Easy Vegan Pumpkin Muffins & more....

First we did a little bit of this..... (Yeah!)Then we had a little bit of that (yuck)...not a big fan of this one. Sorry Amazing Grass. But I do still LOVE you when you are coated with chocolate!
I got the hankering for an UNPROCESSED veggie burger for lunch today. I initially pulled out my Eat Drink & Be Vegan cookbook, which I HIGHLY recommend, and found her Chickpea Sensation Patty recipe. I realized that I was missing the key ingredients that would effect the taste of the patty, so I did a little bit of recreating on my own. Since this isn't her exact recipe I'll share what I did!

Growing up I used to love to eat empanadas...the yumminess of the cumin spice with a bit of a bite to it from the crushed red pepper! So I decided to try and recreate a Chickpea burger with an empanada flair!

Chickpea Empanada Burger

1 1/2 cups onion, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

2 cups chickpeas

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

2 T Worcestershire sauce

2 T tamari

1/4 cup Cumin (or more/less based on your taste...the more the better here!)

Crushed red pepper, to taste

2 cups short grain brown rice

3/4 cup quick oats

Combine chickpeas, garlic, worcestershire, tamari, cumin, & red pepper in food processor until fully blended.

In the meantime, saute the onions and celery over medium heat until they are soft. Once done put mixture into the processor and blend with chickpeas.

Add 1 cup of brown rice to processor and blend. Then add another cup and lightly pulse, leaving some texture. Pour into bowl and add oats. Stir. Cover and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.
Form into patties with your hands. On skillet, over medium heat, add patties frying on each side for 6-9 minutes, until golden!
The kids wanted theirs "hamburger style" so I put theirs between whole wheat bread with some ketchup!
I had mine atop a green salad with romaine, carrots, avocado, hummus, balsamic, EVOO and ketchup! :) These patties ROCKED my socks! They had the same taste I remembered from the empanadas I love so much. I'm so excited to have modified this recipe and liked it so much!!!
Dinner tonight was a yummy veggie stew I had brewing all day in the crock pot. I think everything but the kitchen sink was in this. Peas, Green Beans, Carrots, Corn, Green Peppers, Onions, Diced Tomatoes, Potatoes, Thyme, Parsley, Bay Leaf, Tomato Sauce, Red Wine, Garlic and water!

Last night when I was at Mimi's Cafe, they had these really good pumpkin muffins...I wanted one of those to go with the stew. Since I couldn't really have one of THEIRS, I made this easy pumpkin recipe ... it's sooooo simple!

Pumpkin Spice Muffin

2 cups WW pastry flour

1/2 cup Sucanat

1 T baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup Milk (I used Almond Milk)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix all dry ingredients.

Then pour in pumpkin, water & milk. Stir until just mixed.
Pour into greased muffin tin (or use muffin cups).
Bake for 20 minutes, until tops of muffins bounce back when pressed lightly. Remove from oven and let cool on cooling rack!
I spread a wee bit of Honey "butter" (aka honey and Earth balance combined in a bowl) over the tops of these....S.C.R.U.M.P.T.I.O.U.S The husband ate THREE I think! :)