A "Cool" Spell (edited)

It's going to be under 90 degrees outside today, and when I woke up it was only 62º. That means it was safe to light the oven this morning!

I've been dying to make something to nibble on in the evenings after dinner, those occasional nights I feel I need a smackerel of something.

I know many people on-line grab something made from an AJ recipe, like CRAM Muffins, Starch Cookies, or one of the many frozen fruit concoctions. Others have some McDougall treats, like Mary's Pumpkin Muffins or one of the cookies or other goodies Heather McDougall has shared.

But for me, those are dangerous foods. One muffin would turn into 4, no matter how so-called "healthy" they are. Blending old fashioned oats or millet into a flour is still a flour product! Using dates blended up into a liquid is still a simple sugar. Between my weight and triglycerdies, I have to stay away from stuff like that as much as possible. Some oats ground up for waffles? Even Dr. Esselstyn admits once in a while it's okay. But oats ground up and mixed with a bunch of dried fruit sugar? I don't think so!

So what do I do when it's been hours after a light supper and we're famished? Well, my husband grabs a bag of corn tortillas and a jar of salsa. I scrounge around the fridge and grab some kind of leftovers, like that half cup of beans I didn't need for one recipe, or the 3/4 cup of rice, cup of veggies. It's a great way to use up leftovers, but sometimes there just aren't ANY leftovers in the fridge. Yes, it's rare, but it does happen. Well, if I'm really, really hungry and can't sleep until I get something in my tummy, I'll grab one of those apple sauce cups (natural, no sugar added, of course), but I feel guilty because I usually get my 2 fruits for the day in the morning with my oatmeal.

In the past, when I was still able to eat things like gluten, I would make seitan sausages or meatballs made from beans and seitan and keep them in the freezer, but thanks to my auto-immune diseases I'm taking Dr. McDougall's advice and avoiding it, and it does help the leg and shoulder pains a bit.

So for a few weeks now I've been thinking of making up some bean burgers and/or those Engine 2 Cookbook brats. Tami's bean-free version was a possibility, too. I even have the same brand brown rice wrappers that both recommend - I was surprised my local HFS actually had them.

But my mind was made up. Ever since I saw the video of Ann and Jane Esselstyn making S.O.B. Burgers I just had to make them, and today was the first day where all the stars aligned - I had the ingredients, the ambient temperature was good, and, most importantly, I had the energy to make them.

So, I gathered up my giant mixing bowl and all the goodies needed to make them. The rice was warm but not hot, the cannelini beans were rinsed and drained well, everything was already measured out and dumped into the bowl. 

My, that's awfully yellow! My wooden spoon was no longer brown but taking on a golden hue. But now it was time to use my hands and squish.

Um, why aren't these beans breaking down and getting mushy? I guess my slightly deformed arthritic hands just aren't up to the job of mushing this up as much as was necessary. I try using a closed fist, but since my index fingers no longer bend that way, I was working with a handicap, but it was enough surface area to get about half the beans mashed to a pulp. Next time, no hands - I'll go right for the potato masher.

Here's the bowl after I started making some patties:

And here's some on the baking sheet, the next one in my hand:

You can see the wetness glistening on the burger and my skin.

This photo was after a half hour. The top row has been turned over, and you can see it's still pretty moist and unbrowned. I put them in for another 10 minutes. The instructions in the book say to flip them half-way through, but that was just impossible to do. 

And here is the final result. All of them are nice and firm but not hard and crunchy. After they cool a bit I plan on having one for lunch today, and the rest will go into the freezer in a plastic freezer bag, each separated by a plastic disc cut out from old oatmeal or raisin canisters. I've been using them for years and no bean burger, raw or cooked, has ever stuck to them in the freezer.

As far as taste goes, I did what Ann didn't do, at least on camera, and sort of wiped the bowl clean using a silicone spatula and nibbling on the leavings. Yummy! I'm looking forward to eating these beauties. In fact, this recipe may even replace Jeff's Sweet Potato Curry Burger as my favorite veggie burger!


Edited to add:

Um, no. They're not going to replace that sweet potato burger as my favorite. Somehow the taste got really muted with cooking, and I couldn't even taste a hint of that smoked paprika. I ate it wrapped in a romaine leaf, so no conflicting flavors there.

Will I make it again? Maybe, but as a spread or dip, or with rice or over potatoes, not as a cooked burger.

Live and learn.