Burger Love

I wrote a blog post about PEI Burger Love for Rachelle's blog and felt the need to further this with my own blog about my own burger love...well...my Veggie Burger Love. I have a special rule that I always follow when I got a restaurant for the first time. If there is a veggie burger on the menu, I always order it. For me, the respect and effort that a restaurant puts into a veggie burger is a clear sign to how the rest of the menu will be. I am always HUGELY dissatisfied when my meal arrives and I find a burger patty that obviously came out of a box and they just tossed on the grill to heat. Boooooring! What I love is when the kitchen takes the time to invent and create a veggie patty made out of lentils, beans, veggies, seeds, etc, until they get the recipe that works for their business and are proud to serve to their vegetarian customers. No I am not vegetarian but I do not eat beef (if you need an update on my cow love, check this older blog post out) but I love veggie burgers and I always hope that restaurant owners take the time to create a meal option for those who opt out of eating meat but still want a culinary burger masterpiece.

Of all the restaurants that I have eaten in and all of the veggie burgers that I have devoured, here are some of the best that I have ever had.
- Daniel Brennan Brickhouse (Charlottetown, PEI) - Margie Loo's Vegetarian Burger. Loved the sweet relish paired with the garlicky cream sauce. This one might be my favourite of all time so far. Maybe.
- Cedar's Eatery (Charlottetown, PEI) - Veggie Burger. When I first bit into this burger I thought they screwed up and gave me a regular beef burger. It was so meaty and rich I mistook it for actual meal. Absolutely delicious.
- The Outer Clove (Nelson, BC) - The Orbit Burger. Definitely the messiest veggie burger but is stuffed full of flavour. I always order this when I visit the restaurant.
- The Kootenay Bakery Cafe (Nelson, BC) - Veggie Burger. When I worked here I would load it up with sprouts and shredded carrots then top it off with salsa verde and garlic cream cheese. Heaven!
- Calactus (Moncton, NB) - Big Marc Burger. Lots of flavour and lots of love.

I was feeling the need to make some burgers for myself and they turned out excellent! They are vegan and gluten free (if you have gluten-free oat flour or you can use chickpea flour). I wanted to share the recipe for everyone else to enjoy! Damn I should have taken a picture of the one I had for lunch! It was a beauty.

- 2 cans drained and rinsed kidney beans (I soak and cook my own beans, so roughly, about 3 cups of cooked beans)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic (yeah, I like a lot of garlic)
- 1/4 cup oat flour
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (or use ketchup if you don't want to open a can of tomato paste)
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper

Directions: Toss the parsley and garlic in a food processor and finely mince. Add the onions and pulse until well chopped. Add the kidney beans and pulse until well blended but some chunks of bean still remain. Spoon out into a bowl and add all the remaining ingredients. Allow to sit in the fridge for at least an hour to let the flavours meld together. Preheat oven to 375F. Shape into 8 patties and put on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, flip, then bake another 15 minutes. ENJOY!