Arizona's Black Bean Burgers

Happy Meatless Monday everyone!  For those of you who aren't familiar with the magic that is Meatless Monday, it all started during World War I.  Wait, did you think I was going to tell you about some modern hippie food movement?  During WWI the US Food Administration encouraged families to decrease their food consumption to help support the war effort, coining terms like Meatless Monday and Wheatless Wednesday.  These efforts resumed in WWII when food rationing was used to supply food to war-ravaged Europe.  In 2003, Meatless Monday was revived by combined efforts of former advertising executive Sid Lerner and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for a Livable Future.  Their goal was to develop a public health awareness campaign in response to the increasing prevalence of preventable diseases associated with excessive meat consumption.  Since it's beginning, Meatless Monday has become a global phenomenon and I'm challenging you to go meatless on Mondays.  For more information and recipe ideas, visit the Meatless Monday website.

On to the news.  Someone recently asked me how to make a good bean burger from scratch. Challenge accepted!  So a group of friends spent an evening in my tiny kitchen sniffing spices and debating ways to make the perfect bean burger.  Clearly we had to start with black beans because they have a dense, meaty texture, but to make them heartier we added short-grain brown rice.  After working out a couple of cooking glitches, we created Arizona's Black Bean Burgers.  If you are new to bean burgers, this is a great recipe to get your hands dirty.  They're simple, fresh, and delicious.  Try them topped with Fresh Corn Salsa, sliced avocado, and a side of Seasoned Sweet Potato Oven Fries.  Enjoy!

Arizona's Black Bean Burgers, Serves 8
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cooked short grain brown rice
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
2 T. canola oil
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Saute onion and bell pepper in 1/2 tsp. oil until soft.  Mash beans until they are well smashed but not pureed.  Add all remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  Form into patties and grill 4-5 minutes per side until heated through.