread held great promise, especially with the bright kitchen light shining down on the two crisp, browned "patties" like they were holy sandwich treasures.
The peanut butter is fainter and the spices are a match for the chickpeas. Just absolutely delicious!
So glad I made two of them. :)

Vegan Black Bean And Green Pea Burgers

Black beans & green peas as a burger? Who would have thought?

Morningstar Farm black bean burger- one food I miss eating.
Those were one of my absolute favorite summer grilling specialties (portabella caps will always reign supreme!), spicy black bean heaven on a bun.
But as I've come to learn in just seven months of veganism, there's nothing better than making your own.
Besides, it's the Fourth Of July and everyone deserves a good tasting burger to have on the grill!
Though I baked....

Vegan Black Bean And Green Pea Burgers Ingredients

1 can, rinsed and drained reduced sodium black beans
1 cup cooked green peas (used frozen)
1 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons Peanut Butter And Company's Mighty Maple peanut butter
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup chopped red onion

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Draining the black beans.

Mix cooked green peas with black beans. So pretty.....

Add remaining ingredients.

Mix in blender for a few minutes.

When it's at a slightly chunky,  very thick consistency, baking time!

Scooped and placed flat round patties on an ungreased baking sheet. Taking 40 minutes, flip over at 20 minute intervals.

On a bed of angel hair and spinach, placed one burger and a sprinkling of nutritional yeast.

Wow!
Glad I decided not to add flour. It was a tempting option, but a good decision all around to opt out.
These patties are almost the same as Morningstar Farms.....
Yet uniquely spun ingredients were refreshing and quite tasty.
Peanut butter may have seemed odd, but I think it the perfect binding agent- the superhero of recipe experiment. Spicy with a hint of underground sweetness and delicate crisp, best be sure that the leftovers are reserved for ketchup smothered lunch tomorrow.

All that beautiful glory in between two slices of 100% whole wheat bread and with that promised ketchup!