Monday, August 11, 2008

Black Bean Burgers and...Pancakes Without Syrup?!

In preparation for the upcoming school year (yikes!), I've been making and freezing all sorts of veggie burgers like a madman! You'll see more of those in an upcoming post, but I just had to blog about the black bean burger recipe in Vcon! It's unlike any other bean burger I've ever had, most likely due to the chewy texture from the addition of vital wheat gluten. The spices are very good, though I would probably add more heat and cumin next time just to balance it all out and nothing tops these burgers better than some crisp lettuce, sliced tomatoes and onion, and a big ol' dollop of guacamole! As you can see in the picture above, I served this along side some Raw Collard Greens, a recipe I got from a raw foods (un)cooking demo I went to last month. I'll post about that and the recipes we were given some other time once I've made a few more myself, but these collard greens are great! The shredded collard greens and kale are massaged with some salt so they wilt a little bit and it makes them taste fresh and delicious without being bitter.

One awesome breakfast I enjoyed this week was the Polenta Pancakes from ED&BV. I realized that I had a few tubs of prepared polenta I bought from Trader Joe's that needed to be up because I felt bad that they were just sitting there all alone in my cupboard, so I remembered this recipe and decided to try it. Yum, yum, yum! This breakfast will be a regular of mine because it's so easy to prepare and so so so good! The cinnamon sugar coating on the sliced polenta caramelizes when they are cooked on the griddle, so no syrup is needed for this treat (and trust me, I'm a strong believer that pancakes must be topped with some sort of syrup- always). Instead of Dreena's suggestion of making banana "sandwiches" with these pancakes, I just served some sliced banana sprinkled with cinnamon on top and it was perfect! I can also imagine that these would be delicious topped with a blueberry syrup.......I'll just have to try it and see.

12 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Ahh, school WILL be starting soon!! Eek!! Good idea, making and freezing the burgers ahead of time!!

Oooh, that cinnamon-sugar coating on the Polenta Pancakes sounds HEAVENLY!!! Looking forward to finding out if the blueberry syrup makes it even better though :0)

KP said...

I haven't tried the black bean burger from Vcon, but I've tossed the idea around for awhile. Freezing a bunch of food before school sounds like a great idea- I think I better start baking and freezing for when the semester starts for me!

Polenta Pancakes? Yum!

Rose said...

I really should follow your example and start cooking and freezing food for when school starts. I know my mom would appreciate that! Also, aren't the Polenta Pancakes delicious? I made them once and absolutely loved them.

Anonymous said...

Those polenta cakes look terrific. Smart too to make and freeze food for school days - I assume you must take your own lunch? Oh I couldn't stand high school, I am sure you cannot wait for it to be over! Of course that was the eighties, so maybe I couldn't stand that!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Ooh, I should make those polenta pancakes, they sound awesome.

Anonymous said...

Polenta cakes? Yum! Sounds sort of like pancake french toast!

Vegan_Noodle said...

Jeez, school already huh? Great that means my commute gets busier. Bleh.

Anyways, glad you posted about the blackbean burgers cuz I've been wanting to try them! I like the look of the polenta pancakes, just need to check and make sure my polenta in the pantry isn't the basil &garlic kind because that wouldn't work so well with the sweetness.

Katie said...

Great photos! It all looks so good.

I love your blog!

Ruby Red said...

You have won me over with your descriptions of both of these dishes! I haven't tried either, but they both sound excellent.

And I must be a sinner in your book -- 50% of the time, no maple syrup ends up on my pancake. Peanut butter is my favorite topping!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

I love polenta... AND I love pancakes, so I think I must make these STAT!

Rural Vegan said...

What are your picks for veggie burgers that freeze the best? I need to make & freeze some so my cooking-challenged husband stops buying Boca Burgers!

Anonymous said...

Somehow I've missed both of those recipes but they both sound really good. My mom is coming for a visit and I think I'll make some black bean burgers for her. She remembers (back in the day) when I was a vegetarian, living at home and she used to buy me this powdered veggie burger mix that you added boiling water to. Times sure have changed!