Quinoa Burgers and Succotash

This is a great summer dinner!

The quinoa burger was inspired by my favorite place to get lunch in Charlotte, Luna's Living Kitchen. Disclaimer: My burger IS NOT the same as theirs... but it is still pretty good. Luna's has a quinoa kamut burger that is honestly the best tasting veggie burger I have EVER had. If you have never been to Luna's, I would highly recommend it. We love going to Atherton Mill and Market on Saturdays and as an occasional treat, we stop by Luna's for lunch afterwards. We brought Nate's parents there when they were here visiting- I was thrilled when his dad got the Mystical Mushroom Spaghetti and a smoothie, and said it was one of the best meals he had ever had! We also shared their banana soft serve, which was to die for! I love that all their menu items are healthy and delicious at the same time. 

I need to experiment with adding kamut to my burger recipe, so far I have just tried using quinoa. This is one of those recipes that is now in regular rotation on our menus. It is super cheap and healthy! 

Quinoa Burger

(Print Recipe)

Adapted from Whole Living.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rinsed quinoa

1 medium carrot, cut in large chunks

15 ounces white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs

1 flax egg (1 TBSP ground flaxseeds, mixed with 3 TBSP water)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

Coarse salt

Ground pepper

Directions:

In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil; add quiona, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until liquid is absorbed, 12 to 14 minutes; set aside.

In a food processor, pulse carrot until finely chopped. Add cooked quinoa, beans, breadcrumbs, flax egg, cumin, chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; pulse until combined but still slightly chunky.

Form mixture into four 3/4-inch-thick paties (dip hands in water to prevent sticking). If too soft, refrigerate 10 minutes to firm. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium; cook burgers until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes per side.

Serve one a slice of whole wheat bread and top with avocado.

Succotash is a new discovery for me. I love the fresh tasting combination of basil, tomatoes, lima beans, and fresh corn.

Succotash

(Print Recipe)

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon safflower oil
• Coarse salt
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 3 cups chopped red tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 1/4 cups corn kernels cut from 4 ears of corn
• 2 cups fresh lima beans (from about 2 pounds pods) or 10 to 11 ounces frozen lima beans or baby butter beans, thawed
• 4 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Directions

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, tomatoes, corn, and lima beans. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until corn and lima beans are tender and tomatoes are soft, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in basil and serve.

After dinner, I planted new herbs in my herb garden. We had started some from seeds earlier this spring. However, I found a lost dog, who I brought home until we found his owners. This was what he decided would be the most comfortable bed.

Yes, that is my herb garden planter. At first I got him out immediately, but he kept going back there, so I decided to let him have his comfortable bed. Nate had fun playing with him... He had a TON of energy! Look at his legs all tangled up here.

For those of you that know Lilly, you know she was not a happy camper when I brought this dog home! She barked and chased it outside every time it came in through the back door! It is funny to see a little ten pound dog show a much bigger dog, that SHE is in charge. 

Anyway, we did get him safely home, and now here are my new herbs.

I planted lemon thyme, basil, and cilantro. I can't wait to use my cilantro for wheat berry salad, and the basil for succotash.

Lilly helped.

And then I fed her a little bit of almond butter as a treat. She loves it :)

I'm hoping for some nicer weather soon, so we can spend some time outside and have a photo shoot of something interesting and pretty! My eyes will be peeled and my camera in hand. Meanwhile, I am going to enjoy being lazy during these rainy days.