Asheville Inspiration

Ryan and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary this past Sunday! It is hard to believe it has already been a year! To celebrate this occasion, we took a long weekend and stayed in a wonderful little cottage in the beautiful mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. Neither of us had ever been to Asheville, but had always heard good things about it. I can say I expected all the amazing views and hikes, but had no idea what a cool town Asheville really is! It is alive with art, music and absolutely delicious dining! We ate some of the best meals I have had in a long time. On the night of our anniversary, we ate at a tapas restaurant in town. We each started with a flavorful glass of a tempranillo the waiter recommended (I always take wine recommendations from waiters in places like this). We then moved through 5 tapas varying from simple pan rustico and olive oil to a wonderfully tender rabbit dish. Every bite was amazing. The next day we had lunch at this eatery in town that prides itself in using many locally grown ingredients in their menu. Here, we started with a mouth watering fried green tomato napoleon. We then split a vegan bean burger and a cup of their roasted squash soup, both were simple and absolutely delicious!
I have to say these meals were inspiring and I wanted to replicate them at home. Considering how difficult it might be to make all those tapas again, I opted to create my own version of our lovely, locally grown lunch.

White Bean & Quinoa Burgers
- 1 can canellini beans ( I like garden of eden brand because they are organic and the cans are BPA free)
- about a half cup cooked quinoa
- handful fresh chopped basil
- minced garlic
- about 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- about 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- fixings for your burgers (we use multi-grain sandwich thins instead of buns, lettuce, tomato and a red pepper aioli - simply blend chopped roasted red peppers and mayo)
1.) Cook the quinoa according to package instructions. Once cooked, let it cool for a few minutes.
2.) In a bowl, mash about 2/3 of the beans. Then mix in the remaining whole beans with all remaining ingredients. You may have to adjust the amount of bread crumbs to reach the desired consistency so you can grill the burgers. Form patties (about 4 smaller ones, 2 big ones) and set in freezer for 10-15 min.
(NOTE: a trick I learned when it comes to making any kind of bean burgers is to freeze them for about 15 minutes before you grill. This will ensure they stay together better and don't stick to the grill)
3.) Grill the burgers for about 4-5 minutes per side. Serve with fixings of choice.

Easy Butternut Squash Soup
- large butternut squash (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 1-2 shallots, roughly chopped
- 2-3 cups vegetable stock
- about a tablespoon olive oil
- about a half cup almond milk (cow milk or soy milk will work too, we just drink almond milk so that's what I used)
- nutmeg to taste
- a food processor or blender
1.) Heat oil in a large pot. Add shallots and saute until fragrant. Turn up the heat and add squash and 2 cups vegetable stock (or enough until stock almost covers squash).
2.) Simmer the mixture on medium-high heat for about 20 minutes (or until squash softens). Allow mixture to cool for a few minutes.
3.) Pour squash mixture into food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Add extra vegetable stock to reach desired consistency (we like ours to be fairly thicker).
4.) Transfer mixture back to pan and heat on low. Pour in almond milk and nutmeg to taste.

These burgers are a nice alternative to the same old black bean burgers. The quinoa in the burgers has amazing nutritional qualities and if you are not eating it now, you should start! One of the many great things about Quinoa is that it is a complete protein providing all 9 essential amino acids. Canelinni beans offer additional protein and fiber. Butternut squash is low in fat, high in fiber,potassium, B6 and other phytonutrients and antioxidants.

Both of these recipes are easy and delicious and will forever remind me of Asheville. They will also make great additions to anyone's fall menu!

Happy Eating!