Sunburgers

I'm on a quest for good grain recipes to help me make grain the staff of my life.  This next recipe is a good one, and even satisfies some of the most ardent meat addicts. I do have one dear brother-in-law who takes himself out for hamburgers and Coke after eating here, but most others that I've served this to have really liked it.  It came from my friend Fawn, whose family owns a health food store.  


I absolutely love this recipe for several reasons.  One, it totally takes the place of hamburgers for me.  We haven't been big meat eaters for a long time, but these patties make great burgers, and the toppings can send them way over the top. Another thing I like is that it makes a ton and these freeze great, so you can use them for several meals.  Put these on whole wheat buns with your choice of the toppings listed at the end of the recipe and you'll be in heaven.  I especially like to put mashed avocado on the bun, then add sliced cucumber, pickles, peppers, tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, onions, salsa and lettuce, but you can do whatever floats your boat. Bon appetit!




Sunburgers 

(Do the best you can on the ingredients, and if you don’t have some of the stuff, don’t worry about it.  Probably the most important parts are the oats, water, and tamari.)

In a large pot, start boiling 12 cups of water. While it’s heating up, add:

1 T. dried parsley

1 t. olive oil

4 t. (total, not each, of) thyme, basil, marjoram (or just Italian seasoning)

½ C. dried onion

½ t. garlic powder

½ C. nutritional yeast

1-3 t. nutrisoup, or other bouillon flavor

½ t. celery pwd.

1 ¾ C. tamari (soy sauce)

1 C. sunflower seeds

When the water is boiling add at least 12 C. regular oats (quick is probably okay).  The mix should get almost instantly stiff.  If it seems too liquidy (sp??), add more oats.  Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for ½ hour.  Use a ½ c. ice cream scoop to put balls on greased cookie sheet.  Then flatten with a spatula inside a baggie. (If that doesn't compute,  it means to put a sandwich baggie over the spatula head, then press down on the balls of mix to flatten them.) Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, then flip them over and bake another 15 minutes.*  This makes about 56 burgers that can be stacked after they’re cooled, and stored in plastic bags and frozen. You do not need to put waxed paper or anything in between them.  They don’t stick together.  When you want to use them, put them on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes, or until warmed.  Suggested toppings:  bell peppers, onions, pickles, tomatoes, avocado, salsa, sautéed mushrooms, lettuce, sprouts, condiments, the kitchen sink, etc.  J

*A tip for baking a lot at one time, if you don't have a convection oven:  Fill 4 baking sheets with the patties, put them in the oven on two racks with 2 sheets per rack, and bake for 7 minutes.  Then, switch the ones from the upper rack to the lower and the ones from the lower racks to the upper and bake for another 8 minutes.  Then, flip all the patties over and do the same thing again, switching the pans half way through.  This makes them bake evenly and they turn out perfect.