Black Bean Patties

What to do with that bag of dried beans that has been sitting in your pantry for over a year? Make vegan black bean patties! 

Ingredients 

3 cups cooked black beans 

2 tbsp tamarind paste

3/4 cup oat flour

1/2 cup salsa (I used my homemade Roasted Tomato Salsa)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp garlic powder

Juice from 1/2 lime 

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

1 tbsp coconut oil (optional)

Cornmeal for dusting

Heat oven to 350F. In a bowl, place cooked black beans and mash them with a fork or potato masher until beans are of the consistency of your liking. Add the tamarind paste, oat flour, salsa, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, lime juice and cilantro. Stir until well combined, if the mix is too moist add more oat flour. Form circular patties about 1.5 inch thick, dust each side with cornmeal and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until patties are browned. Heat a skillet on high heat, remove patties from oven and place each one on the skillet for about 2 minutes on each side for a crunchier patty.

I topped these black bean patties with lettuce, tomatoes, homemade BBQ sauce, cauliflower purée, caramelized onions and sautéed mushrooms. Bon appetit! 

Roasted Garlic Cashew Cream

This spread has many uses, can be eaten on bagels, crackers, in place of sour cream and so much more! 

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews 

4 tbsp lime or lemon juice 

4 large cloves of garlic 

Water 

Soak cashews overnight or for at least 3 hours by placing nuts in a mason jar and filling with water just so they are covered. Set oven to 375F. Wrap the unpeeled cloves of garlic in foil, mimicking the shape of a Hershey Kiss. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the garlic is soft enough to puncture with a fork. Once finished, peel garlic and place in the blender along with the the soaked cashews and citrus juice. Pour water into the blender about an inch under the top of the cashews. Blend, adjusting thickness to your liking by adding more lime juice or water. Move mixture to a container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before use. 

Apple Crisp Crumble

December 11th marks our two year anniversary, so for my boyfriend I made one of his favorite desserts: apple crisp crumble! I needed something quick and easy because with work all day, then my tutoring job after work, I literally had an hour to bake and make things look semi cute in our tiny Bangkok apartment. I rushed to the store, bought the ingredients I needed, biked home and successfully finished everything before he walked through the door. Here's the recipe..

Ingredients
Filling

3 large green apples, skin on

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp AP flour or cornstarch

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup coconut sugar, melted *

Dash of salt (optional)
Topping

3/4 cup oat flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

3 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp cinnamon

3/4 cup coconut sugar, melted *

Dash of salt (optional)

In a bowl, place lemon juice, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and melted coconut sugar, mix well with a whisk. Stir in chopped skin on apples until coated evenly. Place filling in an ungreased oven-safe dish. In a small bowl, mix all topping ingredients with a fork until consistency is reminiscent of wet sand. Sprinkle and spread evenly over the apple filling. Place in oven for 40-50 minutes on 350F or until the top is browned and the filling is slightly bubbling. Cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!

* To melt coconut sugar into a syrupy consistency I placed the sugar and a tbsp of water in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir briskly until melted.

Thai Green Mango Salad (Som Tam Mamuang)

My all time favorite Thai dish, Som Tam Mamuang or Thai Green Mango Salad. This dish is sweet and sour, usually made with fish sauce but with my magic powers I veganized it. Just kidding, all I did was switch out the stinky fish sauce for delicious tamarind paste.

Traditionally, this salad is made with a mortar and pestle. Thais refer to it as 'pok pok' because of the sound it makes when the pestle hits the mortar. They aggressively smash all the ingredients together, scraping the sides to extract all the flavors from each ingredient. The more common Som Tam is made with green papaya, exact same ingredients but substitute the mango for an unripe green papaya. I just prefer the mango.

Ingredients

1 medium green mango, shredded

2 long string beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 cup carrots, shredded

1 tomato, cubed

2 small Thai red chilis, diced

1 small shallot, peeled and sliced

1 tbsp coconut sugar, or more for a sweeter taste

1 tbsp tamarind paste

1 lime, juiced

1/4 cup unsalted peanuts

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Prepare all ingredients... Shred, cut, dice, slice... do what you've got to do. Combine all ingredients, yes ALL the ingredients, even the delicate tomato. Place in a large bowl (or if you have a massive mortar and pestle lying around...), using a fork, spoon or potato masher, start to mix and smash all ingredients together. Use some elbow grease for about 5 minutes and aggressively combine until the sugar has melted and all ingredients are dispersed evenly. For better flavor, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Papaya Salad