My latest Deal of the Day is good and bad. The good is all the natural ingredients, but flavor is badly lacking. You get two Veggie Burger patties by Chef Ernesto, that I bought at my local Dollar Tree discount store. It's basically a disc of mashed potatoes with some veggie pieces sprinkled in. The balance is heavy on potato and light on other veggies.
I made a Veggie Burger, since that's what the package said. Just the normal lettuce, tomato, pickle, mustard and mayo on a bun. It was a light meal and as filling as a small fast food burger.
A microwaved patty makes a mushy bite. It would have been better if the patty was crisped-up with sauteing? Anyway, the patty squashes flat after the first bite.
The mashed potatoes are plain and bland. I detected a few small chunks of boiled potato. The patty is quite hot when microwaved, so you need a spatula to load it on a sandwich. It's easier to handle plainly on a plate.
Click on any photo to see larger.
The veggies are small but you can still taste a little flavor, especially the whole corn kernels. Other veggies are bell pepper, green beans, onion and carrot. Ginger was also listed but I could not detect it flavor-wise.
The big reveal is how spicy-hot the veggie patties are; and probably why this Deal of the Day ended up in the Dollar Tree. If they would have put the spice level on the box, then maybe the right clientele would select it. A kid would not be able to handle the heat, unless they are used to spicy food. I noticed on the box that the patties are a product of India, so maybe the spice level was just lost in translation?
Also I'm surprised how humdrum the patty is, especially coming from a country with so many pungent and delectable spices.
Vegetable Oil is number two on the ingredient list, so some of the sogginess could be from too much oil. And just look at the amount left after heating -- I suspect the veggie patties are deep fried (see microwaved photo above.)
So on my Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best, I give Veggie Burgers a 4. It's not bad, just a bit bland and pedestrian. If you like plain mashed potatoes with a few veggie pieces, then go for it - it's only a buck.
My sister Denise makes a delish Veggie Patty made with fresh sauteed eggplant, just check out the video below to see how a delish Veggie Burger is made. And click here to see all the tasty recipe photos and cooking text.
It's a tasty soy burger that comes cooked and frozen. All you do is zap it for a minute and a half and it's ready to eat. I'm wary of frozen factory-made veggie patties, but Lightlife Meat Free Backyard Grill'n Burgers were surprisingly savory.
I got mine at the 99c only Store and the package holds 4 patties - a great deal. As I've pointed out before, this type of Deal of the Day is often only stocked for a day or two before they sell out. So I can't guarantee if you can find them. But if you see them grab a few bags. Even for a regular price at a typical grocery, it would be worth it. A delish soy or veggie burger is hard to find.
Resting on a typical cheap burger bun, the soy patty was the right size and thickness. I dress my burger with mayo, mustard, lettuce and tomato. The soy patty microwaves fast, as it's already cooked. I covered the patty with wax paper to make sure it didn't dry out, if it defrosted early.
frozen defrosted
I liked how moist the soy-veggie patty was. The main ingredients are listed as: water, soy protein, canola oil, wheat starch and eggs whites. Do eggs whites disqualify this burger as vegetarian?
As for the taste it was beef-light in flavor with a slight mushroom undertaste. The texture was slightly chewy, in a good way - similar to a well done beef patty, but still moist. It is under-seasoned, so you may want to add a little salt and pepper, or seasoned salt. The color is boring brown, but that's okay. (And topped with melting cheese would definitely bring the soy burger over the top.)
Overall I was quite impressed with Lightlife's soy patty. It reheats fast and is quite tasty. So on a Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best, I give Lightlife Meat Free Backyard Gill'n Burgers an 8 ! It is a good all-around soy patty, with enough flavor to satisfy a meat eater. It's an excellent Deal of the Day.
My youngest sister came out to LA this summer from Austin, Texas. I've visited Austin a few times and have always had a great time. We also get along politically, as Austin is a small pocket of Blue in a severely Red State.
My sister and her husband Dale are old hippy souls who do their own tie-dye. They are also big outdoors types who hike, camp, cave and take frequent trips to off-the-map Mexico locations. They have a large front yard garden and a huge compost pile in the back yard. And of course Denise and Dale eat healthy, foraging from their garden and canning the crops. (The Whole Foods Market chain began in Austin.)
A favorite meal of Dale's is Denise's Eggplant Burger, which she was kind enough to cook in my latest recipe video below.
First off we headed to my local 99c Only Store for ingredients. Denise was skeptical but quickly saw the cheap$kate light when we hit the produce section. It carried all the fresh vegetable ingredients she needed, including: eggplant (not always stocked, but frequent enough,) red bell pepper, onions, mushrooms and garlic. It also carried whole wheat buns and bread for breadcrumbs, eggs, mozzarella, dried parmesan cheese and mayo.
