Black bean not-burgers

Inspired by the cilantro-turmeric salmon patties I wrote about a couple weeks ago, I set out to make a black bean burger that I'd actually like. I think the key is to not try to make a burger per se, or to think that, when you are eating one, that it is supposed to be anything like a burger. You will just be disappointed, like I always am.

But when I packed these with chopped cilantro and quinoa, the whole concept changed for me. It didn't hurt that I fried them in that morning's bacon grease.

I served these with buns for those who wished, but just having it with tomato, avocado, and onion - similar to the salmon patties with salad concept - was, imho, perfect.

Black Bean not-Burgers (patties? fritters?)
inspired by these salmon patties

I made my first and only batch so far* with egg because we were challenging eggs last week, but the mixture was very wet (maybe I didn't drain my beans too well, either) and I had to add in gluten-free flour to dry it up. So I'd probably just skip the egg, and add flour only as needed to make a slightly thick batter.

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 t salt
freshly ground pepper
1 egg (optional, see note above)

Throw everything in the food processor and blend together. Add a little flour if it looks way too watery. It's not going to be firm because we're not making burgers, but you do want it to hold some shape. Start with 1/4 cup flour and go from there. Too much flour makes it bready and dilutes the impact of the flavor you're going for here.

Heat up olive oil (or bacon grease!) on medium-high, and fry patties in batches. Serve on buns and/or with salad ingredients

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* Yes, it was on the menu for last week but we didn't get to it.

And here's this week's meal plan, while we're talking about it:

Challenging soy, hence the tofu and soy-sauced based recipes. Also, changed the structure to put Sat and Sun at the end because it's stressful to have to plan Sunday's meal on Saturday night without groceries when there is church on Sunday morning.

Sheet pan roasted chicken and vegetables

I am so late to the party, but: sheet pan meals. Of course I had seen these all over the internetz before (it may seem like my head is buried in the sand but I'm not completely unaware), but what changed the game for me was watching Kendra Adachi (@thelazygenius) explain her version on Instagram Stories last week. Her method makes THEE most sense. (I've made it twice in seven days so that tells you how good it is.)

This is her method and I asked her if I could share it on the blog. She was super sweet and said yes, that she'd probably write about it on her blog at some point, too, so when she does I'll link to it here as well. (Update: Here it is!)

Sheet pan roasted chicken and vegetables
from Kendra Adachi

Note: Kendra didn't specify these exact vegetables, but here's what we did with what we had that day.

6-8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 red and/or yellow onion, 1-inch dice (I think shallots would be beautiful too)
1 lb green beans, trimmed
1-2 carrots, sliced on the bias (I don't like cooked carrots, so I grated 1/2 of one for salad and put 1.5 in the pan)
1 large Russet potato or two Yukon golds, cubed about 1-inch plus
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 500. This (high temperature) is a brilliant move that I've not seen mentioned on other sheet pan recipes, but it makes so much sense (tastes better, cooks faster), and is what inspired me to even try this.

Cover a sheet pan (get yourself an over-sized one already if you don't have one!) with parchment or foil, and throw the veggies into a pile in the middle. Drizzle over generously with olive oil as you would for roasted vegetables and sprinkle on a nice amount of sea salt and black pepper. Massage it all together (I like to use a plastic kitchen glove) and then spread it out on the pan.

Lay the chicken thighs on top skin-side down and salt and pepper underneath.

Then, and - here's the magic - flip them over and generously salt and pepper underneath the skin. (I've always heard about this with roasting whole chickens but it seemed like too much work. Thighs are a great place to try this method out.) Don't be scared to over-salt. Good salting makes all the difference.

(My salting tip: Because I may be getting my hands all chicken-y while marinating, I usually scoop about 1.5-2 t of salt into a bowl, grind the pepper into it with my clean hands, and then stir it together. Then I can grab from there with my chicken-y hands and marinate away, without having to get the pepper grinder all gross.)

Pat the skins dry, then toss it in the oven and let it go for 40-50 minutes. I check mine at 40 and it seems to need 5-10 minutes extra at that point. The second time we made it, I even broiled it for a minute at the end.

This method produces some soft vegetables and few crispy ones. The amounts I've listed in my ingredients list above may be a little crowded, especially if you're using a standard sheet pan. Reduce slightly if you want things more on the crunchy side.

We served it with rice. (Surprise!)

The beans are my fave. It reminded me of this recipe I posted before and I think a marriage of these two would be amazing!

The second time we made it I left out the carrots and didn't have red onion so it's less pretty, but we did get to focus on what we really liked, which was the green beans.

There are so many glorious things about this meal: there are no prep bowls to wash because you prep it on the pan you bake it in; it's meat and vegetables all in one dish; you put it in the oven and forget about it until dinner; and perhaps most importantly, the fat from the chicken melts and gives extra flavor to the vegetables.

P.S. While we're talking about chicken, remember that time I told you about how to cut up a whole chicken like a master?

P.P.S. And, an inside joke that David turned into a family portrait the other day. Related because we're talking chicken today.

Emilyn Jack Jack, Kathy Chicken Noodle Nuna Hearts, Father Chicken Hearts, Mother Chicken Hearts, Mr. Chicken Hearts

Cilantro turmeric salmon patties

I mentioned that we would be doing an elimination diet (no gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts, shellfish, or corn) to see if it could help my (and Emilyn's) eczema. We officially started on January 10, after the kids' birthdays and grandparents' visits, so today marks the first day of Phase 2, where we challenge the allergens, one at a time, to determine which we may have intolerances to.

True story: when David told Theo we'd be eating toast for breakfast, he quickly retorted, "No, Emilyn can't have gluten! Just like she can't have marbles!"

The diet has been hard because, as you know, I do like my food. And these allergens are in a lot of things. Basically we've been eating meat (and I'm not a huge meat eater so that was different), vegetables, and rice. The saving grace of this diet is that we've not been asked to give up rice. Also, we've treated ourselves to a never-ending supply of avocados (which are great for turkey avocado roll ups).

Though weight loss wasn't one of the goals for me personally, I did lose almost six pounds because it was just too much effort to snack. (It also didn't help/hurt that we got sick with the stomach flu on Day 3.)

I think my skin is better, but I never achieved complete relief. We'll see what happens over the course of the new few weeks of the challenge phase.

In the meantime, I wanted to share one recipe that we really loved. It's inspired by my friend Kayla's salmon patties which she serves over salad with her incredible Greek dressing.

David jumped on making these one night for dinner and they turned out so well. He tweaked it with turmeric and it is amazing. Turmeric goes so well with fish.



Cilantro-turmeric salmon patties
Inspired by Kayla Dunbar and Nourishing Meals

gluten-, dairy-, and egg-free!

1 cup cooked quinoa
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 thin slice of lemon, including rind (remove any seeds)
1/2 medium yellow onion, minced
2 (6 oz) cans of wild salmon, drained
1 t ground turmeric
1 t salt
freshly ground black pepper

In a food processor, blend together quinoa, garlic, cilantro, and lemon slice. Add in onion, salmon, turmeric, salt and pepper and blend until combined.

Heat up a skillet on medium to medium high, add 1 T olive oil, and fry patties in batches, adding oil as needed. We made ours about 2-2.5" in diameter.

Serve with baby greens, or with rice. I also think it'd be awesome with oven fries, another thing we've been eating a lot on this diet.

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Post-script: David and I were talking after about how we are so snobby and had never had salmon from a can before. Without missing a beat, he slipped into Fred Armisen's Portlandia character, reassuring me to not worry, he had gone and met the fish before (Fred and Teddy), they were wild and free-range, etc., etc.