Meatless Monday is a health food fad nowadays, and some take it a step further by dropping Tuesday through Sunday, too. While no veggie burger is meant to replace the flavor of meat, this one definitely is at least an equal to the regular beef patty, despite the unusual combination of ingredients.

Ingredients

Prepares 8 burgers

• 1 onion

• ½ cup of grated Carrot, or ½ cup of corn

• 4 cloves of minced garlic, or more/less to taste.

• 2 teaspoons of cumin or curry powder

• Chili powder to taste, about 2 teaspoons

• Salt to taste — Garlic salt or onion salt works well, too.

• 2 cups of beans — You can either use one type of bean, or split the 2 cups between two varieties. I like to use half black beans and half pinto beans.

• 1½ cups of oats — If you have regular oats, put them in a blender or food processor until well chopped. If they are quick cooking oats, they’re good to go without blending.

• 2 tablespoons of your favorite mustard

• 2 tablespoon of soy or tamari sauce

• 1 tablespoon of ketchup or barbeque sauce

Instructions

1. Chop and sauté the onion and carrot/corn over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When onion is soft and begins to become translucent (5-7 minutes), add garlic, cumin, chili powder and salt. Stir and sauté for a minute more, then remove from heat.

2. In a large bowl, mash beans with a fork until most of them are well mashed. Add oats, mustard, ketchup and soy sauce, and then stir.

3. Add in cooked vegetables and mix. If the mixture is too dry to shape into patties, add water until it can hold the shape of a patty.

4. Take half a handful of the mixture and press into a patty. Pan-fry it on medium/med-hi heat, flipping a few times with 3 to 4 minutes between each flip. (Cooking the burgers in the same pan as the onion will add extra flavor). Burger is ready when lightly charred on both sides.