Black Bean Burgers for the Coolest Class Ever

Yep, once again, I've been m.i.a. My last semester in college, finishing graduate school applications, and working 30 hours a week have not been conducive to updating the blog. I can't promise it'll get better, but I do have an awesome recipe for you and a few restaurant reviews coming soon.

And speaking of school, I'm taking an unbelievably cool class this semester called "The Ethics of Food Production". It's a fairly new class, but when I read about what it would consist of it sounded like someone had designed this course just for me. Planting a garden, cooking vegan organic food for the whole class, and just learning more about our food system in general? I couldn't sign up fast enough. We were split into groups of three at the beginning of the semester and each group has to make a vegan, organic meal for the entire class at some point in the semester. My group went first. And I have to say, I think we set a pretty good standard as far as the food was concerned. On our menu, a mixed vegetable salad, black bean burgers on homemade buns with a Cajun aioli (this was all me), and my chocolate silk pie. We had very few leftovers. The recipe for the homemade buns can be found here and my chocolate pie recipe can be found here. And now for the burger and aioli recipes.

Black Bean Burgers:

• 2 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 c silken tofu, pureed in a food processor OR 1 flax egg
  
• 1/2 c bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 c bread crumbs
• 1/4 c celery, diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
  

Mash the beans with a potato masher. Add the pureed tofu/flax egg, bell pepper, bread crumbs, celery, garlic, and Cajun seasoning. Mix well. I recommend letting this mix rest for 30 minutes or so in the fridge, but this isn't a required step. Shape the burgers into 12 patties, about 1/2 an inch thick and 3 inches in diameter.

Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the burgers on the sheet, and put into a 350 degree oven. Bake for about 20 minutes. Flip over and bake for another ten. Serve on homemade burgers buns with Cajun aioli and preferred burger toppings.

Cajun aioli:

• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 c vegenaise or preferred brand of vegan mayo

Mix Cajun seasoning and vegenaise. Spread liberally on your burger.