GREAT Vegan Burger Recipe

My mother-in-law brought this recipe home after attending a 2 week McDougall Program in California learning how to live a vegan lifestyle (she also gave me the New McDougall Cookbook that is STILL my favorite cookbook after all these years!). I have made different variations of it over the years, but made the original recipe for dinner last night and I thought I would share. This recipe is VERY simple to prepare and is by far the best vegan "burger" I've ever had. PS. If you are a reader of my blog, you know that I AM NOT a vegan (I'm not even a vegetarian), but because I share in a lot of the foods, and certainly lifestyle choices, I'm surrounded by those that ARE vegan. Recipes like this that can be prepared quickly but taste like I slaved for hours are always called upon to impress my vegan guests. I hope you all enjoy the McDougall Zucchini Burger.

ZUCCHINI BURGERS

• 2 cups zucchini finely grated (I use my mandolin and julienne them)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. McKay's beef style seasoning

Place zucchini and seasoning into a large bowl and let stand 15 minutes. The salt in the beef seasoning will draw out the zucchini's natural juice which will be needed to form the "loaf".

• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/3 cup walnuts

Grate, chop or grind above ingredients and add to zucchini.

• 1/4 cup active dry yeast
• 1 cup vital gluten
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic

Combine yeast, gluten, oats and garlic, then add to onion, walnut and zucchini mixture. Knead well with hands for approximately 5 minutes. Kneading for the extended amount of time creates a "meaty" dough. Anyone who makes pastries can tell you the best way to kill a pastry is to over knead. For this recipe though, that tough, meaty texture is exactly what you're looking for. Note: some zucchini yield more juice than others. If your "meat" dough is too dry and does not resemble a precooked meatloaf, add water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is the right consistency. Once kneaded, set aside to rest for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Form patties (I use the Tupperware burger press), place on lightly oiled flat pan and bake for 15 minutes on each side until golden brown.

I hope you all enjoy these great "burgers", I also thought I'd include a link to more great McDougall Recipes for those who don't have the cookbook. Here's the really great blog I found! If you get a chance to try this recipe, please come back and tell us all how yours turned out! ;)