Going to Macdonald’s as a child was really not a huge draw, although my parents somehow always chose to take my brother and I to Macdonald’s whenever they had bad news to tell us.  The burgers were unmemorable, but the shakes, oh boy!!  Just the mention of Shamrock shakes today will put a stupid smile on my face.  Burgers were considered food that only people who camped, hunted, listened to rock and roll, drove trucks and had mullet hairstyles ate.  Not that we felt above those people, we were just into other things, like not eating with our hands, unless it was a barbecue pork bun at dim sum and then you had no choice.  To this day even eating crab I only allow one hand to handle the crab while the other hand uses chopsticks.

One night I was looking through my cupboard trying to decide what to make for dinner and saw cans of beans.  I keep buying them because I know they are good for me, but they just sit there.  So I took a can down, opened the fridge and once I saw the leftover cooked kale inspiration hit me for these burgers.

Mulling over what condiment to go with the burger it occurred to me that goji berries blended with ketchup might work well.  By the way here is a little tidbit about the provenance of the word “ketchup”.  We were having ketchup on something and I was saying the word in my mind.  I suddenly made the connection with the Cantonese words for ketchup.  I looked it up in the dictionary, and indeed, its origins are Chinese, because “ke” means tomato and “chup” is sauce.  The goji berry ketchup’s sweet and tart flavour is the perfect foil to the burger.  You can add your own twist by adding chilli powder, or sriracha.

Superfoods in my burger and condiment recipes:

Cannellini beans:  These are also called navy beans because they were a staple for the U.S. Navy in the early 1900’s.  Packed full of protein, fiber and also vitamin B1, as well as lots of minerals.
Quinoa:  Contains antixoidants, as well as all 9 essential amino acids making it a complete protein, perfect for vegetarians.
Kale:  High amount of calcium and vitamin K. Kale is in the Brassica oleracea family which is known to have a protective effect against cancer, because they contain Indole-3-carbinal (IC3) , which promotes a healthy balance of good estrogen to toxic cancer causing form of estrogen, it also has an anti-tumour effect.
Onion:  High amount of quercetin (which is an anti-histamine, helps your body combat allergies). Onions are also antibacterial, antiseptic, detox properties, lowers cholesterol, protects the heart.
Goji Berries:   These are also known as Wolfberries. They contain the highest concentration of protein of any fruit, high amounts of carotenoids, vitamin C, and 21 trace minerals. It is anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial.

 Quinoa Burgers makes 8 burgers

• 1/2 cup uncooked Quinoa
• 1 can or 398 ml Cannellini (navy)beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups kale (stem removed and chopped)
• ¼ cup onion (minced)
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup corn (fresh or frozen)
• 2 T. plus 2 t. olive oil
• 2 t. mustard
• 1 t. ground coriander
• ½ t. chilli powder
• 1 cupgluten free breadcrumbs (or regular breadcrumbs)

Directions:

• Place the quinoa in 1 cup of water, cover and bring to a boil.  Keep uncovered and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa grains have opened up.
• While quinoa is cooking, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat add the onion, cook for 5 minutes, then add the kale and continue cooking for another 5-7 minutes until kale is wilted.
• Then in a large bowl combine the cooled quinoa, kale and then rest of the ingredients mix well.  Form into 8 patties and using a tablespoon of oil at a time cook the patties in a frying pan.

 

Goji Ketchup makes 1/2 cup

• 1 T. goji berries
• 1 T. filtered water
• 1/3 cup ketchup (whichever one you have in your fridge)

Directions:

• Rehydrate goji berries  in filtered water for 15 minutes
• Do not drain the berries, but add goji berries along with water to ketchup.  (There will be nutrients from the goji berries in the water that it has been rehydrating in.)  Puree with a hand blender until smooth.  That is it!

Eat healthy, live great! – {Kake}