Meat-free burgers - wild style! With Elm tree seeds, weed flowers, and an assortment of amazing homestead pickles! Come into my post and join me for a burger feast!
The theme for my week has been, "Sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you are the bug." But at least I got to end it with a great dinner of wild food! It was a struggle in the kitchen, mirroring the rest of my week, lol. So I'm glad to head into the weekend with these delicious meat-free burgers!
Getting It All Together!
I've had this plan for meat-free burgers all week. But I couldn't be in 1 place to do it until Friday, the last possible day of entering Steemit Iron Chef Round 15. Here was my plan: a trio of burgers based on Jerusalem artichoke tubers. They have such a sweet, smoky flavor this time of year. And they are just starting to wake up for spring, so I want to enjoy them now, before they go out of season.
Those American elm seeds are so tasty right now. I posted about using Siberian elm seeds last spring. If you have any Elm trees, of any kind in the Ulmus genus, they are worth getting to know! The season for their seeds is short, but there are always a lot of them and they are so good!
Those dandelion leaves are big. But they grew in the shade, in good soil. They are not bitter, if you know 1 sweet trick. I have a video about that, Monster Dandelion Greens, if you have big dandelion greens around your area. I made all these pickles over the last few weeks. They each taste different because they use a different pickling mix. I'll show you how I made these in future posts, so stay tuned!
The Burger Debacle!
These burgers nearly got the best of me! Don't ask me to show you my kitchen after this Steemit Iron Chef round! I had a plan in mind, but boy-o-boy. This was a case of #8 in my 8 P's of Foraging -- Practice. I cook with Jerusalem artichokes regularly, and I've made them into patties. But I wanted something more meaty and burger-like.
I cooked the Jerusalem artichokes and pureed them with their skins in a food processor. I experimented with mixing in the elm seeds and trying to get a burger consistency. But with those 2 ingredients, I couldn't get anything to work (in a skillet, on a grill pan, in a deep fryer). I ended up adding a couple eggs and a little corn meal and wheat flour, but not much. That made them even worse -- until I tried baking the burgers in an oven! Success!
Eating!
These burgers eat like a meat burger. Nice and chewy. Not at all dry. Delicious!
But I am done with today! I'll respond to comments tomorrow. Have a great weekend!
What Do You Think?
- Have you eaten Jerusalem artichokes?
- Do you have any elm trees near you?
- What's the biggest dandelion leaf you have ever seen?
- Would you eat my wild burgers?
I eat a lot of wild plants and show you how, because I believe that we can all have lives that are richer, more secure, more grounded, and more interesting by getting to know the plants and the land around us – in our yards, our parks, and our wild places.
Thanks @progressivechef for creating the Steemit Iron Chef contest series!
I try to make content that's interesting! If you found this informative and helpful, please give it an upvote and a resteem.
Plant List
- Jerusalem artichokes - Helianthus tuberosus - tubers
- Hops – Humulus lupulus - spring shoots
- American elm – Ulmus americana – green seeds
- Eastern redbud – Cercis canadensis - flowers
- Wild field mustard - Brassica rapa - flowers and flowerstalks
- Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale – leaves and flowers
- Grand Fir - Abies grandis - needles
The most cool and healty burgers ever! Have a joyful weekend :)
Thanks, @liltammy! You have a great weekend, too! : )
wild burger, this is another beautiful creation from u, i would defo want to try them, i havent had Jerusalem artichokes in a long while, i forgotten the taste, i think it was a bit like a potato and suede? and i love the use of the natural stone/rock as a plate aswell Perfecto!
haha, potatoes and suede! Raw Jerusalem artichokes are like water chestnuts or jicama. Very under-appreciated. Cooked, they have a natural mild smoky flavor. They are perennial plants that can take care of themselves, and so productive. They make great crunchy pickles, too. I hope you are enjoying our little break in the Steemit Iron Chef contest!
Sorry you had a tough week, if I read between the lines right. Glad its over, seems like it was rough on me and Im glad to see it go too. I am happy you got the last laugh with complete and total domination of those burgers!
I have to say they really do look like beef burgers!
I would certainly try each of those burgers, and your beer LOL!!!!
This weekend is starting out much better, lol. I hope you have a better week, too. Get some sleep, lol. That's my weekend goal, too. I'm making more of those burgers this weekend, too, now that I figured it out. I think you would like them.
I would definitely eat your wild burgers. I think you could market these. If I might add a suggestion, you could try fermenting some of the elm seeds. But I bet they tasted good, all the same. Always a good day when you post. You are so creative in the kitchen:) Oh and you inspired one of my recent writes ... stop on on if you have the time:)https://steemit.com/poetry/@prydefoltz/d-lion-day-45-of-the-100-days-of-poetry-d-pend
Thanks for that link to your poem! It's a great tribute to dandelions. I like the sweetness of the elm seeds when they are fresh. That's a great idea for trying with the elm seeds. I will try that this weekend! :D
I'll keep my eyes peeled for the post:)
I've experimented with a couple ways of fermenting those elm seeds. They are almost ready to test! Exciting! Thanks for your suggestion!
