Fantastically spicy black bean burgers!

Took me: about 45 minutes total in the kitchen

I am AlWAYS on the lookout for new vegetarian recipes, and I saw a recipe for black bean burgers recently on my favorite website, foodgawker.com. I had to tweak it a little bit before it suited my fancy. Okay, I tweaked it a lot...actually I combined two recipes to make this one. But in my opinion they turned out just fine. The guacamole gave some balance to the spiciness, and I'd recommend it even if you aren't a big avocado fan. Have these with a side of tortilla chips and you have a wonderful summer-y meal. By the way, this recipe will make a lot more than what is shown! Consider making a half batch if you're cooking for less than four people.
You need:
1 small onion
1 small pepper, any color (actually come to think of it, I'd avoid using green
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup corn
2 eggs
1 can of black beans
1 cup cooked lentils
1 cup bread crumbs (I used Italian seasoned ones and they came out fantastic, though I'm sure regular bread crumbs would work just fine as well)
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons Tabasco (more or less depending on taste...keep in mind that I like my food SPICY)
Tortilla chips (or french fries...or sweet potato fries...or dog food...or really whatever suits your fancy)
Buns of choice (I used whole wheat for mine and toast for my mothers)
Slices of tomato, lettuce or other burger-y items of your choosing

Easy guacamole for topping:
2 medium to large avocados
2 tablespoons salsa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Place avocado in a small bowl and smash it up a bit with a spoon or fork. Add everything else and smoosh until well combined. You could add some diced tomato if you'd like, but a smoother texture is usually better in my opinion.

Okay, enough parentheses and side notes. I'll cut to the chase. Here's what you need to do:
Dice your onion, garlic, and bell pepper then saute in a small sauce pan (heat about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in it first) Then rinse your lentils and beans in a strainer, and set them aside for now.

Combine your beans, lentils, sauteed vegetables, corn, and cilantro in a food processor until combined, but still chunky. Add your eggs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne and Tabasco. Keep adding breadcrumbs until you have a good, thick consistency and everything is sticking together (hopefully your beans are still a little chunky, it gives some texture to the burgers).

(note that this picture was from about halfway through the mixing process...you definitely don't want your finished product to be this chunky)

 Form 3/4 of an inch thick patties. Heat another greased skillet or sauce pan over a medium flame, and flour both your hands and the burgers, then place onto the pan. Cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side, then flip and do another 5-7 on the other. Toast your buns while you're waiting. Once the burgers are cooked, place them onto the buns and add a generous dollop of guacamole. Add lettuce, tomato, etc until you can't wait a second more to eat it! Serve with fries or tortilla chips.

By the way, please excuse my pathetic excuse for photography on this particular recipe. I was particularly ravenous this night and was more interested in devouring the finished product than documenting the process.

The BEST vegetarian sandwich...ever!

Took me: 5 minutes in the kitchen, total

Over the past four years that I've been a vegetarian, I've found that it is incredibly hard to find a good vegetarian sandwich when you eat out. Unless of course you're at a sandwich shop. But I think even Subway's offerings of vegetarian sandwiches is pathetic. I saw a Seventeen Magazine years ago that had a picture of a sandwich similar to this, but never tried making one until now. It uses pesto instead of other condiments to give it an extremely satisfying, unique taste.

What you need: 

1-2 tablespoons of pesto sauce

2 slices dark rye bread

a handful of cherry tomatoes (regular tomatoes work, but I prefer cherry tomatoes for their crispiness)

Several leaves of lettuce

Pinch or clover sprouts

four slices cheese (here I used cheddar and pepper jack, but it tastes great with swiss and american too!)

Three slices avocado

6 thin slices of cucumber

Toast your bread for a few minutes. Do it longer than you would to heat it up, but less time than you would if you were making actual toast. Take it out and spread the pesto onto one slice. On the other slice, lay down your avocado slices and spread them over the toast with a butter knife. I think they taste better this way than simply laying on the sandwich. Then layer on your cheese, cucumber, tomatoes, and lettuce. Top with a pinch of the sprouts then place the other slice of bread over the top. Cut it in half, get yourself a glass of ice water, relax and enjoy.