Gluten Free Apple and Cannellini Bean Burgers and a little bit of sunshine. x

I often wonder if I ask "why" too much. I remember in high school reading a poem that contained the sentence, "Let be be finale of seem.", meaning in essence, it just is. I recall arguing with such despair with my English teacher that there will always be a reason to ask why. The moment I understood the sentence- it was like a light bulb went off in my head. My teenage mouth fell silent as my mind wandered over the possibility that maybe there is no "why". Sometimes we need to remember to just be. Just let the air breath in and our of our perfect bodies like a giant sigh of relief. We often make ourselves fight such seemingly large battles in order to obtain the answers we so seek.

There aren't always answers for everything and that's ok.

The Emperor of Ice-Cream

by Wallace Stevens.

Call the roller of big cigars,
The muscular one, and bid him whip
In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.
Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
As they are used to wear, and let the boys
Bring flowers in last month's newspapers.
Let be be finale of seem.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

Take from the dresser of deal,
Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
On which she embroidered fantails once
And spread it so as to cover her face.
If her horny feet protrude, they come
To show how cold she is, and dumb.
Let the lamp affix its beam.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

Time: 30 minutes.

Serves: 8 large serves. 

Ingredients:

• One red onion, chopped.
• One stick of celery chopped. 
• One apple chopped. 
• Two Tablespoons of fresh rosemary.
• Two Tablespoons of fresh sage.
• One tablespoon or less of pumpkin seed oil. (Or you can use the oil of your choice. Pumpkin seed gives a particularly nutty flavour.)
• Three and a half cups of cooked cannellini beans. 
• Half a cup of cooked quinoa. (Most likely optional, but quinoa is yummy and good for you)
• Quarter of a cup of pepitas. 
• One vegan stock cube.
• One tablespoon of liquid smoke (You could substitute this with smoked paprika).
• Two cups of rice flour.
• Salt and pepper to taste. 
• Oil to fry with.
• Apple sauce to serve.

Method: 

In a skillet, fry the onion, celery, apple and herbs in a little of the pumpkin seed oil on low heat for about five minutes. 

Add the beans to a food processor along with all of the other ingredients. Blend until well combined. 

Add more flour if needed.

Take the mixture and form into 8 balls.

Fry each one in a fry pan until brown on both sides. I didn't need to use too much oil and fried them over a low heat.

Serve on bread or with a salad with apple sauce.