6.16.2008

 

Thankful for dads

Our Father's Day celebration yesterday included snacks and coffee candies for Jack to take to work, homemade gift certificates for things like back massages and picnic lunches, and lots of extra hugs and kisses from Kent. Also, Kent mumbled something that had many of the same vowels and consonants as "I love you, Dada," on the way to church, so I'm counting that as a gift.


There have been many games of Airplane around here in the past few months, a game that Kent has come to love with increasing laughter each time. Flying through the air seems to be a favorite activity. R. Kent, Test Pilot. Or perhaps R. Kent, Trapeze Artist.

I also made some very successful meals for Father's Day: breakfast was coffee and leftover sticky buns from Saturday (because I couldn't hold out until Sunday to make them... sigh), lunch was grilled quesadillas, and dinner was Indian veggie burgers, pasta salad with feta, and broccoli. I made up the recipe for the veggie burgers, basically doing what I would do to make meatballs, but substituting black beans, carrots, and corn for the meat, and shaping the mixture into patties instead of meatballs. I typed out what I did, in case they were really good, and luckily for us, they were. So here's the recipe, which I made with Indian spices but which could also be tweaked with some Mexican flare (pepperjack cheese, cumin, and chili powder?) or Asian spices (teriyaki, five spice, and/or hoisin?).

Indian Veggie Burgers

olive oil
half of a small red onion, diced
1 garlic clove, diced
1 carrot, sliced into quarters and diced
salt and pepper
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 can black beans, drained
½ cup frozen corn, thawed
chopped parsley to taste
2 slices old bread, crumbled into bread crumbs
2 eggs

Heat a little olive oil in a small sauté pan. Add onion, garlic, carrot, salt and pepper, and cook over medium-high heat until onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garam masala, curry powder, coriander, and cayenne pepper, stir to coat vegetables, and continue to cook until carrots are no longer firm. Place black beans, corn, parsley, and breadcrumbs in a small mixing bowl, then add cooked vegetables and stir. Taste, adjust salt as needed, then add eggs and mix with hands until well combined. Refrigerate, then shape into patties and fry in a little oil over medium-high heat until crispy on both sides.

I just put ours on buns with some chipotle mayonnaise, since I couldn't really think of anything else to dress them with on short notice, and they were fantastic. The Indian flavors aren't strong, but they're definitely present. Test them out and let me know what you think.

***

It's nice to have someone to celebrate Father's Day with after a few years of dry spell. I used to buy my dad a cherry pie (in the days before I could bake) and some vanilla ice cream, his favorite dessert, to share with him on the Father's Days we spent together. I had an overwhelming urge for pie yesterday.

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Comments:

We are going to have a kid someday just so I can play airplane with it!
 
That recipe sounds good! I haven't had good luck with making black bean burgers before...they just turn out mushy. Do you have a secret to it?

I love how the picture of Kent's feet is blurry because he's moving them! Cute little guy. I'm sure your dad would be honored that he is named after him
 
I tried making black bean burgers a couple of times several years ago and mine were mushy, too. I think refrigerating the mixture for an hour or two helped, so that it was a little more solid. Also, be sure you let them fry for a long time on one side before moving them around or flipping them-- that way, they become one piece. These are things I know from cooking meat, btw, so you might feel that the knowledge is tainted. =)
 
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