Frugal Babe

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Buns, Fries And Your Best Bean Burgers

August 16, 2011 By Frugal Babe

Over the weekend, we went to an awesome vegetarian restaurant that got two thumbs up from my omnivore husband and son.  They shared a bean burger that they both loved, so I’m on a mission to recreate it at home.  The bun was obviously freshly-made at the restaurant, so yesterday I decided to try my hand at making burger buns from scratch.  I found this recipe, and I highly recommend it.  As I was kneading bread dough, with my three-year-old helping and the baby on my back in a sling, it occurred to me that if my 18 year-old self could have flashed forward 15 years to see this ultra domestic scene, she probably would have thought that this baker lady must be an imposter.

Anyway, here are the finished buns:

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My husband walked in while they were cooling on the counter, and said “wow, those are great-looking buns.  Nice work!”  So of course, I replied “Thanks sweetie – I’ve been doing Bodyrock for 4 months now.  Glad it’s paying off!”  (all joking aside, I freakin’ love that site – go check it out if you haven’t already).

I reduced the honey in the recipe to 1/3 cup (I pretty much always cut down on the amount of sugar called for in recipes, and they almost always turn out just fine anyway), and sprinkled hemp seeds over the top of the buns before I baked them (that was what I had on hand).  I used 4 cups of whole wheat pastry flour and two cups of white flour, but they’re still quite light – I think I could bump the whole wheat up to five cups next time.  I ended up with 16 buns (four on another tray), so I have a large bag full of them in the freezer now for future meals.

Now I’m looking for awesome bean burger recipes.  I’ve tried lots of them, and they’re usually quite tasty, but they they tend to fall apart.  So if you have a recipe for a good bean burger that doesn’t fall apart when you’re eating it (or cooking it!), please let me know!

I’ve been having more fun with my spiralizer too.  These are curly sweet potato fries (all that, from one spud!) ready to go in the oven:

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And a great salad made from the garden harvest yesterday (a zuke, a cuke, a bell pepper, and a few carrots):

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I’ve been freezing swiss chard and so far I have 11 quart bags in the freezer.  It’s a bit of a process, since I have to blanch the chard before I can freeze it, but I’ve been doing a few bags a day and I’m making progress.  I’ve also diced and frozen several bell peppers (love them – just dice and freeze on a cookie sheet, then toss in a bag).  Tomato canning season will be here before I know it, so I figured I better get a head start on the other stuff while I have time.  I’m excited to freeze lots of greens this year.  We have tons of them right now, and it will be nice to not have to buy as many bunches of greens during the winter for our green smoothies.  I prefer fresh greens over frozen ones, but the “fresh” ones in the stores in January have been trucked here from somewhere else anyway, so frozen greens that were harvested from our own yard the previous summer are probably just as good nutrition-wise (even with some of the goodness blanched out of them).

Hope you’re all having a great week!

Filed Under: Debt 7 Comments

Comments

  1. Amanda says

    August 16, 2011 at 12:56 pm

    These take a while to cook, but it’s not too bad if you put them in the oven:

    http://iowagirleats.com/2011/07/21/30-20-10-workout-circuit-new-veggie-burger-recipe/

    Reply
  2. RM says

    August 16, 2011 at 2:32 pm

    You should check out Angela over at Oh She Glows and her adventures with diffferent bean burgers. I haven’t tried them personally, but her recipes make my mouth water – and she has strict guidelines that must be followed like being grillable and freezable, no crumbling and of course, tasting great!

    Reply
  3. FrugalBabe says

    August 16, 2011 at 2:36 pm

    Thanks Amanda! I don’t know how I missed those – I love Oh She Glows. Will definitely be trying those burgers.

    Reply
  4. FrugalBabe says

    August 16, 2011 at 2:37 pm

    RM – your comment came in while I was replying to Amanda :) I make an Oh She Glows recipe at least once a week. Her dough balls are legendary around here. Can’t wait to give those burgers a shot.

    Reply
  5. HUNGRY ALREADY says

    August 16, 2011 at 8:55 pm

    Looks great. I’ve been on the lookout for a great homemade veggie burger recipe since forever.

    Went to a wedding over the weekend and they had a picnic BBQ the day before the wedding and among other things server some veggie burgers from a box, which prompted me to state the First Law of Cooking: “There is nothing that is so bad that cannot be fixed by mustard and a tomato.” Ha!

    Reply
  6. Kay says

    August 17, 2011 at 2:36 pm

    lol!! you are the second one to recommend bodyrock today!! I’m so going to give it a try now that two of my fav bloggers are recommending it!

    Did you post those curly fries and that GORGEOUS looking salad to “make” me buy that spiralizer? It’s working! :) I found it in the local store in Toronto.

    You can also make spelt buns to go with it!! Heidi Swanson has a chickpea burger on her website, check it out!! its mouth watering!

    I’ve tried this one and loved it as well.
    http://jugalbandi.info/2007/07/spicy-kidney-bean-burgers/ cut down on the spices if you don’t want them.

    Reply
  7. vijay k says

    April 14, 2016 at 4:51 am

    thanks for sharing information

    Reply

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