Oh no.

Here I go again with the hippie food. I know, I know…you want to see meat! More meat woman! Well, just hold on to your hot little hands for a few days….the meat’s a-comin’! In fact, I’m away this weekend at a BBQ for my husband’s online game playin’ buddies…don’t laugh! They are serious, mature gamers. Really…

But don’t worry, I plan on posting while I’m away (It’ll be my first away post!). There is some crazy talk of something called a “Bacon Explosion”, being consumed. God help us. If I survive, I will be blogging about it, don’t you worry!

Anyway, On to the “burger”. Now this may seem like it wouldn’t taste good or even have very good texture, but I’m telling you right now, you would be wrong for assuming that. I love a good beef/turkey/lamb/pork/fish burger as much as the next gal, but when on a tight budget, this can be made for less than $5. Cheap at twice the price! It takes a little advance planning, but it’s totally worth it in the end. Change it up as much as you like!

Spicy Tofu Burgers

1 cup bulgur
2 cups water
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 Tbsp. adobo sauce
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
salt & pepper to taste
1 block firm tofu, roughly chopped
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp canola oil
1/2 tsp flavoured salt (I used alder smoked but you could use plain)
juice of half a lime
1/2 cup sour cream
3 egg whites (because that’s what I had, but you could use 1 egg)
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs or quick cooking oats or a mixture of both
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional, I like the flavour)
1 Tbsp Dijon
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 oz feta cheese
1 Tbsp canola oil
fine cornmeal
salt & pepper to taste

1. In saucepan, add water, bulgur and salt. Bring to boil. Lower to simmer for 15 minutes. When done, set aside.

2. In small fry pan, sauté onions and garlic in oil until soft. Set aside.

3. In bowl of food processor add everything except last 4 ingredients. Whir until a small crumb forms and everything is mixed properly.

4. Form into patties of the size you want (smaller is better here for handling purposes).
5. Pour cornmeal and s & p onto small plate. Coat patties and transfer to hot pan with a little oil in the bottom.

6. When they are browned and crispy on the outside, crumble feta over the tops and transfer to your oven (set to broil) for about 7 minutes (or until feta starts to brown).
7. I served these with a large salad, but they would be excellent on a nice ciabatta bun.

Okay, I hope that was a good lesson in vegetarian cooking for you. Next time you are on a strict budget, fit these into your menu plans for the week. They will keep the whole family happy! Maybe just tone down the spiciness for the little ones. And hopefully I can satisfy you meat lovers out there next week with the Bacon Explosion! I just had to mention it again…I’m kind of excited. Meat!

On a completely different note…I just wanted to share some of this week’s photography fun with you. So here you go: