Another "Bean Diet" Dinner

Our friend Eric came to join us for dinner and once again I am stretching culinary muscles trying to make meat free, fat free, dairy free not end up being taste free. We started off with soup. I simmered chunks of zucchini, a chopped onion, and a bag of frozen peans in broth for about 15 minutes until the vegetables were soft and popped everything in the blender along with a large bunch of basil (adds flavor and a bright green color), salt and pepper. First course done.

Not the most picturesque dish but pretty tasty I whipped up some vegan bean burgers. I ground cannelini beans, mushrooms, onion, parsley, garlic, pine nuts, dried chiles, kidney beans and almonds in the food processor and stirred in rolled oats and wheat bran as a binder. After the mixture refrigerated until sort of firm I formed patties and baked them for 30 minutes at 350º, flipped and baked for 15 minutes more. That's more time than I usually take to fry burgers but they held together and boasted a better texture than most bean burgers I've made in the past. I topped the burgers with a quick, zesty guacamole. On the side, a big mixed vegetable salad (dressing: almonds, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, and mustard blended together).

Dessert may perhaps be my biggest challenge. No sugar, no butter, no flour. All that's left is a crisp. I mixed blueberries and pitted cherries with a couple chopped dates for sweetness. For a topping I mixed rolled oats, vanilla soy milk, vanilla extract, apple juice, cinnamon, and 1 egg white. I baked this make-shift sweet for an hour at 350º until the topping was crisp and the fruit bubbling.

Pretty good for a "diet" dinner. Thanks for the pix Eric.