Jim came to town last week to play a couple of shows and experience Asheville first hand. To say that we had a great time would be and understatement and a half, but...we had a great time. There is so much to share and I have a gazillion pictures from his visit, but I think these were my favorite from the week.Jim was scheduled to open for Pete and J, a musical duo from Brooklyn, NY at the Rocket Club down the street. We're still not sure why they didn't show; whether it was the rumored transmission problems or just lousy booking on someone's part, it just didn't matter. Jim had to adjust from an opening set to a full night of playing, and he did just that. As a bonus, my roommate Greg took center stage with an opening act of his stand-up, and got the crowd laughing with some pre-music jokes. My new Asheville friends came over to enjoy a spread of appetizers and wine that I whipped up that afternoon and great energy was flowing through the air as we walked the few short blocks to the Rocket Club. Jim's show was spectacular, he kept the crowd dancing and laughing all night. People took turns drumming on stage with him (he had just gotten a new set of congas here in town on Craigslist), and even I took a stab at them. (Not going to lie, I have since then signed up for a drumming lesson...it inspired me!) What fun that night was! Thanks y'all for coming out!
"Closed due to cherries." Hmmm. Well, that's Asheville for ya!
"Hey police officer! You look like a fabulous photographer! Would you mind snapping a picture of all of us? Thanks!"
In the meantime, I started shredding and chopping. With a black bean base, I wanted to go for a tomato/Mexican flavor in my patties. In a huge bowl, I added a can of tomato paste, a bunch of cloves of garlic and shredded a small bag of carrots. I added a a sauteed onion and 3 roasted red peppers, chopped coarsely. Then because I wanted to add more color and vegetables, I basically opened the fridge and started throwing leftover crap into the food processor: a head of broccoli, some mushrooms, a squash, and some Romano cheese. Everything is better with cheese. (I know, I know...I began to divert from the Mexican flavor a bit at this point...hey, I'm making it up as I go!)
An hour later, the beans are done and I rinse them and throw them in the food processor. I add the smushed beans to my mix, add more salt, pepper and whatever else in the spice cabinet looked intruiging and give it a stir. Hmmm...too soupy. I found a package of gluten free crackers, put them in a ziplock bag and smashed them all to pieces, then add them to my veggie mush. And since there was SO MUCH mixture at this point, I added 3 eggs to bind the patties together. 
I preheated the oven to 350 degrees, and started making patties. I made about 36, and when I ran out of cookie sheets, I added the rest of the mixture to small loaf pans. I baked them for about 45 minutes, until I thought the egg was fully cooked through. (They probably only needed 30-35. Oh, and P.S., I should have greased the sheet...whoops!)
When I took the burgers out of the oven, the house was smelling yummy and I was starving. I took one from the pan and added it to a bed of field greens, and added some gorgonzola cheese to the top. Well, you know how they say looks can be deceiving? Well, smells can too. They didn't taste nearly as good as they smelled, they were kind of dry and I didn't like the pinto bean flavor at all. But there was some good stuff here: the patties maintained their shape, which was huge. (When I bought the beans at the Food Coop, the lady asked me what I was making. When I told her I was going to attempt veggie burger making, she gave me a not-so-encouraging “good luck,” as if I was going to climb Everest or do something completely unheard of. She explained that it was near impossible to make patties that hold their shape. So...I got that going for me). Next time I figure I will NOT use pinto beans, use about 4 times the seasonings (fresh herbs!), one less egg, and add some sunflower seeds for crunch, and add some olive oil to the recipe. Yeah, that's all. Then I think I will have this recipe licked. So stay tuned for Veggie Burgers: the Revenge. 
Oh my. What a great event! I was at Short Street Cakes (eating my yummy free cupcake, in fact) and I picked up a flyer to this indie craft fair: Howard Street Homemade. I popped in on Saturday mornin' as I was toolin' around in Janis, scoping out yard sales (my favorite, favorite, FAVORITE way to spend a Saturday morning with a good cup of coffee), and it was like I walked into a room of people who I actually spoke the same language with. I took the time to walk around and chat with most of the artists; a lot of them were earth-friendly artisans, working with pre-loved materials and found objects. Everything was beautiful, from the creative displays to the unique creations, to the recycled jewelry to the fun vibe that was flowing through the air. This was not your grandma's craft fair. No plastic canvas tissue box covers here or those half crocheted dishrags!
