new and memorial day menu

So i've decided to seperate out the recipes from my main blog...it makes the whole thing seem very bipolar and fragmented with the recipes interspersed. so here it goes.

Last night, in honor of memorial day, we did a quasi barbeque theme. We ended up eating it all inside, since Katie's wrist was hurting so bad, but oh well. but yes, anyway, we ended up having pasta salad and three-bean burgers on bialys.

Pasta Salad (i should come up with a real name...)

Salad:

2/3 of a box of whole wheat rotini, cooked, rinsed and cooled

2 cups blanched mixed wax and green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large tomato, dinced into 1/2-1/4 inch pieces

1/4 c roasted unsalted sunflower seeds

1/4 c fake bacon bits

Dressing:

1/4 c white vinegar

1/2 c olive oil

2 tbsp water

1/4 c dried non-fat milk (can use powdered soy milk, we just don't have any)

2 tbsp nutritional yeast, small flakes

1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

2 tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos

1 tsp "italian seasoning" (rosemary, thyme, basil, sage, oregano)

salt to taste

Mix all the salad ingredients and set aside. Mix the dressing and shake well. Pour over the salad, mix well, cover and let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour for the flavors to blend. Can add more bacos at the end for a nice crunch.

Three-Bean burgers

4 cups mixed cooked beans (we used white, kidney and chickpeas), mashed

1 cup reconstitued tvp (seasoned with soy sauce, optional)

2 cups dry binder (bread crumbs, corn meal, ground oatmeal, crushed unsweetened cereal...we used a mix)

1 tbsp bragg's liquid aminos

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

fresh cracked pepper

Can add: lightly cooked veggies such as shredded carrot, onion, spinach, etc, but this was Katie's project and she's purist...

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F). Mix beans, any additional veggies, 1 1/4 cup of the binder, and seasonings. Form patties of whatever size you want. Add more binder if they seem too moist. Once patties are formed, coat them with remaining binder and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 425, then reduce the heat to 300 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes. They will seem soft when they come out of the oven but they will firm up in a few minutes. They can be eaten like that, or grilled lightly. Left overs can be wrapped in tinfoil and frozen for up to a month.

We had them on toasted bialys from Rein's Deli in Rhode Island, a treat from mom and dad. I personally just had ketchup, but dress them however you like. Roasted red pepper strips would be nice...next time.

desert was apples from the farmer's market with natural peanut butter and a square of vegan 65% cocoa dark chocolate.