Soy Great! Patties (Burgers)

In anticipation of warmer weather, I've had a hankerin for a vegan burger. I grabbed my Guilt Free Gourmet cook book off the shelf and started flipping through it's pages. My eyes landed on the Soy Great! Patties and since I already had some soaked soybeans on hand I decided that these were the burgers that I would make.

Aside from a little planning, as you will need to soak your soybeans ahead of time, these are very easy to prepare. Perhaps you may think they don't look all that appealing, but remember, you can't always judge a burger by it's color. If I'd had a garden fresh tomato, a few sprouts and a nice round dill pickle, it would have been perfect! Even without them though, the flavor was surprisingly, quite yummy.

INGREDIENTS:
1 c. *Soaked soy beans
2 T. Nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 t. Salt
1/2 t. Onion powder
1/4 t. Garlic powder
1/2 c. Water
1 T. **Chicken-Style Seasoning
3/4 c. Rolled Oats
1 t. Italian seasoning

* Soak 1 C. Soy beans in 4 C. water overnight. Drain and use 1 C. for recipe and freeze remainder for future use.

**See recipe below or you can use any type of vegetarian chicken-like seasoning you have on hand. Bill's Best Chick' nish is popular.

METHOD:
Combine all ingredients EXCEPT oats in blender and grind to fine consistency. Pour over oats, stir, and let stand for 10 minutes. form into patties. Brown on both sides on a lightly sprayed non-stick griddle. Cover while browning. Transfer to sprayed cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes on each side.

YIELDS: 8 medium size burgers

• These patties are even good cold in sandwiches with a bit of Vegenaise
• Serve them over rice with gravy or spaghetti sauce.
• Try breaking them up over a baked potato topped with a dollup of soy sour cream.
• Make up a double recipe of these, and freeze all the extra patties for future use.
• You can eat them plain. They're great as an entree with vegetables.
  

As for the Chicken Seasoning, I like to make a double batch and keep it on hand for many of the dishes I cook. It's very versatile and can be used in anything you want to take on a chicken flavor.

**CHICKEN-STYLE SEASONING
1 1/3 c. nutritional yeast flakes
1 T. onion powder
1/2 t. celery seed
2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. turmeric
2 T. barley malt powder (opt.)
3 T. sea salt
1 t. dried parsley
1 T. paprika

Combine all ingredients and bled until powdery.