Vegan Dinner: Black Bean Quinoa Burgers, Wheat Buns, & PB Agave Cookies

In honor of spring's official arrival, vegan dinner was "cookout" inspired this week.

On Wednesday night, I started making the White Whole Wheat Burger Buns. The recipe called for only one major rising; however, I didn't throw the dough together until late in the evening and I was not about to stay up longer than I had to. So, I made up my own directions...AH! Having a few yeast breads under my belt gave me the confidence (cockiness?) to try it. Instead of leaving it out for two hours to rise in a warm place, it sat covered in the fridge until my lunch break on Thursday (~17 hours). Then I  punched it down and put it in a warmed oven until after work (~4 hours). By that time, it had come back down to room temperature and risen again. I split it, shaped it, and let it rest for 15 minutes before putting it in the preheated oven and saying a prayer. The end result certainly looked and smelled like bread!

Having bought a bag of sweet potatoes at Trader Joe's earlier in the week, I found a recipe for Sweet Potato Fries. I LOVE SWEET POTATO FRIES! This recipe promised crispy baked fries, with part of the trick being the use of cornstarch (I used arrowroot powder instead). The fries weren't exactly crispy, but I think it was it because I sprayed with olive oil rather than tossing.

The main event was Black Bean Quinoa Burgers! They didn't stay together perfectly, but they were nonetheless delicious and filling.

Our dessert was Peanut Butter Agave Cookies, found in a cookbook named Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. It was primarily chosen because the recipe contains no refined sugar; instead the cookies are sweetened with agave nectar and brown rice syrup, two natural sweeteners I've never tried before! The end result were soft and actually tasted similar to a peanutty graham cracker. HIGHLY addictive and not overly sweet.