The "New" Fig Tree Blog

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I am so very excited to be launching the new Fig Tree blog today! After three months of working with Jesse to design and code the new blog, I am thrilled to finally be able to share the new space with all of you. I’m also excited to finally show you the new logo I had designed by the incredibly talented Melissa at Wooden Spoons Kitchen. Melissa was absolutely wonderful to work with. She was able to capture exactly what I was looking for in a design. She also helped me rediscover what inspires me when choosing photos and recipes to share on The Fig Tree blog. Thank you a million times over Melissa! You are a star!

 

For my regular readers, you may have noticed that the focus of The Fig Tree has changed slightly along with its new look. The blog’s focus will remain on vegetarian and vegan cuisine. However, I will now be concentrating on putting together posts inspired by the many ethnic cuisines from around the world. Such inspiration has lead me to lead a life of variety and enabled me to become creative in the kitchen. I’m hoping my new focus will inspire you to try new ingredients + techniques and become creative in the kitchen too.

 

Please take a moment and look around. I’d love to hear about your thoughts on the new focus and the new design. Please feel free to contact me if you find any links or features that do not work. I’d like to iron out all of the kinks as soon as possible :)

 

Thank you for your continued readership! xo

 

And please check out Wooden Spoons Kitchen. I highly recommend this company for fantastic design and hosting services.

Best Black Bean Burgers

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It’s no secret – I adore veggie burgers. I think I’ve mentioned this fact a number of times on The Fig Tree over the past few years. Sorry for the redundancy…but I freaking love veggie burgers! *hehe* Every time I see one on a menu, I inevitably have to order it. For me, there’s nothing more satisying or filling than a really good veggie burger. I’ve had some incredible veggie burgers at a number of restaurants (such as Stellas’, Black Bird Café, Le Garage Café and Baked Expectations), but have had a bit of trouble creating the perfect veggie burger at home.
For me, a veggie burger has to be soft on the inside without being too gummy. It must be crispy on the outside and full of flavour. And it has to hold up well to cooking/grilling and be the perfect canvas for an assortment of garnishes. I’ve come close to finding the perfect veggie burger to make at home with my Mediterranean Quinoa Burgers and my Butternut Squash Nut Burgers. They are really delicious! However, this Black Bean Burger has exceeded all of my expectations. Since you cook them from frozen, the stay together well on the grill or in a frying pan. The exterior becomes crispy, but the interior remains soft. They have a lot of flavour and the recipe can easily be adapted to change up the flavour profile. Making a large batch and freezing them is ideal, as you can just heat up a few whenever you are craving a really good veggie burger regardless of the time of year.
What are your favourite toppings to put on a veggie burger?
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Best Black Bean Burgers

Yield: 8 burgers

Ingredients

  • 2-16 ounce cans of low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons of chopped flat-leaf parley or cilantro
  • 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 2 large eggs (or 2 flax eggs)
  • 1 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1 heaping tablespoon of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of chili powder
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs (optional)
  • 1 cup of quick oats (can use gluten free oats)
  • 8 whole wheat (or gluten free) burger buns

Method

  1. Mash black beans. Note: I leave a 1/4 of the beans whole for texture.
  2. In a food processor, finely chop the red bell pepper, the parsley (or cilantro), and garlic. Add in the oats, eggs (or flax eggs), cumin, onion powder and chili powder. Season with salt and pepper. Pulse mixture until everything is finely chopped. Stir mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in panko if using.
  3. Chill the mixture for 30 minutes, so it is easy to handle. Once well chilled, form eight patties and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or wax paper.
  4. Freeze burgers on the baking sheet for 2 hours. Store burgers in a freezer safe container or plastic bag. Keep burgers frozen until ready to cook, so that they keep their shape nicely while cooking. You can pan fry, BBQ or bake these burgers.
  5. To Cook: Heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a large frying pan. Pan fry the burgers until the outsides are nicely crisp and the middles are hot (about 7 minutes per side).
  6. To Grill: Preheat the grill over medium heat and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. Grill the burgers for 7 to 8 minutes per side.
  7. To Bake: Bake at 375'F on a lightly oil baking sheet until burgers are slightly crispy and heated through.
  8. Garnish burgers are desired. I love to garnish these black bean burgers with fresh tomato slices, avocado and a little sweet + spicy mayonnaise (1/2 cup of mayo and 3 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce)
Source: adapted from Skinny Taste

Vegetarian Tourtière

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On Tuesday, I posted about a local winter festival that we attend every February called Festival du Voyageur. I also commented on the awesome food one can enjoy at the Festival each year. Unfortunately, most of the food contains a lot of animal products, so I have been unable to enjoy it for a number of years. So, I made it my mission this year to create vegetarian/vegan versions of my favourite French-Canadian recipes.

 I have already shared a vegetarian/vegan version of French-Canadian Pea Soup. And today, I’d like to share a vegetarian/vegan pie that Canadians call Tourtière. For many French-Canadians, tourtière is a traditional pie that always makes an appearance at family holidays and gatherings. I’ve not had it in years, as the basis for this pie is meat. Lots of meat. The meat is flavoured with garlic, onion, ground cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. A little soy sauce is added for another savoury element. The meat is then mixed with some slowly cooked vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and celery. Everything is topped off with a crusty, light pastry and usually served with a apple or pear ketchup.

For this vegetarian version, I opted to use veggie ground in lieu of the ground beef or ground pork. If you are not a fan of veggie ground, you could use tempeh crumbles or perhaps even some under-cooked lentils. Tourtière is supposed to be very rustic and hearty. I tried my best to capture this in my photo, but photographing tourtière proved to be very difficult! *hah* I promise, this photo does not do the French-Canadian pie justice. It’s savoury, spice-filled and perfectly comforting for the cold winter months. 

Hé ho! Bon Festival! :)
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons of canola oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 packages of veggie ground (such as Yves Veggie Ground)
  • 2 teaspoons of soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon of cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 4 ribs of celery, diced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 2 cups of cubed, peeled potatoes
  • 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 cups of vegetable broth

Savoury Pastry
  • 1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
  • 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening
  • 1 teaspoon of vinegar
  • 1/3 cup of ice water

Method

Savoury Pastry: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt and thyme. Add cubed vegetable shortening. Pulse the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Note: you can also use a pastry cutter or two knives to achieve the coarse crumbs if you don’t have a food processor. Add vinegar to mixture then pulse while slowly adding the cold water. Dough should quickly come together nicely. Press into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. 
1. Preheat oven to 400’F. In a large saucepan, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Sauté diced onion until softened and translucent (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and sauté another 2 minutes. Add in the veggie ground heating it through and allowing it to brown a little. Add in the soy sauce, ground pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. Mix well and then remove mixture from heat.

2. Meanwhile, in a large stockpot, bring vegetable broth, potatoes, carrots and celery to a boil. Add the ground thyme, salt, pepper and bay leaves then reduce heat to a summer. Cook until the vegetable stock has reduced and the potatoes are very soft (about 20 to 25 minutes). Mash potatoes with the back of a wooden spoon to thicken up the mxture.

3. Stir the vegetable mixture into the veggie ground mixture. 

4. Place filling into a deep 9-inch pie plate. Remove dough from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Fit the pastry over the pie plate. Trim to the rim of the plate. Create a decorative edge.

5. Decorate top of pie with pastry scraps, if desired, then cut steam vents on top. Bake in the bottom third of a 400’F oven until bubbly and golden (about 35 minutes). Note: Do no overfill the pie plate with the filling. It will bubble over and create a mess in your oven if you are not careful (as I found out!)

Yield: serves 6

Source: loosely adapted from Canadian Living Magazine 2008