My Foodie Luv First Food Experiences: Veggie Burger

Veggie burgers look like burgers but they don't contain meat. Do you remember the first time you ate a veggie burger?

Can you remember your first veggie burger experience? I can remember mine. I ran away!  Me? Eat a meatless burger? I think not!

I was working at a state hospital and there was a small restaurant open for breakfast and lunch. Most of the employees and managers ate there. On a certain day of the week, the owner’s special was soy burgers. The burgers looked delicious! I would have eaten it too if she (the owner/manager) had not casually mentioned before I was about to order that it was a meatless burger.

I’m like: No beef! It’s a hamburger with no meat! Forget about it!

She laughed at my reaction and told me that so many people would order those soy burgers that she would run out of them. She never had enough to serve all the customers. If I had not seen it with my own eyes I would have thought she was just kidding me. But she wasn’t kidding! Her customers really loved those veggie burgers. But I wasn’t convinced.

Fast forward about 10 to 15 years later and for personal reasons, major dietary changes had to be made for the sake of a certain family member. I found myself not having to choose whether I would eat a veggie burger, but what kind of veggie burger was I going to eat? Oh my! There are only thousands of recipes and several brands in the store that you can buy ready-made.

Me personally, I like veggie burgers made with mushrooms. They at least have a “meaty” taste. Several years have passed and now I’m perfectly OK with eating veggie burgers. Of course, they don’t taste like a hamburger. But they don’t taste nearly as awful as I imagined that they would. I don’t know what I was thinking when I worked at the state hospital. After all veggie burgers are made out of foods I usually eat anyway: beans, chickpeas, mushrooms, nuts, oats. The only difference is they shape those foods into a patty to make it look like a burger. Duh!

It’s so true. You eat with your mind. LOL.

Do you have a favorite veggie burger?

The 12 Best Veggie Burger Recipes | The Spruce Eats

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Like to know about some of my other “First Food Experiences”?

• Bagels

• Eggplant

• Baked Potato Topping

• Roasted Pig (Lechòn)

• Zucchini Muffins

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Content published elsewhere on the web.

Recipe Sharing: Chinese Pork Pies (Guest Post)

The Chinese do such wonderful things with pork.  Like Chinese Pork Pies.  Here's the recipe published via Taste.com.mt.  

(Apologies.  This recipe was found on Noise.Cash, a social platform that no longer exists.  After diligent research via the Internet I found the content published elsewhere and corrected the link.)

INGREDIENTS

400g pork sausages, casings removed

4 spring onions (shallots), thinly sliced

2 teaspoons pure Sesame Oil

1 1/2 teaspoons ground star anise

125ml (1/2 cup) warm water

50g lard or butter

300g (2 cups) cake, biscuit & pastry plain flour (see note)

1 tablespoon warm water, extra (optional)

1 egg, lightly whisked

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Tomato chutney, to serve

Watercress sprigs, to serve

METHOD

Step 1

Place the sausage meat, spring onion, sesame oil, and star anise in a bowl. Use your hands to knead until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 1 hour to rest.

Step 2

Stir the water and lard or butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes or until the lard or butter melts. Place the flour in a food processor. Season with salt. Add the water mixture and process until the mixture comes together, adding the extra water if necessary. Transfer to a clean surface and quickly knead until smooth.

Step 3

Preheat oven to 180oC. Divide the pastry into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other. Roll out the larger portion until 2-3mm thick. Use an 11.5cm round pastry cutter to cut 6 discs from the pastry. Line six 80ml (1/3 cup) muffin pans with the discs. Divide the sausage mixture among the lined pans, pushing the mixture into the side of each pan. Roll out the remaining pastry until 2-3mm thick, re-rolling the excess pastry if necessary. Use a 9.5cm cutter to cut six discs from the pastry. Place the discs on top of the pork mixture and crimp the edges to seal.

Step 4

Bake the pies for 30 minutes or until they start to brown. Transfer to a baking tray. Brush the tops with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden. Set aside to cool. Serve with the chutney and watercress sprigs.

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Tomato, Peach and Whipped Ricotta Salad (Guest Post)

Wouldn't you love to serve this tomato, peach and whipped ricotta salad?  Here's the recipe.  Here's where you can find more awesome recipes like this one:  Everything About Food | Noise.Cash.

(Apologies.  A link to the original post was provided but the social platform (Noise.Cash) shut down and the content was unpublished.)

After a diligent search, I found the recipe republished via Taste.com.au.

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Credit to original source: Found on https://noise.cash/.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

400g tomato medley mix, halved

2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced

3 yellow peaches, stones removed and discarded, cut into thin wedges

375g fresh ricotta

3/4 cup plain Greek-style yoghurt

1 small garlic clove, crushed

1/4 cup pistachio and thyme dukkah, plus extra to serve

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

METHOD

Step 1

Whisk vinegar and oil in a large bowl until well combined. Season. Transfer 1 tablespoon of mixture to a small bowl and reserve. Add tomatoes and peaches to large bowl. Gently toss to combine.

Step 2

Process ricotta, yoghurt, garlic and dukkah in a food processor until well combined. Season.

Step 3

Spread ricotta mixture over base of a large serving platter. Drain tomato mixture, discarding liquid. Arrange over ricotta mixture. Top with basil and extra dukkah. Drizzle with reserved vinegar mixture. Serve.