I think Denise and Dale are now 99c only Store converts as you will see in the recipe video opening. Denise was literally dancing in the aisles because of all the great deals we found.
Back in the kitchen Denise showed me how easy it is to make her Eggplant Burgers. Between the two of us we got the chopping done and went right to sauteing the veggies. When the veggies are cooked soft, you refrigerate the mixture for about an hour to firm it up, then form and saute the eggplant patties. We ended up making enough for four, with a couple patties leftover, which my wife cooked up a few days later.
Did the recipe turn me into a vegetarian? Not quite, but they were one of the best veggie burgers I've had. Big fat veggie patties seared crunchy on the outside, but still soft on the inside, this burger had it all. But don't take my word for it, just watch the end of the video to get other satisfied diner comments.
(And this is a rain check recipe, as extra eggplant patties can be separated by wax paper and frozen in a Ziploc bag or container for future use.)
So check out Denise's Eggplant Burger video recipe below, and see how deliciously easy it is to make your own.
Denise's Eggplant Burger - VIDEO
Play it here, video runs 8 minutes, 34 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, justclick here.
And 99 thanks to Dalefor shooting the Chef.
Ingredients (about 6-8 veggie patties, depending on eggplant size)
2 medium eggplants - diced into 1/2 inch pieces. About 8 cups total when cubed. My video uses 1 1/2 eggplants, so I am adding an extra cup of breadcrumbs to recipe (for 2 whole eggplants.) Okay to use Japanese or any type of eggplant, but may need to double or triple the amount, depending on size.
1/2 cup chopped onion - any type.
1/4 bell pepper - red for the video recipe, but any color is okay.
Garlic – about 2 cloves minced
Mushrooms – one small package
1/4 cup mayo
2 eggs - lightly beaten
1 cup mozzarella/parmesan - mostly shredded mozzarella and 4 tablespoons of cheap dried parmesan.
2 cups breadcrumbs - Okay to use dried and packaged. I made fresh. Just blender 2-3 slices of bread until fine crumbled - pulse/blender about 30 seconds.
1 tablespoon oil for onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and garlic.
2 to 3 tablespoons oil for frying eggplant - may need more to keep from sticking, if cooking eggplant in batches.
And 2 to 3 more tablespoons of oil for sauteing eggplant patties.
Salt and pepper to taste - or Cajun Seasoning, like Tony's Chachere's.
Bread for veggie burgers - I used whole wheat buns, but okay to use any favorite bun or bread slices, even pita bread.
Favorite burger toppings like lettuce, tomato and pickles, with mayo, mustard and/or ketchup.
Directions
Saute chopped onions, bell pepper and mushrooms in oil over medium heat about 5-10 minutes. When soft add garlic and saute for another minute.
Cube 1 1/2 eggplants into 1 inch pieces, okay to leave skin on. In a large pan, saute eggplant in oil over medium heat until very soft, about 10 to 20 minutes.
When all veggies are cooked, allow to cool about 5 minutes before adding eggs.
In a large bowl mix all cooked veggie ingredients, including eggs, cheese and bread crumbs.
Chill in fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. Eggplant mixture is quite wet and mushy, so chilling will firm it up, making it easier to work with.(If you are cooking with a BBQ grill, allow a couple of hours in the refrigerator for eggplant patties to get extra firm so they don't slip through the grating.)
Start to heat 2 - 3 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Form chilled eggplant mixture into patties, about an inch thick and big enough to fill a hamburger bun. Cook eggplant patties about 5-10 minutes each side until dark brown.
I find it best to not move the patty for 3-5 minutes, so a crust forms that helps keep the patty from breaking apart and sticking even more to the pan.
Depending on how small the eggplant pieces are, a few may separate from patty - so either press them back in or chow down on loose pieces when done.
And make sure to loosen each patty totally from pan, or they will break apart when turning them over.
You can get out and prepare all your hamburger toppings before the eggplant patties cook.
Hindsight
The recipe is easy to half and cook with just one eggplant (one cup of breadcrumbs per eggplant, one egg, 1/2 cup of cheese, etc.)
The cooked texture is a mix of crunchy outside and soft, mushy interior. So it may seem undercooked, but as long as the outside is well browned, the mixed egg inside will be done.
Soft bread or buns are preferred as eggplant patty may squish and break when chewy bread is used.
If your eggplant patties are too crumbly, try adding one more egg to mixture (which will help firm up the patties as they cook.) Also, smaller eggplant pieces will hold together better, and make sure the eggplant cubes are cooked long enough to be very soft.
I left the skin on my eggplant so browning may be hard to see, but cook until the outside is dark brown.
If you are carb-phobic, Denise's Eggplant Patties are delish on their own, served with your favorite sides, or a salad.
Also I'm surprised how humdrum the patty is, especially coming from a country with so many pungent and delectable spices.
