Blender Blackbean Burgers

Greetings,

This blackbean burger recipe is one that I created recently because I was having trouble with them falling apart. Also I wanted a cheaper option rather than using potato and quinoa like in my older recipes posted here. This one I prefer and have had great success with them being light, tasty and firm (no falling apart). I eat these burgers in the morning with salad and quiche instead of with bread. But they are great on their own or with a nice dipping sauce of your choice. You can also make them into balls if you want an appetizer or to serve with pasta. I make them small like in the palm of my hand or big and flat. The shape or size is up to you!
Note that I use my food processor but I am sure a blender will work just fine.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup dry black beans + 1 tsp baking soda (you can use 2 cans if you wish)
1 small onion
1-2 pimento peppers
1 clove garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder (I use powder if I have it)
1/2 tsp pink salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp dried basil, thyme or Italian seasoning flakes
1/4 tsp paprika
1 spoon tomato paste
1 tbs cooking oil
1 tbs water
1/4 cup arrowroot flour or tapioca
1/8-1/4 cup flour (cornmeal works really well as it does not make the dough dry out, but if you don't use corn then use your preferred flour)

Method:

1. Add the baking soda to the dried black beans in a bowl, cover well with boiling water. Cover the bowl and allow to sit at least 1-2 hours.

2. Rinse the soaking water and then in a pot, boil fresh water. Add the beans and boil until they are soft.

3. Throw off the water and allow the beans to cool in a colander.
Or just empty and rinse the beans from the can.

4. Add all the ingredients except for the 1/8-1/4 cup of flour or cornmeal, to your machine and blend to a thick dough. I tend to chop the onion, garlic and pimento into small bits first before adding to blender.

5. Remove and place in a bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let sit 1/2 hour to an hour so that the arrowroot flour will thicken the dough. This part is important.

All ingredients fully blended together make this paste.

6. Uncover and sprinkle the 1/8 cup of flour or cornmeal, turning into the dough with a spoon. Add the extra 1/8 cup if needed, as you start to form the burgers/patties, so that it won't be sticky, but it shouldn't be overly sticky.
The dough will stick to your palm as you keep rolling but it should not be a lot.
Makes 14 smallish burgers (size of palm of a small hand lol). It all depends on how big you make them. The number you get.
Place them on your baking sheet or pan which is pre-greased.

This picture, the onion and other fresh ingredients were not blended with the beans.

7. Bake at low-medium temperature 150-200 C for fifteen minutes on one side, then flip and bake another 5-10 on the other. However, once the underside is well browned I flip and place them back in the oven, then turn the oven off and allow them to completely cool in it.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge, lasts as long as you need them to! You can also freeze them if you need to, then toast them.

If you make them please drop me a comment below and let me know what you think! You can alter the seasonings per your taste. Tag me on Instagram @italpeople if you post a picture!
Be sure to follow my Ital With Ila board on Pinterest as well to keep up with when I post recipes. I also have an Ital People page on Pinterest but it needs updating!🙈 I will be sure to get on that and post the link.

Love and Health!
Ila

Cashew Cheeze in Block Form

Greetings,

Giving up cheese is always the hardest part of going vegan or ital. It is part of so many favourite dishes and often we backslide because of that. Over the years I have missed it in sandwiches, pizza and as a topping for salad. Thankfully the vegan community online discovered the Japanese gelling agent agar-agar which is an all natural plant-based gelling agent unlike gelatin which comes from pigs. So with agar you can make jellies and gummies and all kinds of desserts and now cheeze!

With this recipe you can make numerous small blocks of cheeze or one big block. It all depends on the size of the container or containers you use. Here are a few things to note:

*OIL YOUR CONTAINERS BEFORE YOU POUR!* I cannot stress this enough, as my first go-round, I forgot this vital part! The cheeze will NOT budge as an entire block if you forget!

*Make sure you have your containers oiled and ready to go BEFORE you mix in the melted agar as the cheeze thickens immediately once blended with the agar.

* I use the bottled kind for this recipe specifically as sometimes the lime/lemon can be too tangy which can affect the flavour you get, but you are free to use your fresh limes or lemons once they are properly ripe.

*Put all the salt if you want your cheeze to have flavour!

*Your blender MUST be able to properly blend nuts right down to a paste. I use my food processor which is ideal. A Vitamix will work as well.

