Pandowdy, pandwody, pandowdy.

After seeing this post over at have cake will travel, I did decide to try the black bean burgers! We have been searching for a nice burger for quick suppers/lunch/grilling and this fits the bill for the first two. It was good- the color was good, the texture was nice and the taste was tasty, what else can I say? My husband liked them more than the chickpea cutlets, so that's nice, too! From Veganomicon.

Black Bean Burgers

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (3)*
1/2 C vital wheat gluten (4)
1/2 C bread crumbs (4)
1 t cumin
1/4 C water
1 T HP sauce
1 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder

I mixed it all in the mixer (sorry, Isa!). First, mashing the beans, then adding everything else.
Knead by hand a little, divide into 6 and make patties and cook in a little oil in a skillet.
Each pattie is 2 points, plus ?maybe 2? for the oil soaked up during frying = 4 point per patty

Notes;
next time ?add 1/4 t salt?
can use minced garlic and actual onion
loved the HP sauce in there, but now I feel guilty (see wiki article above) for HP sauce is now made outside of England by Heinz! Geez, I got it as a replacement for Worcestershire sauce! White rice conundrum!
also, can replace HP sauce with ketchup. At least the HP sauce isn't chock full of corn syrup.
*these little numbers in parenthesis represent POINTS values ala Weight Watchers.

I also made Strawberry Rhubarb Pandowdy (from Veganomicon again, but not mango-whatever that was in the book- that pie crust is awesome!).

I oopsed and made the crust with 1/2 C shortening not 1/3 C and it still turned out great!- probably actually much easier to roll out, huh? I guess that's why I had to add a little flour in at the end 'cause it was sticking... but it didn't really matter because it all got smushed into the pie filling! Beauty!

crust;
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour (12)
1 T sugar (1)
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking powder
1/2 C cold shortening (24)
1/4 C cold water + 2 T if needed
2 t apple cider vinegar

filling;
1 C rhubarb
2 C strawberries
1/2 C sugar (8)
1 t lemon juice
1 t cinnamon
2 T cornstarch

Cut shortening a little at a time into dry ingredients with pastry cutter. Combine vinegar with 1/4 C water and add a little at a time while mixing with pastry cutter. Add up to 2 T water if needed to get dough to hold together when pinched. Gather into a ball and knead a little, flatten into disk and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hr.

Mix together filling ingredients and set aside.

When dough has chilled, remove from frig and roll out onto parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Dump filling into pie plate, place crust on top and bake at 350 degrees for 30m, take out of oven, cut crust into 1" squares and smush into filling, then bake 20m more or until crust is golden.

45 points total, divide into 8ths, 1/8th = 6 points (gasp). This was, of course, very, very good. Used up the last of the CSA rhubarb! Wah!

Notes; next time ?try 1/4 C flour? instead of cornstarch.

Going to the library to get new books!! Woo! Going to try and find some book that has "something something Fire and Ice" in it's title, by the guy who wrote "Dreamsongs". Hah. Wish me luck.

Could not get through "The Custom of the Country" by Edith Wharton. Brain too tired to hack through it. Need light sci fi/fantasy.

No knitting. Soooo close to being done with scarf, centrepullball is all squishy and gutted, awaiting it's doom, but it sits on the shelf in stasis. Must push on through.