Burgers were never my thing. Really. They tasted, bleh.
I remember my granny putting green bell peppers and onions in burgers. That did nothing for me. One of my friend's dad put that awful onion soup mix in them. And green bell peppers. That did something for me. It taught me never to eat at their house on burger night.
I ate plenty in high school, of course, because, well, it was high school. And Carl's Jr. was outstanding. Never had Carl's Jr? Think Hardees, only better.
But as I got older, burgers became more about all the great stuff I could pile on them than the meat itself. Fresh toppings, complicated condiments, slice after slice of gourmet cheese.....mmmm.....cheese.
So when meat didn't agree with me anymore, I thought - oh well. Until I craved BBQ sauce, and crispy lettuce, and all variety of mustard, and tomatos, and pickles, and onions. It was too much, I had to have some sort of meat product.
Now, I've tried veggie burgers before. They are not good. I can't even pronounce half of the ingredients in them most of the time. That doesn't make for a tasty burger. Or they have soy in them, which I can't stand. So, when my book offered about 10 different veggie burger options, I became slightly more interested. Soy, tofu, and gelatinous masses can all be left out, thank you very much.
I started with the BBQ sauce. Because after all, that is really the most important part. What you put on your burger sets the whole tone for eating. Tone, really?
Food geek, I know.
But seriously, when you look at a chopped steak burger topped with sauteed onions and mushrooms - you are getting a different experience than when you have sit down with a great BBQ'd chuck burger topped with yellow mustard and crunchy iceberg lettuce. Both are outstanding, but different.
I wanted to start easy, and simply. So I chose the first variation - a bean burger. Sounds yummy, right???? My favorite Le Puy lentils were in my pantry, so off we went. Why a special bean? Because they have this outstanding ability to hold their shape and not get mushy. This is really important when making a veggie burger. You want texture, not mush. So after cooking them, I realized I had enough for many burgers, or I could split my focus and have lentil salad too! I love to split my focus.
The recipe seemed simple enough, add cooked beans, egg, rolled oats, onion, BBQ sauce and seasonings. A little too easy. I know I say that about all the recipes in this book - but they are super easy, It's that simple.
My daughter was skeptical that anything that looked like that could be good.
It's funny, hamburgers most often turn out gray, and black. It's all about what you are used to eating - another gray food could be just as yummy, but you may not try it because you havn't thought about the colors of the foods you currently eat, you are just so used to eating them you don't think about it. That was a mouthful.
After a little chill in the frig to firm up, I made them into patties and fried them up in a little, ok a lot, of bacon grease. ( Hey, I don't eat meat, but bacon grease is outstanding to cook just about anything in!) They cooked quickly and smelled so good. Just a little crisp on the outside. Even my husband asked what smelled so good!
(Note: he didn't actually try one, no matter how good they smelled.)
No sooner were they plated then my daughter ambled over and asked if she could take a bite. This coming from the girl who just 30 minutes ago said they couldn't possible be good, and that she "passed".
She took a bite. Then she took the plate. Sigh. How do you take food from a child who is gleefully saying 'I got my hamburgers back!"
From what I remember, they were good. Very good. All kinds of toppings can go on these. And maybe when I get to eat one, they will.
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