*If you only have agar strands you will need a Nutribullet or a blender that has a milling blade or the flat blade, to make it into a grainy dust. You need to mill the strands as fine as possible, using a pulse method instead of just letting it blend at high speed, because the agar is so light that it just flies around without breaking down. So pulse the Nutribullet - slide  on and off a lot as that keeps the agar flakes to the bottom of the blender where the blade is. I hope this makes sense!

#Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups or a 200g pack raw unsalted cashew nuts (don't soak to retain the flavour)
You can also use 1 cup of cashews, but adjust the agar water to 1 cup as well.
1/3 cup water
5 tbs lemon/lime juice (4 tbs also works)
2 tbs coconut oil (I use Nariel brand which is slightly refined for cooking but still solidifies in cold temps. But I figure whatever cooking oil without a strong flavour can work)
2 1/2 tsp pink salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (you can omit it you don't use or have, I find it still tastes great!)
1 tsp garlic powder
(1/2-1 tbs chili flakes if you want a peppery cheeze)

Gelling Ingredients:

1 tbs agar powder to 1 cup water
OR for agar strands you need 1/4 cup of the milled strands and 1 1/4 cup water.
A small pot and spoon

Method:

1. Add all the #Ingredients to your food processor or blender and blend until a smooth paste is formed. The nuts should not be gritty any longer, though one or two grains may still be there. Stop and rest your machine as needed, and push down the paste from the sides as needed.

Leave the mixture in the blender while you prepare the agar.

2. In a small pot bring the 1 cup of water to boil and add your 1 tbs of agar. STIR CONTINUOUSLY until a thick gel forms.

OR if using the agar strands: pull apart strands and using a scissors clip them into fine pieces. Using the milling blade on your Nutribullet, mill them to as fine a dust as you can manage. This is important as it takes a while to form the gel and if the pieces are too big, they take forever to gel. Add tsp amounts of water if necessary as you keep stirring but remember not to add too much.

3. When the agar is properly melted, add it to the blender/processor. Blend until it is mixed into the cheeze. Pour IMMEDIATELY into greased container(s) and allow to cool properly. Slap the container on to the counter to make the cheeze settle properly.

4. Cover and store in the fridge to set for at least 5-6 hours, but I tend to leave mine until the morning.

You can simply scrape with a knife and spread onto your crackers or bread, or you can slice or even grate the cheeze. The more agar the firmer it will be but it will still be soft enough to spread.

My huge block lasted about 2 week in the fridge. When I make smaller blocks however, I found they should be consumed within 7-9 days.

I hope you like this one, it is certainly a favourite with every member of my family which is a huge success for me! I often have to police the poor cheeze or it will be devoured in no time! (It's expensive to make!)

Let me know how you make this recipe your own in a comment below or if you have tried it, leave a review! Tag me on Instagram so that I can see and share your creation @italpeople

Love!
Ila

Savoury Besan Crackers

Greetings,

Giving up wheat flour in the form of crackers and bread or wraps is hard! But I am determined to go gluten free this year and have therefore pulled back out my old besan flour recipes and have given them another go, revamping my crackers and wraps (the wrap recipe to come when next I make, so that I can take some pictures).

These crackers are perfect with the block cashew cheeze, or the walnut paste and with salad.

Ingredients

1 cup besan flour  (you can also blend different gluten free flours to make up a cup, but be mindful that millet flour has a bitter taste.)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp pink salt
1 tsp olive or coconut oil
3 tbs water (4 if necessary)
1 tsp chia and 1 tsp flax seeds
you can also add chili, basil or rosemary flakes to switch it up2 s
2 sheets of parchment/wax paper
a flat baking tray or pizza pan
butter knife or pizza roller
rolling pin

Method:

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Add the oil and slowly add the water until a very thick dough forms. Knead the dough until it is soft and smooth. Sprinkle more flour into the bowl and coat the ball.

3. Tear out two sheets of wax paper. Make them long enough to cover your baking tray as the crackers will be lifted and placed onto the baking tray with the wax paper.

4. Sprinkle flour onto the bottom wax paper and then place the ball of dough, flatten the ball and coat with flour. Place the top sheet of wax paper and using rolling pin, flatten the dough.
This part will take a while, as you try to make the dough as flat and even as possible, about 1/8 thickness. I usually remove the top wax sheet after a while, sprinkle more flour on top and then roll again without the wax until it is as flat as possible.

5. Using a pizza cutter or bread knife or dinner knife slice the dough into the cracker shapes you wish. Be sure not to cut the wax paper underneath too!

