Back to "normal"

Hello all! I would like to apologize to my blog for neglecting it for so long. It has been a crazy couple of weeks. Memorial Day weekend I went to Georgia to pick up Barney and spent a nice long weekend there. My always accomodating and lovely mother made me some delicious vegan meals, to which I will post some pics and recipes below. I returned to Charlotte that Tuesday evening, and walked in to find, not one, but BOTH of my bathrooms flooded and parts of the ceiling falling down! I almost had a nervous breakdown, but I held it together, called a friend, and threw my suitcase and Barney back in the car to stay elsewhere while they fixed it. At first I was having a pity party for myself, walking around like a displaced Katrina victim, but then I snapped out of it....things could be a lot worse. Even though it's all fixed now, don't think I don't eyeball the ceiling everytime I walk into one of the bathrooms...just in case. Anyhow, I am happy to be back in my own kitchen cooking up yummy stuff.

This is what I came home to....

...and this...groooossssss!! I'm pretty certain I did not leave the

bathtub half full of dirty water when I left town.

Black Bean Burgers for the Grill

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 16 min
Total Time: 31 min


Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup onion, grated
• ¼ cup red bell pepper, grated
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ cup raw almonds
• ½ cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 15.5 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons water
• ¾ cup wheat germ

Directions:


1. Grate the onion and red pepper, and then place in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Place the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, almonds, seeds, and oil in a food processor and pulse until the texture resembles bread crumbs. Transfer to the bowl with onion and pepper.
3. Place black beans and water in food processor and blend until smooth.
4. Transfer to the large bowl along with wheat germ and mix all ingredients together (with your hands!) completely. Separate into four balls and form patties. Make sure they’re not too thin or they will fall apart.
5. Grill for 8 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned.
6. Eat, drink, and be merry!

Notes: These were the first bean burgers I’ve made that actually stayed together. They were so good I didn’t even eat them on a bun or with any condiments.

Along with the bean burgers I had veggies that had been simply marinated for a few hours in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced onion, dried oregano, garlic, sea salt, and pepper.

This is the little bbq assistant.

I brought along with me my new BFF Daiya non-dairy cheddar cheese and mommy made me the BEST grilled cheese sandwich with carmelized red onions and tomato...I want one right now!

She also made me some tasty Raspberry and Lime muffins!

Muffins!

In conclusion, I will try not to neglect dear little blog for so long again, however, seeing as how I'm in the midst of adopting another dog, and in the process of looking for a house to buy, something tells me things are only going to get crazier!!