Veggie Burgers

with a little bit of spice

I remember the first time I had a hamburger.

We were in this little 1950s style diner in Virginia. It was just one small room with a few tables and the kitchen in view behind the counter. They played Patsy Cline and Bobby Day.

My mom threw my seventh birthday party there. She spent days ironing black poodle appliqués onto pink skirts for me and my friends to wear. There was a real jukebox in the corner. She did my hair specially for the party, and I got to wear lipstick.

We were sitting at this diner, and up to that point, at any grill out or backyard party, I would only eat hotdogs. I can’t remember why I refused to eat hamburgers. Hotdogs are objectively a grosser food than a hamburger. But my mind, like many kid-minds, had made itself up — I only ate hotdogs. Somehow, my dad persuaded me to order a hamburger that day. I imagine all he had to do was order one himself. I tried to do everything like my dad did. I even guarded my food like he did. It was a habit he picked up at the Naval Academy, putting his arm in front of his plate and hunching over his meal.

I took a bite into that first hamburger, thought it was the most delicious thing I’d ever eaten, and my dad said, “Welcome to America.”

And it’s true. When people think of American food, hamburgers are usually one of the first things that come to mind. If you see someone standing in front of a grill, the odds that they’ll ask you “Burger or Brat?” are high.

But over the past few years, the popularity of straight-beef burgers has been on the decline. The chances that when you walk into a diner or brewpub they’ll have a meat alternative on the menu are higher than ever.

When my mom was in Vegas recently for a work trip, she had a veggie burger. It was made in house rather than being of the Beyond Meat variety. She came home raving about it, and we decided we had to try making them.

We also decided that the only way we’d be able to serve them without protest as a family meal involving my dad would be to just reply “Burgers” to the question “What’s for dinner?”

He, of course, quickly figured it out when he saw me cooking them. The texture isn’t quite the same, and the smell of beef is obviously missing. But after searching through a mountain of recipes, my mom and I settled on one we loved, with only some minor tweaking. The blend of spices is delicious, and the texture, while not like beef, is still satisfying.

Veggie Burgers

You will need:

1/4 cup quinoa

1/2 cup water

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup dried bread crumbs (can be made by putting about 1 1/2 slices of bread into a food processor)

1/4 cup minced bell pepper, any color

1 egg, beaten with a fork

2 Tablespoons minced onion

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

Olive oil

What to do:

Boil the quinoa according to package instructions. Fluff and set aside. Coarsely mash black beans in a large bowl with a fork until it forms a thick paste. Make sure to leave some beans intact. Add cooked quinoa, bread crumbs, bell pepper, egg, onion, garlic, cumin, salt. Form into patties.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook burgers about four minutes each side, or until they are lightly browned.

Serve with your favorite burger fixin’s! My personal favorites are pretzel buns, ketchup, and some spinach.

That’s all for this week. Thanks, as always, for reading! Paying subscribers can tune in next week for a story-recipe featuring a delicious mushroom soup and an essay on being overwhelmed.

Juliana Nicewarner