Beet Veggie Burger

I haven't found a veggie burger that competes with OTB's yet in Philly; therefore, I decided to make my own!!! I made these for my family, added too many beets and had them fall apart everywhere. On the plus side, they tasted great. My advice to you all is not to add too many beets (I just love them, I can't help it). The spices in this burger patty really make it awesome.
Anyways, I have not had time to blog since we just got a puppy! His name is Rex and we are so, so in love. He is super sweet. He is also a trouble maker. He broke out of his crate three times. He even met Twilly already! They are friends as long as Laura doesn't pick up Rex or pet him...

I found this recipe by Googling the best veggie burger in the world. I chose a post by that exact title on A Cozy Kitchen.

8 ounces beets, roasted and peeled
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, washed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, washed and drained
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup rolled oat flour (make your own in a food processor)
1/2 medium red onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sumac (substitute lemon zest if you don't have sumac)
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
Salt
Pepper

Throw everything except the chickpeas and black beans in a food processor and pulse just until all the ingredients are chopped a little more and incorporated. Then pour into a large mixing bowl and mash the beans into the mixture with a fork. It takes some work. I tried to do this all in the food processor but it makes the texture too mushy.
Shape the mixture into 6-7 patties and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour to set. You can even make this a day in advance.
To cook: Fry on both sides until lightly brown (about 1-2 minutes on each side) in some coconut oil.
Serve with strong cheese, ketchup, mustard, salad greens, tomato, and sliced onion. Lots of garnishes aren't necessary since the veggie patty is so flavorful. Or you can upgrade with a fried egg on top!

Beet Apple Gingerbread

Hello! My name is Catherine and I am new to Pittsburgh Kitchen.  I am originally from the same part of Pittsburgh as Laura, although I only just met her last year. We enjoyed cooking and sharing recipes while we worked together, so she invited me to contribute.  A few months ago, I moved to a small city in Russia.  I write my own blog with some recipes and reflections about living abroad, but I’ll post here whenever a recipe makes me particularly nostalgic.

This recipe is my beet redemption.  Before I left for Russia, we had a dinner party at Laura’s house and I tried to make beet pancakes that utterly failed.  This beet cake is an adaptation and amalgam of about a half dozen zucchini and carrot cake recipes.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of grated apples and beets (1 small-medium beet, peeled and grated and 2 small apples, peeled, cored and grated)
• 2 cups flour
• pinch salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp powdered ginger
• 3/4 c oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup candied ginger (I made my own candied ginger using Alton Brown's recipe)

Coconut Beet Soup

This soup was made with both golden and red beets to make the swirls you see in the picture. We harvested beets at the farm but both kinds were planted in the same row so it was hard to distinguish since the roots are underground! It worked out this way because I got to make a beautiful beet soup!

1.5 lbs mixed beets
1 cup coconut milk
1 lime, juiced
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 hot red pepper, seeded and sliced
nasturtium flowers and leaves to garnish

Trim the beet greens and stringy roots off the beets. Roast the beets in a baking pan half filled with water at 375 degrees until tender, about 45 minutes depending on the size of the beets. Reserve 1/3 cup of the beet water. Saute the ginger, onion, garlic, and hot pepper for about 5 minutes until soft. Separate the golden and the red beets. Once cool enough pull the peels off. They should come off easily.
For the golden beet part: Blend the golden beets, half of the onion mixture, and 1/2 cup coconut milk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and lime juice. Add more coconut milk if necessary.
For the red beets: Blend with the other half of the onion mixture, beet juice, and the rest of the coconut milk. Add lime to taste.
To serve: pour the golden beet soup into a bowl. Then spoon the red beet mixture into the soup, swirling the two soups together. Drizzle some olive oil over the soup and some jalapeno hot sauce. Top with nasturtiums and enjoy!

Raw & Roasted Beet Salad

I know not everybody loves beets as much as I do, but I think those people should give beets another chance. They are amazing, especially roasted, as most of the beets are in this salad. A couple of the beets are grated raw for texture.

WARNING: You may get a bit of vampire teeth after eating this. Also, eating beets makes your poop look bloody! Don't panic. Enjoy your beets.

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RAW & ROASTED BEET SALAD

Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens 

7-8 small and/or medium beets

1 clove garlic

Olive oil

2-3 tbsp water

Salt

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

ground pepper

8 oz crumbled blue cheese

2 oz toasted almonds

1 tbsp parsley, if you have it