Vegan Sloppy No's

J was pretty happy to title these little sandwiches as Sloppy No's. Actually, this is a PPK recipe and they call them Snobby Joe's. I like J's name better; we're not snobs, just vegetarians. This particular recipe came from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook and it is wonderful. As I've mumbled before, I'm not a fan of cooking with meat substitutes (tvp, tofu and all the other textured meatless wonders). So I was pretty psyched to find a "sloppy joe" recipe with lentils. As my friend Erin stated, lentils are little "nutritional powerhouses" and any one should be happy to include them in a delicious meal.



Here is the link to the Snobby Joes Recipe on the PPK site. The only thing I might do different is substitute brown sugar for maple syrup. I know that sugar sucks and maple syrup is packed full of good shit, but brown sugar gives me nostalgia. So, ha.

Egg and Potato Salad with Sweet Relish

My first authentic pregnancy craving was egg salad and sweet pickles. So, I boiled some eggs and potatoes and diced 'em up. Added the dill, mustard and mayo. Sliced up the Blue Dog Cereal loaf. Threw on some mache rosettes and topped it off with lots of sweet sweet pickle relish.

And I think I might do it again right now.

Vegan Beet Burgers

Let me preface this post by admitting that I'm not a fan of the beet. In fact, before a few weeks ago I was known to have ran to the bathroom to spit out the last beet to touch my tongue.

And then Alicia called. I was home alone and they were cookin' so I was a polite guest and ate what was prepared for me...a delicious beet burger! It was Alicia's first attempt at a beet burger and we both agreed that the recipe needed to be mastered and tried again. So, last night the four of us mastered the beet burger. (Erin, only thing not vegan is that cheese on top).



Recipe:
2 beets boiled, skinned and cubed itty bitty (like egg salad cubed)
1 can black beans, drained
1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice, cooked
1 cup (about) panko bread crumbs
1/2 red onion, diced and sauteed
3 cloves garlic, diced and sauteed
1/2 red pepper, diced and sauteed
6 tbsp. ketchup
2 tbsp. spicy mustard
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Saute onion, garlic and red pepper with 3 tbsp of ketchup, salt and pepper. In large bowl, add saute mix, beet cubes, black beans, rice, bread crumbs, mustard and remaining ketchup. Mix it with your hands and get all dirty. (Note: right after the photo below was taken I ran on the porch yelling to my neighbor Shannon that "I'm having my baby". I thought it was hilarious and she lost her appetite.)



Patty them up and grill 'em or pannini press 'em. They are fucking delicious. We ate them with spinach salad and sweet potatoes. Yummmmmmmm.

Black Bean Burgers

Although this isn't the best photo of these tasty burgers, I guarantee you it was the best batch of these babies I have ever made. I started experimenting with black bean burger recipes last summer and I don't think I've made any batch the same as the last. They hold up well on a bun, but I prefer to smear then with sweet relish and hot mustard and fork 'em in. Unfortunately, because I change it up so much I don't have a fool free recipe. So, here are some ingredients and some estimates. Enjoy!

Recipe:
1/2 red pepper
1/2 onion
clove garlic
2 tbsp cumin
1 1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes
can black beans (drained)
1/2 cup + salsa or catsup
1 1/2 - 2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
hot sauce to taste

Saute pepper, onion and garlic with spices. Add catsup/salsa. Pour mixture into food processor with can of black beans. Puree until ingredients look like refried beans. Scrape out of processor into mixing bowl. Add bread crumbs and hot sauce (and corn if you want). Mix by hand. Make little patties and you're ready to go. Griddle them, fry them or pannini machine cook them. They don't' hold up on a grill. Enjoy!