Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Burger 'n' Rings

Though I'd like people to believe I cook everything from scratch, I actually enjoy a frozen veggie burger every once in awhile. I love Boca's vegan patty and they're cheaper than other brands like fancy Amy's brand burgers or Gardenburger. But a plain Boca is, well, kinda plain. So I like to jazz 'em up, and I always welcome new ideas.

That was the case with this Teriyaki Burger from Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia Simpson:

Though Simpson's book features plenty of from-scratch dishes, she also includes a few ideas for dressin' up a plain-jane veggie burger. The teriyaki burger featured a homemade teriyaki sauce (so yea, I did make that from scratch ... the recipe is included in Alicia's book) and grilled pineapple rings. I served it on a whole wheat bun. The burger was delicious, and I'd certainly never think to include pineapple on my burger without Alicia's suggestion.

On the side, I wanted to make the homemade onion rings from Simpson's book. But I couldn't bring myself to deep fry them as the recipe called for. Normally, I'm all about the deep fryer, but Thanksgiving just happened ... so I needed a junk food break.

Instead, I opted to use the instructions for baked Onion Rings in Skinny Bitch in the Kitch:

The result? A little drier than fried onion rings. But the lack of grease was worth it, knowing that I could indulge in as many rings as I wanted without the guilt. Oh, and I dipped these little guys into my new favorite condiment — sriracha ketchup! I mix a couple tablespoons of organic ketchup with a generous squirt of spicy sriracha.

26 comments:

T said...

Oooh, that is an excellent idea for a plain ole veggie burger, I will snatch that right up! Guess you could do the same thing with BBQ sauce, couldn't you? YUM!

Gina said...

I think I need to try sriracha. I bought these sriracha peas, and they are my most favorite snack EVER. Kind of like wasabi peas, but with sriracha instead.

Burger looks really yummy, and I love the idea of baked onion rings, but I couldn't be bothered with battering something. I'm so lazy as of late, haha.

The Voracious Vegan said...

I love the idea of mixing up a plain old veggie burger. I love to change things up like that, it can be so fun to think of new variations. Those onion rings look so perfect, I haven't had any in years! Why not!?!

Unknown said...

Read Skinny Bitch and put it in my top 5 of all time. I really need to get my copy of SB in the Kitch! Onion ring looks perfect.

Anonymous said...

yummmmy that burger and rings looks delish!

Tom Scholfield said...

These look amazing, I should not be wanting burgers and onion rings at 8:00 in the morning.

Happy Older Hippie Woman! said...

I love Burgers. I love Food. Hello, may name is Carol, and I'm a foodaholic...AND I'M DAMNED PROUD OF IT!!! How can one NOT be when we love to cook and bake and have folks like Mz. Crunk adding to our own recipe resevoirs?! So many concepts, so many variations - thanks Bianca!

kilax said...

Oh gosh, that meal looks restaurant quality! And I love that you baked the onion rings. I think the un-greasyness is worth the saved calories!

Anonymous said...

That is such a good idea! Looks delish :-)

Vegan In The VI said...

Did you grill the pineapple ring first? What Teriyaki Sauce recipe did you use?

Sarah S. said...

Sriracha ketchup, what?? awesome! love the look of those onion rings

Anonymous said...

I heart Sriracha! And grilled pineapple on a "burger" sounds so good.

Anonymous said...

I really cannot believe it is the plain ole Boca burger. I really do not like this burger as it taste like cardboard and cheap meat so I just avoid it when hubby offers. But sometimes when there is no way out I marinate it sometimes for a few hours with island herbs and spices and slather bbq sauce and bake it. I can try to enjoy it then. Other than that ur burger looks great and appealing. I need to check out Alicia's book when I have time.

Sheridan said...

I love that you wrote, "Thanksgiving just happened." Haha! I don't know why that struck me as funny, but it did. It needed a "Bum Bum Bum!" underscoring it. Love the looks of your burger and rings! I want to try that baked onion ring recipe!

nora said...

I love the idea of dressing up a store-bought veggie burger. it looks so delicious!
did you use the whole onion ring recipe from SBitK or did you use Alicia's but just just bake them like SB says?

Leslie Richman said...

That onion ring/sriracha ketchup thing sounds sooo good!

AJ said...

Delurking for a first time comment. Im an Aussie, and pineapple on burgers is pretty normal here. That and beetroot, it would be unAustralian not to have it!! Pineapple's also standard on pizzas.
Pretty much anything is fare for the bbq - bananas, pineapple, potato slices, corn, bread (bbq toast!)...

Unknown said...

We buy the boca burgers from Costco. Our favorite way to have them is with cooked spinach, sauteed mushroom and carmelized onions. Yummy!!

I think I know what we are having soon.

jessy said...

i too love a tasty veggie burger that i didn’t have to make, but i never thought to dress one up and make it even more tasty. nice! the teriyaki burger looks awesome & sounds freak’n deeeeeelicious! i’m still recovering from all the eating i did over thanksgiving – i’m with ya on wanting to avoid the deep fryer. those baked onion rings look mighty tasty – and sriracha ketchup sounds like the best thing ever! dan mixes up sriracha and pizza sauce when we create pizzas, so i’m gonna have to tell him about the sriracha-ketchup combination, too. thanks, Bianca!

Dani said...

dressing up boca's vegan burgers is such fun. I love the onion ring idea, I love anything and all things onion. yum.

Cyn said...

Those onion rings look great. I love me some onion rings. And sriracha + ketchup = genius.

Anonymous said...

I don't know why Boca burgers always get such a bad rap. Once you jazz them up a little, I think they're pretty good. (Plus they sell them in bulk at Costco!)

Your sriracha ketchup idea = yum!

Anonymous said...

I have "Skinny Bitch" but never made the onion rings. I think I'll have to try them this weekend!

Anonymous said...

I have "Skinny Bitch" but never made the onion rings. I think I'll have to try them this weekend!

Mike K said...

That's a nice way to snazz up a plain veggie burger, and onion rings are always welcome - love the combo!

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

i love SBITK