Sunday, December 7, 2008

simple and good

This was the result of a hankering for an old-fashioned face-stuffy burger, and did it ever deliver on that. I made some crusty kaiser rolls, some straightforward black bean burgers (with rye flour and tortilla chips instead of white flour and breadcrumbs), put a bit of mayo and pepper on it and it was absolute perfection.

Oh yeah, and pomegranate salsa is like salsa with pink jewels in among the spiciness, and it really really works.

I also tried soygurt for the first time last week (in order to make that harissa yogurt swirl for the fava soup) and I loooooooove it. I didn't eat cheese as an omni, I ate YOGURT, and loads of it, so I don't know why it took me this long to grab the blue tub and add it to everything. This almond butter-lime dressing was so easy and yummy!

And speaking of soy... the other day a half block of firm tofu practically jumped into my blender and went "eeeeeeh! add sugar and lemon to meeeee!". And who was I to argue? I baked this one, and added a pinch of nutritional yeast which sounds weird but gives it depth (just a pinch). The texture was perfect too... it sliced off into tart little "wodges" which in my odd mind is the exact word for an ideal slice of cheesecake. I wish I could live off of this stuff!
(oh and it was about 4" across. I love mini tins!)

Finally I made Juineve's creamy eggplant and roasted pepper soup with zaatar crackers. I doctored it a bit, roasting the vegetables and added tomatoes and a splash of sherry, and wished I had made more, it was so luscious. Thumbs up!

18 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

COME COOK FOR ME, PLEASE!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh man, all of that looks ridiculously delicious. I'm so impressed that you made your own kaiser rolls.

Jes said...

I like the tortilla chip idea in the black bean burgers. And now I'm mad craving one. And what a cute mini cheesecakey tart!

Liz said...

Wow! Just today I had a conversation in my head about wanting a really good burger, but being unsatisfied with the quality of any burger buns for sale. Your burger looks perfect! (and everything else, too!)

Anonymous said...

Awesome.. awesome.

The mini tins seem like a great idea for baking. Having large amounts of baked vegan deliciousness is usually dangerous. You're great in the kitchen! Very cool.

Amy said...

Mmmm nom nom nom. Burgers and mini cheesecakes? Yes thank you!!

Anonymous said...

It all looks so perfect! We live of soy yaourt here - I need to start making my own! And I haven't made a soy cheese cake in ages - I think it's time again!

Kelly said...

Can I have your black bean burger recipe and your kaiser roll recipe?

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

I got the bread recipe from here, left out the egg and malt powder and replaced 2/3 of the flour with whole wheat:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/kaiserrolls

and the burgers, um, can I remember...

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 onion, minced fine
1 clove of garlic, minced fine
1 tsp seeded and minced jalapeno
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
3-4 tbsp rye flour
1/4 tsp cumin
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper
a few drops tabasco (optional)

mush up the beans with fork leaving some whole, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix until it makes a very thick shpackle, possibly adding more flour if needed. Then refrigerate for an hour or so, then take it out and form 4-6 patties out of it, fry on a medium-hot griddle about 5 minutes per side. I tried it with a breadcrumb coating, and also with corn added but I think the plain version was the best, it totally let the bean flavour shine. hope you like them!

A.M. said...

o, that cheesecake looks so cute and yummy! How did you make it?

Carrie said...

You always make the coolest food!!!!

VeganCowGirl said...

Liz you are the vegan queen! Everything looks so damn amazing. Love the burger - thanks for sharing the recipe in the comments - I am constantly YEARNING for burgers these days, and I just bought my first bottle of vegan mayo yesterday, so guess what we are having for dinner. Some Liz burgers!

Thanks for the super great post.

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Seriously? I will be right over.

jd said...

Mmmm...

I just realized I better stop looking at your blog late at night. I'm inexplicably starving all of a sudden!

Thanks a lot :)

Jen Treehugger said...

That all looks so fab but that Cheez Cake is really talking to me. No, really it is...it's saying "Make meeeeee!!!"

:)

Alicia said...

I ate a lot of yogurt before I went vegan too. Now I buy soy yogurt, and it's good but it could be better! The cake looks very tasty! and the burger!

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

Hey Sanja - sorry it took me so long to post this! I remember what I did for the cake even less than the burgers, but to the best of my memory it was --

1/2 lb. container firm (egg-texture) tofu.
juice of one lemon
3 tbsp white sugar
2 tsp caramel sauce
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp neutral oil

Whiz it all together, using more or less sugar to your taste, then pour it over a graham cracker crust and bake in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes if it's a mini cake, but maybe 40-45 if you double, triple or even quadruple the recipe (not unheard of, I based a lot of this on recipes that called for 2 lbs. of tofu!). It's a more lemony than sugary pie, like a key lime kind of tartness, which I like.

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

actually, make that "a few flakes of yeast". seriously you don't want to overdo it.