Sweet Potato & Chickpea Burgers

Hallelujah, we are back! Transferring domains was rough stuff. Who knew it took 5-7 days by law. Whatever, it's in the past and I am so, so glad it's all behind me now (fingers crossed). I love my new home here at Squarespace! Let me know how you guys like the setup. Do you like the photo slider or no? I'd love to hear feedback! 

And now, it's time for a bean recipe! As you know, it's my life's mission to incorporate more beans into my life...and what a way to do it. With a burger! A veggie burger that is. Oh yes, my friends. 

I've been on a real burger kick lately. It's funny because I was never really into burgers before becoming vegan. I have a sneaking suspicion why though...methinks 'twas the decaying animal flesh. Hey, don't kill the messenger...that is what it is...

Anyway, you have nothing to fear my animal-loving compadres. My burgers are 100% vegan! These sweet potato, chickpea, and white bean veggie burgers brown up perfectly on the stove and are ready in a pinch! Filled with nutritious (and delicious) veggies, oats, herbs, and spices...what's to shy away from? Take a break from the bun-animal-bun combo and go with bun-veggie-bun instead! Also, freeze any leftovers for use later as a quick and nutritious meal! I love having them on hand. 

Sweet Potato & Chickpea Burgers

Makes about 12 burgers

  • Flax Eggs:
  • 3 Tbsp. ground flax seed
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • Veggies:
  • 1 large sweet potato, sliced and steamed
  • 1 15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 15 oz. can of white beans, drained and rinsed
  • Aromatics:
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. Italian herb seasoning
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. ground paprika
  • 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1/8-1/4 tsp. chipotle chili powder or cayenne pepper
  • Conclusion:
  • 2 cups old-fashioned oats, dry
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 12 hamburger buns

Notes: If you have a large food processor (10 cup or larger), you might be able to fit all the ingredients into the bowl at once to process. I had to do mine in batches of different ingredients. I cooked up 12 patties and froze the leftovers in saran-wrap separately, then in a large plastic ziplock bag for later! These burgers probably do best on the stovetop as opposed to grilling. Adapted from Peas And Crayons.

Start by whisking the ground flax seed and the water together in a small bowl. Place in the fridge until ready for use. 

Steam the sliced sweet potato for about 10 minutes, until fork tender. Remove and set aside. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and white beans and set aside. 

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-low. Add the aromatic ingredients and saute until fragrant and the bell pepper is browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in a food processor pulse the dry oats until they are a bit finer in consistency. They don't need to be ground to a flour though. Transfer to a very large bowl. 

Now, pulse the chickpeas and white beans until they are mashed, scraping down the sides as necessary. They don't need to be perfectly processed.

When the aromatics are done sauteing, add them to the processor along with the sweet potatoes and pulse as well. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the oats. 

Add the flax egg and the fresh parsley to the bowl and mix very well, with exceptionally clean hands. It's really the only way to do it. Place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. 

After the mixture has rested, heat 1 Tbsp. of olive oil in the large frying pan over medium. Form a veggie patty with your hands that's about the size of your palm. These won't shrink at all when cooked so form them exactly as you'd like them to be on your burger. Cook about 3 minutes on each side and repeat with remaining patties. 

Serve hot on a hamburger bun with BBQ sauce or ketchup and arugula or spinach.

Cook as many as you'd like to fit in one pan. My pan held four at a time. I cooked the leftover patties and then froze them to use later!

"Mom! Dad! I will do ANYTHING for one of those burgers!!"

"Mom! Dad! I will do ANYTHING for one of those burgers!!"

German Word of The Day

Concert --> Konzert (pronounced: con-zairt) - Go figure! Germans spell things to neatly. 

Good Deed of The Day:

I know this is kind of a different action to have today, but my hope is that it brings awareness of the living conditions to meat-eaters. The fact that most animals need to be pumped full of antibiotics to even live and make it your a plate I hope be a little more noticeable when it's stamped on the goddamn package. Who knows. Maybe we'll all choose to not eat meat at all! We certainly don't need it! Sign this petition to have the USDA label animal flesh that has been treated with antibiotics. 

