Comments on: The Breakaway Vegetarian Burger

By: breakawaycook

breakawaycook — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:53:24 +0000

Christopher, thanks for the comment and the compliment. Overused by who, me? I dunno — it's kind of remarkable, to my palate anyway, to taste two almost-identical dishes, but one has some umami element added, and one doesn't. The umami one wins every time. We evolved somehow to relish the tastes of amino acids and glumates, it's deeply embedded. I won't be giving up my use of shiitake, dried tomato, soy, miso, fish sauce, parm, and all the rest anytime soon! Would love to hear more of your thoughts on this.

Jan: no, nothing processed, ever! I've never purchased seitan!

By: breakawaycook

breakawaycook — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:37:53 +0000

Ooooh, that would send it over the top! Excellent suggestion.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:36:33 +0000

maybe some dukkah in there for flavor and the nut/protein factor?

By: Velops

Velops — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:14:15 +0000

I know what you mean. Sometimes I think people have completely forgotten about the other flavors (sour, salty, sweet, bitter). It has become an umbrella term that glosses over the differences in ingredients. Fish sauce and parmesan cheese are very different but simply describing their flavors as umami doesn't help distinguish their differences.

By: breakawaycook

breakawaycook — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:53:50 +0000

Well hello there Liza! Excellent point: as a meat eater, I never worry about protein! And, as you say, adult vegetarians really don't need to worry much about it either. But kids … I will think this through and amp up the nuts and beans. I wanted to avoid lentils in the burger recipe because … well, just about EVERY veg burger recipe has them. Thanks for checking in and for making me think about this.

By: LizaACD

LizaACD — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:44:15 +0000

As Stuart's wife and frequent beneficiary of your culinary ideas, I am delighted to hear about your upcoming cookbook. The veg burger looks and sounds delicious, but I must ask….where is the protein? Adults don't have to worry too much about getting enough protein, even if they're vegetarian. But as a mom I have to be more careful about the diet of my growing kids. I would love to see more ideas for getting natural protein into our diets. More recipes with nuts, beans and even dairy. Soy is fine…but a quick check on the label reveals that you have to eat quite a bit of tofu to get significant protein. Looking forward to more! Thanks!! Liza

By: arti

arti — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:49:22 +0000

at last Eric….

By: Divina

Divina — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 07:51:01 +0000

This looks really gorgeous. Better than a meat burger for now.

By: breakawaycook

breakawaycook — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:17:45 +0000

Chris, thanks for the comment and the compliment. Overused by who, me? I dunno — it's kind of remarkable, to my palate anyway, to taste two almost-identical dishes, but one has some umami element added, and one doesn't. The umami won wins every time. We evolved somehow to relish the tastes of amino acids and glumates, it's deeply embedded. I won't be giving up my use of shiitake, dried tomato, soy, miso, fish sauce, parm, and all the rest anytime soon! Would love to hear more of your thoughts on this.

Jan: no, nothing processed, ever! I've never purchased seitan!

By: jan in nagasaki

jan in nagasaki — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:37:29 +0000

put me down for one book… i can't wait!!!

will this book have all natural stuff in it or the processed "vegetarian stuff" you can buy at stores??