This looks and sounds really amazing. Good luck, I hope you win because you are always preparing something special, something unseen before!
Thanks, @erikah! Spring is such a great time for eating well, from all the wild plants out there!
Beautiful decoration of the trio of burgers and good combination! I think I would love to try the Dandelion burger with the redbud flowers on the top. Great work! ;)
Thanks, @tangmo! Flower burgers are good burgers! Those dandelion flowers worked really well. I think you would like the redbud flowers, with their sweet flavor. You could even have them with your corn for breakfast! :D
You're welcome! Ah! Good suggestion! I'll try it, but, in the meantime, I don't know whether we have the redbud flowers in my area or not. ;)
I would eat the Jerusalem artichoke burgers. I have never been lucky enough to get to taste Jerusalem artichokes. No one around here grows them. In fact, I would eat everything in your dinner, but I would probably add one additional wild food, either wild garlic or onions. But I put them in everything so it is just a preference thing for me.
We don't have any elm trees around here. White Oak, Tulip Poplar and Maples is about it. There are a very few pine trees but they are on other peoples property.
As for big dandelion leaves, we get some pretty big one later in the season after the cooler weather weeds have died back. This time of the year the dandelion compete for space and nutrients to get too big.
I am adding this post to the Sotall Directory to show people how they can eat well from the wild, reduce their costs and eat healthier all at the same time!
Thanks, @sotall! Wild garlic or onions would have been a great addition to any of my burgers, for sure! It is interesting how every region has their own unique set of plants and changes with the seasons. I'm glad you get to enjoy some of those big, lush dandelion leaves. We are fortunate folks! Happy foraging! : )
Those pickles sound so awesome, so imaginative. I’ve never tried elm seeds before, didn’t actually known they were edible, another informative lesson from you- I love it!
Thanks, @foodflaneur! Elm seeds have such a short season. But the trees sure have a lot of them! I'm experimenting with fermenting some right now, at the suggestion of @prydefoltz. I'm looking forward to how they turn out.
This is mind blowing! I love it so much. I love the use of wild edibles. I love the look of it. Lately I have been eating dandelions and I crave them.
This is an awesome post. Thanks for the enlightenment!
I'm glad you enjoy the dandelions, @carolynstahl! It's amazing how many are around, ready to help us out, if we pay attention to them. Happy foraging!
Nice lookin beer to go with a fine looking healthy "burger"!
Haha -- leave it to you, beer afficianado, to make that comment! ; ) I like having just the right beer for the occassion. It's a local beer, by Ninkasi, brewed in a nearby neighborhood in my town. It's their flagship beer and their foundation for turning onto a big craft brewery. I'll have to review it sometime -- I'm sure I'll be drinking another one, lol. ; )
These look absolutely delicious! :) I am always amazed by your immense knowledge of food!
Hey, @nickh725! Good to see you here. There's so much food out there in the outdoors. It still amazes me. It's hard not to step on lunch, lol. Happy spring up there in Portland!
those pickled dandelions blew my mind! I NEVER thought that dandelions (any part of it) could be eaten. I watched your video and it was pretty apparent that you enjoyed them. There a number of dandelions around our neighborhood and I don't think I'll see them the same way again.
The Jerusalem artichoke looks very much like ginger but I don't think we have them here in our country. I also haven't seen an elm tree so I'm guessing they also don't grow here. The dandelions around here are quite small, their leaves can't match to the ones in your video. AND I would love to try those burgers! I think what you do is interesting! My husband and I make use of a vacant lot beside our home to plant vegetables for our own consumption but I never thought about the wild plants around us as food.
I hope you made it to round 15!
Thanks, @dandelion. I wonder how many plants we have in common between the US Northwest and the Phillipines. Some plants grow in so many places, even in very different climates. You have so many wonderful tropical fruits! I'm glad you have the vacant lot to grow plants, too. Happy gardening!
Finally, a burger I can eat! I stop eating burgers like 3 years ago when I stop eating red meat and to be sincere I don't miss either of them. I would like to try this type of burgers, I eat seitan and tofu to replace meat but I never tried burgers made of veggies. They look really good!
It seems like just about anything can go in a veggie burger. I think the key is to figure out how to hold it all together. Sometimes that's a challenge, for me at least. I like seitan and tofu! Tofu with veggies would be really good, too! :D
I often make tofu nuggets with mandarin sauce. It taste good! Seitan its easy to make and you can make it taste the way you want. Still have to try tempeh.
interesting what I say always learn a lot with you @haphazard-hstead
Have a beautiful weekend
Thanks, @gladysstillwagon. I hope you had a good weekend, too! I liked seeing your jackfruit popsicles!
wow.. wanderful food photography D:) @haphazard-hstead . thank you for share,
Thanks, @alimuddin!
love the look and sound of these !
Thanks, @globaldoodlegems!
wooo, what a burger it is. Flowers can be made cuisine, very great, steady 👍👍👍
Thanks! Not every flower is edible, but there are some really nice ones out there. And there's always plenty of dandelion flowers in the spring, lol.