More like Quin-WHOA burgers....ugh

Okay that was gross and I apologize but seriously, look at these beautiful sons of bitches.

YEHHHHH

For my first foodie entry I went with something simple but beloved. I love burgers. Burgers of all kinds, except (this is weird) I don't eat beef. I have never eaten beef.  I'm not vegetarian, I just avoid red meat.

Take a breath. Get all your weird questions out now.

WHY? LIKE NEVER REALLY? WOULD YOU NOW THAT YOUR PARENTS DON'T LIVE WITH YOU???

I get all these questions a lot. Answers: My parents don't, therefore I just simply never have. I may have at some point mixed it into some kind of food, it's impossible to know if someone slipped me a beef and pork meatball under the guise of an all pork product. And finally, meh, probably not? I have a weird tum, and red meat is notoriously the hardest to digest, so why bother when I can have these golden, crunchy, veg-plosions on a bun?!

I do have an extreme fondness of black bean burgers, but these goat cheese and quinoa burgers may have won the coveted "God damn that's a fine burger" award. They are garlicky, cheesy, and filling, with just the right amount of crunch. I threw some tomato, lettuce, and "Just Mayo" vegan Sriracha mayo on top. I'm probably going to bring Just Mayo up a bunch. What a super company. I normally really dislike mayo; I'm not fond of eggs and mayo just plain creeps me out. But "Just Mayo" is pea protein based and wonderful. And it comes in fun flavors like Chipotle and Sriracha if mixing two things is a strain on you. I'm not judging, I've bought it. 

Oh but have I mentioned... quinoa burgers make totally rad breakfast sandwiches?

Cause they do. 

That monstrosity in the back is my beau, Brendan's.  And here it is!

Mine is boring. His looks like the breakfast the Hulk would eat. Or maybe the Rock.

Sighhhh....the Rock.

Mine is an English muffin with a freshly fried up quinoa patty and a slice of one of the million tomatoes my CSA has dumped on us. (Featured on the side is a truly magical red plum. It was sooo good you guys, like oh my gawd.)

Bren's is quinoa patty layered with a fried egg, red onions, avocado, and Sriracha. Dang. 

But here's what you're really here for: RECIPE TIME

Crunchy Veggie Quinoa Burgers
Takes like an hour? At most. Probably not even.  

Makes about 6 or 7 burgers depending on how large you would like them.

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/2 an onion

1 sweet pepper (red, green, yellow, whatever floats your boat, friend.) 

2 cloves garlic

1 medium carrot

2 tablespoons flour 

1 cup grated cheddar 

2 oz fresh goat cheese*

1 egg 

1/2 teaspoon salt  

1 teaspoon cumin (or more if you like cumin a bunch, I kinda do so I'm heavy handed)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Olive oil or other oil of your choice for frying

-First things first y'all, get that quinoa cooking. It doesn't take super long so keep and eye on it, but you'll probably be able to get everything else done while it boils away.

-Roughly chop all your veggies: pepper, onion, carrot, and garlic so they fit in a food processor. You can mince them all by hand if you don't have a food processor, but it's hella faster with one. They are great little machines. Once chopped into medium-fine bits dump them in a big bowl. 

-When the quinoa is cooked let it cool at least 10 minutes. **

-Add to the veg mixture the flour, cheddar, goat cheese, quinoa, egg, salt, cumin, and black pepper.

-Smoosh it all together in a big squishy pile. The goat cheese will take a bit of stirring in my experience, but just keep smooshing. The mixture should stick together pretty well on its own, at least enough to form patties. If it's really too dry to stick together, try adding another egg. It will be a bit crumbly, but should still be able to hold together long enough to drop it in the oil.  

-Add enough oil to a frying pan to come up about a quarter of an inch on the sides of the quinoa patties. Form your patties carefully place them in already hot oil over a medium flame. Trust me. Be patient, let it get warm. The best way seems to be putting a formed patty on the end of a spatula and sliding it into the pan to keep you from being splashed by scalding hot oil. And keep the heat high enough for them to sizzle and pop, but the slower you cook them on one side before flipping them the easier it will be. It lets them set up more and less likely to crumble while you flippy flop 'em.

-Once they are golden and crispy on both sides, slap it on a bun with your favorite toppings and you've got yourself one crispitty crunchitty super satisfying little vegetarian burger!

I have plans to work on a vegan version, with some fun "cheeze" add-ins. It's in the works!

*I used about half a small 4 oz log of fresh chevre. If you have a fave use that, but mid-softness works best it seems, so nothing to watery or hard. Don't like goat cheese? Try another soft cheese! Ricotta? Cottage? Try it!

**You can make the quinoa earlier if you'd like, I haven't noticed much of a difference using completely cool quinoa vs warm