Italian Potato Salad

Sweet baby jesus you guys. I finally, finally got DISQUS (the comment platform) to work on my new site. I seriously teared up with joy when I saw it was finally working. This has been a giant source of frustration over the last week and I am so, so, so incredibly elated it's finally working. Now I can share posts! Gah! Why did I switch hosts again?? 

Now to the good stuff. If there's one thing that sings "Summer!" for me, it might just have to be...potato salad. Is that weird? My dad had the rare ability to make the most rockin' potato salad around (for some reason I only recall it's existence around warmer temperatures) and I feel like I might have (fingers crossed) inherited said gift from him.

Some people might be all like, "It's potato salad, big whoop. Anyone can whip up a potato salad!" I beg to differ. And in a few short words, I'll tell you why. Most potato salad is either soaking in way too much liquid or is as dry as a bone. Sometimes it's completely lacking in flavor. More often than not, it's mostly just a whole lotta mayonnaise with some mushy potatoes and a little veggies thrown in just so you know you're not just consuming a potato and mayonnaise smoothie...yep, in my experience most potato salad straight-up sucks

I won't even discuss store-bought potato salad. I just won't. 

Produce On Parade - Italian Potato Salad

Stop eating potato and mayonnaise smoothies. I've come to save you from the potato salads that haunt your dreams. I'd like to start off by noting that  this salad is completely mayo-free. Instead, it's dressed in a beautiful herbed olive oil and fresh lemon juice dressing. Tender baby red potatoes, crunchy celery, tart capers, salty Kalamata olives, and juicy cherry tomatoes mingle with fresh basil and parsley to make the truly simplest and most lovely potato salad you've ever had. 

Italian Potato Salad

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

  • Salad:
  • 3 lbs. baby red potatoes, unpeeled and quartered or halved
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 6 celery stalks, sliced
  • 3 Tbsp. capers, drained
  • 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 16 pitted Kalamata olives, halved
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chiffonade
  • Dressing:
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large lemon, juiced
  • 1 tsp. dried Italian herb seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Instructions:

Start by bringing a very large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile wash and scrub the potatoes of any dirt. If the potatoes are on the larger side, cut or quarter them. Once the water reaches a rapid boil, add the potatoes. Boil for about 20 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork. Strain and set aside.

While the potatoes boil, prep the remaining salad ingredients. Add them all to a very large serving bowl and combine.

To make the dressing, simply combine all the ingredients in small bowl or measuring cup and whisk well. 

Add the boiled potatoes to the large serving bowl and combine with the tomato/celery/olive mixture. Pour the dressing over it all and mix again, until well coated. 

Serve warm or cold!

Produce On Parade - Italian Potato Salad (8 of 14).jpg
It seems I've been caught picking out of the bowl!

It seems I've been caught picking out of the bowl!

Someone was all ready for the big cabin trip last week!

Someone was all ready for the big cabin trip last week!

We saw MGMT in concert yesterday. Can you believe they came all the way up to Alaska?! I'll share a video on Instagram! I am not a concert person and never, ever will be. It's just not my bag. I like my personal space...and not being smoked on. Someone threw up right next to me and if I want to go to a bathroom so disgusting I have to hover-pee, I'll go to the state fair. *shudder* I just chanted, "Go to your happy place...go to your happy place..." all night. Why am I such an old, grumpy lady?!

German Word of The Day:

Potato --> Kartoffel (pronounced: car-toffel) I know I've shared this one before but for some strange reason, it's one of my favorite German words!

Good Deed of The Day:

Simply wish everyone you come in contact to happiness (in your head, don't want people thinking you're crazy). Smile, and be happy! 

Produce On Parade Has Moved!

Yep, we packed up our things and moved from “produceonparade.com” to “www.produceonparade.com”, pretty intense huh? That’s not all…we moved platforms too! POP lives on Squarespace now and we’re pretty excited. Don’t worry, you shouldn’t have to do much of anything while we get it all sorted out. Please be patient as there might be a few bugs in the next week or two.

And don’t forget that “www” infront of “produceonparade.com“! How you like the new ‘do?

All our love!

- Katie @ Produce On Parade