6. Lift the wax paper onto the baking sheet. Place in the oven, top rack. The oven should be at 150-200 C. You don't want it to be too hot or they will burn quickly.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until the crackers are golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool considerably.

7. Pull the crackers from the wax paper carefully.

8. Store in an airtight container or mason jar for proper freshness, when FULLY COOL. I keep mine on the counter top and they last about 5-6 days. You can toast lightly if they feel a little soft.

I hope you like this one. It's a Womb or period or fibroid -friendly meal as well because it lacks wheat.
Please leave a comment or review below when you try this! Let me know how you put your own spin on it! Tag me on Instagram so I can see your yummy crackers @italpeople.

Love
Ila

Eggless Besan Quiche

Greetings!

This recipe is one of my Sunday Prep meals along with my new Blender Blackbean Burger recipe, both eaten with a salad. My kingman and I are giving up bread so instead of eating with bread we substitute with a side salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber and seeds (pumpkin, chia, hemp and sunflower).

I found the basics for this recipe on Pinterest, but I added a few powdered spices to give it more flavour as salt alone just simply will not do for a savoury flour like besan/garbanzo/chick pea!

Here are some tips I discovered over the last month or so making these weekly:

*Allow the batter to sit for a while, that allows the flax and besan to work on creating a thick batter, You don't want it to be too wet. The longer it rests the least likely it will not cook in the centre.

*A foil container to bake the quiche in works much better than regular tins which can cause the quiche to stick, but once you get the temperature right (low) sticking should not be a problem.

*Filling a pie dish with only a cup of the batter, or any dish beside a muffin tin will cook quickly and avoid the inside not cooking. The deeper the batter the longer it takes for the inside to cook.

*To store the finished quiche, line your air-tight container at the bottom with paper towel, then each layer of quiche with paper towel, and the top, because you want to absorb any moisture that will form in the fridge.

* You need 18 muffin holes or 3 muffin pans to make all muffins. I use 2 muffin pans and 1 pie pan or bread pan for the remaining batter which is about a cup of batter. Or I use 3 pie foil pans and 1 bread foil pan. I bake this one batch in multiple containers so that I have enough pieces to stretch from Monday to Friday.

*Oil the pans generously as the batter will stick easily as it cooks!


Ingredients

Batter:
1 3/4 cup besan/garbanzo flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil flakes
3/4 tsp pink salt
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 flax egg (1 tbs flax meal and 3 tbs boiling water)
2 1/4 cup water

Veggies:

3/4 cup canned corn (optional but my daughter likes it and I am working on getting her into more vegan foods)
1 cup finely chopped bell pepper usually 1 big one or 2 smaller ones
1/2 a zucchini finely diced
2 leaves of greens finely chopped  (optional, i don't always include)
1/2 red onion finely chopped
chives finely chopped
1/2 finely grated carrot
*You can change your veggies as you desire but about 3/4 cup of each is good.

Oil for your baking pans *remember to coat them well*

Method:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: the besan flour, nutritional yeast, baking powder, salt, cumin, turmeric, garlic, basil, paprika and any other seasonings you use.

2. Mix the flax egg and let fluff up or turn gooey. With the whisk add it to the batter mixing it completely in, and ALLOW TO SIT WHILE you prepare the veggies.

4. Finely chop all your veggies and add them to the batter and whisk together again.

5. Oil your baking pans well. The spray oil can works best. Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop the batter into each muffin hole. If using a pie or bread pan, use a 1 cup measure. Using the measuring cups REALLY help get the most out of your batter.

6. Bake on top rack at a low-medium heat, 150 C or 300 F. Bake for 30 minutes, 35 the most for muffins especially.
A toothpick inserted in the centre should not be wet but a bit of the quiche will be on it.

7. Remove from oven and allow the quiche to COMPLETELY COOL which will also thicken the centre properly.

8. Toast to reheat as necessary.

I really hope you fulljoy this recipe as I surely do and my family - minus my son who isn't a fan of the savory flavours. This one was a big win with my daughter who is a very picky eater and is transitioning from dairy in her diet (Our eating habits were always meatless but included dairy when she was born and younger so it has been a struggle to get her on board with our dairy-free livity over the years. And now that I am trying to go as gluten-free as possible that is a whole other fight! But don't sweat it if you have this issue too, as the older they get, the more they want to eat and they tend to try the alternatives willingly!)

If you try this recipe please leave a comment, even your variation! And if you post a picture on Instagram, tag me @italpeople.
 Also, if you have a recipe to share email italpeople@gmail.com and I will post.