Black Bean Burgers

After reviewing the vegan vegetable burgers, on offer in the local supermarkets, I decided that although some were tasty and quick you still can't beat homemade. I had some success with my beetroot, chickpea and tofu burger, so I decided to try another. However, my creative juices weren't flowing tonight so I decide to fall back on a tried and tested recipe. I chose Black Bean Burgers from the vegan cook book, "the best veggie burgers on the planet". I'm ashamed to admit this, but this is the only recipe I've ever made from this cook book even though I've read it from cover to cover. I'm not the best person in the world for following a recipe or even writing one as I cook from the heart and add ingredients that feel right without measuring. Whenever I have followed a recipe I have always been a little disappointed with the result. Perhaps I don't follow them to the letter. This began from the start with this recipe as I halved it, I wouldn't be able to eat 8 burgers all to myself! So I made 4. I did adapt the recipe slightly (see what I mean) as I fancied a little heat in my burgers. My attempt didn't look as good at the picture in the book, but they were tasty. I served it with homemade guacamole, sugar snap peas and new potatoes

Butternut Squash & Black Bean Fajitas

My vegetable supplies were getting low after the shopping I did almost a week ago. But I reckon they will last at least another 4 days with store cupboard ingredients. I still hadn't used the butternut squash, so I peeled, deseeded and cut it up and popped it in the oven to roast, which intensifies its sweet flavour. All I had to do was decide on what I was going to do with it once it had roasted. I'd tried Angela's roasted butternut squash and black bean burritos before, which were tasty so I thought I'd try the same combination in a fajita and it worked.

I served the fajita with Mexican rice and homemade guacamole. I was stuffed!