One of the questions I am frequently asked is “what is your favorite veggie burger?”  (Guess I should have put that one on my new FAQ’s page, huh?)  My answer is always the same.  There is no better burger than the Vegetable Masala Burger found in the frozen aisle at Trader Joe’s. 

I don’t really talk much about my daily meals here, but you might be surprised to hear that, on average, we eat frozen veggie burgers for dinner two or three nights a week.  Gasp – I know!  But despite all the culinary talent under our roof, we are busy humans who struggle to fit it all in every day – just like you!

In addition to our gourmet breakfasts, I usually make all my recipe-worthy food for lunch and by the time we get home from the gym it is often close to 8pm – aka vegetable masala burger time!  Part of the reason I love these particular burgers is because of the ingredient list – vegetables and spices, with very little in the way of additives or scary chemicals. 

Not to mention all the glorious Indian spice and FLAVOR!  But last night as I grabbed the box out the freezer, ready to defrost my favorite patties, I wondered why I had never tried to simply make them myself?  And so I did just that…

Homemade Vegetable Masala Burgers

Ingredients: (makes 6 burgers)

• 2 large carrots, cubed
• 2 medium potatoes (I used red potatoes), cubed
• 1/2 cup bell peppers, diced
• 1/2 cup corn kernels
• 1/2 cup edamame (shelled)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp salt

To Prepare:  Start by cubing the potatoes and carrots into small diced pieces.  Try to make the cubes as consistent as possible, so that they will cook evenly in the pan.  Over medium high heat, sauté the carrots and potatoes in a little bit of olive oil for about ten minutes, or until starting to brown. 

For the rest of the ingredients, I stuck with my Trader Joe’s theme.  For the peppers, edamame, and corn – frozen is fine!

Once the potatoes and carrots are starting to get soft…

Go ahead and add the rest of the vegetables and cook until they are warmed.  These burgers take a little more time than a bean burger, since you need to cook the vegetables – but I promise the end result is totally worth it!

While the vegetables are cooking, go ahead and pull out your food processor.  The first item into the food processor is 1/2 cup of rolled oats…

Pour them in and pulse them to the consistency of a coarse flour. 

Add the vegetables once they are ready, along with the olive oil, salt, and the blend of spices.  Spices are what make these burgers so delicious!

Alternate pulsing the food processor and scraping down the sides, in order to ensure that everything is mixed well.  Combine until the veggies are chopped into teeny tiny pieces!

Wet your hands and form into patties.  Using the same pan that you used to cook your vegetables, add a little more olive oil and cook the burgers over medium high heat. 

When you make veggie burgers, you’re never quite sure until you FLIP whether or not they are going to hold together or crumble to bits.  I am happy to report that these held together really well – probably my best to date!  After a few minutes of cooking on one side, use a spatula to flip the patties over.

Once they are cooked on both sides, they are ready to eat!  Now tell me that my vegetable masala burger (right) doesn’t look ten thousand times more delicious than it’s frozen inspiration (left).

While yes – it was a bit more work than simply heating up a frozen burger – this recipe makes six patties!  So you can easily make it once and freeze the rest to eat later in the week.  Problem solved!

Served my favorite way to eat a burger – on top of an English muffin and piled high with avocado!

And let’s just be real here – veggie burgers are really just delivery devices for giant piles of ketchup, right?

I was blown away by how well these turned out, and while I love a good bean burger from time to time, I also love that this bean-less burger provides an alternative with an entirely vegetable base.  Not to mention all that delicious edamame giving a boost in protein. 

More and more I’m trying to eliminate our house of boxed and processed food.  This recipe does just that, while also adding a fabulous new addition to our weekly meals!

Did I mention that they are only 120 calories a piece (same as the frozen variety)?  Also pack 4g of healthy fat (TJ’s has 8g!), and 4g of vegetarian complete protein (TJ’s only has 2).  I’d call that a WIN!

Enjoy!

It’s amazing the difference a good sauce can make.  Just a few simple ingredients whisked together can suddenly transport a dish from Asia to Italy – and generally, it all comes down to sauce.

As a self-proclaimed peanut butter addict, it should come as no surprise that peanut sauce is one of my favorite indulgences to find on a restaurant menu.  I use the world indulgence, because unfortunately most of them need to be just that.  While absolutely delicious, peanut sauce is right up there with alfredo – known for being one of the highest calorie and fat sauce offenders on restaurant menus. 

My favorite dish in all of Old Town comes from Mai Thai restaurant, and is called Pa Ram Jae – sautéed tofu in a light yellow curry sauce on a bed of steamed watercress topped with peanut sauce.  It is so rich and delicious that it can only mean one thing – it is not even remotely healthy.

While I do like to treat myself to Pa Ram Jae every now and then, more often I choose to make my own back at the house.  With just four simple ingredients, you too can make delicious, healthy peanut sauce…

Four-Ingredient Healthy Peanut Sauce (& Tofu Marinade)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup peanut flour (or PB2)
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
• 3 tbsp water

To Prepare:  Before we dive into the preparation, let’s talk for a minute about a few of the ingredients.  I’ve gone into great detail about my love for peanut flour before.  And just for you folks that don’t have Trader Joe’s – look what I found!  Trader Joe’s Peanut Flour – now available from Amazon.  Yes, it is slightly more expensive than it costs in store, but that part is out of my control.  If I could buy it and ship it to all of you, I promise I would.  For now, at least there is an online option!

I have also received a few questions about another ingredient I use quite often – liquid aminos.  What exactly is this stuff?  Liquid aminos is an unfermented substitute for soy sauce, that is slightly lower in sodium than traditional soy sauce, as well as higher in amino acids and minerals.  The most commonly seen bottle is Bragg’s.  If you don’t have this, soy sauce or tamari are both similar substitutes.

Okay, so onto the sauce!  Now comes the easy part.  Dump all four ingredients, plus water, into a bowl and whisk to combines!

Viola!  Delicious peanut sauce – as easy as that!

Now what to use it for?  Honestly the possibilities are endless…

• tossed with udon noodles
• poured over an Asian stir-fry
• salad dressing
• dipping sauce for veggies
• or TOFU MARINADE!

A few weeks ago I took a poll on Facebook, asking readers what they would like to see more of on Daily Garnish in 2011.  I was so excited to see the number of people looking for more ways to enjoy TOFU!  And it doesn’t get much better than tofu with peanut sauce. 

To get started, first make sure to check out the original tofu tutorial, since we will be following the same process here.  Press tofu under cookbooks for 10-15 minutes in order to remove excess moisture.

Then heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat and add a tsp of sesame oil.  Once the pan is hot, add the tofu and arrange in a single layer.

Flip the tofu several times until it is starting to brown on all sides.

Since the peanut sauce is pretty salt-heavy, you can skip the salt & pepper step from the original tutorial.  Once your tofu has good browning, it’s time to add the sauce.  Make sure your pan is really hot, and get ready to work quickly.  Pour the sauce onto the pan…

And then quickly stir, stir, stir!

It will get very sticky and thick almost immediately.  Once all the sauce is in the pan, keep stirring and remove the pan from the heat (so that the sauce doesn’t burn).

The end result is crispy tofu cubes coated in thick, rich peanut sauce.  Doesn’t get much better than that.

This tofu is wonderful all by itself, served over noodles or rice, or even thrown on top of a colorful salad…

Make sure to make a little extra sauce to use as salad dressing!

While traditional restaurant peanut sauces need to be saved for special occasions, this healthy alternative is something you could make several times a week.  Not that I would know…

Enjoy!