Before I revived the blog (and apparently turned it into a food blog) I took it upon myself to expand my horizons when it came to my favorite food, the hamburger. I’m a big fan of beef, but am also fond of turkey burgers (if I don’t make them myself – that’s a blog for another day), elk burgers, buffalo burgers, ostrich burgers, deer meat burgers, chicken burgers…You get the point.

Outside of the animal world, though, lies several healthy alternatives that are actually not that bad; and I’m not talking about frozen vege burgers from Burger King that still have a frozen mushroom in the middle of a patty. In my quest for enlightenment, I’ve eaten vege burgers, tofu burgers and bean burgers and enjoyed them all – it was time to try them at home. I started out with Garbanzo Bean Burgers made from a mixture of garbanzos, reserved garbanzo liquid, dry oats and a few spices and enjoyed them thoroughly.

Stepping out, once again, I decided to take on a Black Bean Burger. I started out by draining and rinsing a 15oz can of black beans and adding them to a bowl with a couple tablespoons of canola oil, 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, a wee bit of lime juice, oregano and a beaten egg. I also dropped in ~3/4 cup freshly processed bread crumbs. I mashed together with a potato masher and mixed everything together until I thought they held together well enough to fry.

I emphasize fry because there’s no grilling these babies. In fact, they’re pure mush until you throw them into a hot pan coated with oil (I used Canola). About 4 minutes per side over medium/medium-high heat and we were set. I put about 1/4 cup spinach on the bottom bun and spread 1/4 of a mashed avocado on the top bun, melted a slice of Muenster cheese on the burgers as they fried and sliced a fresh tomato to finish it off.

What a beauty. Definitely worth giving a shot on your own and something I’ll certainly try again (and modify a little more).

Enjoy!

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