Corn & Black Bean Veggie Burgers

My shower is broken! So if you could all send me some condolences until I get my $h!t together enough to arrange for a plumber to come to my house, that would be great. I swear I'm trying; plumbers are just very, very busy people, apparently. You have to call a lot before they answer their phones and leaving just one voicemail takes a lot out of me because I am a millennial and Twitter is how I communicate. 

The upside is: having a shower that only trickles out SCALDING hot water (don't worry, the bathtub works, so I'm not completely hygiene deficient) means you find other solutions for bathing. For me, that's been going to the gym to use their state-of-the-art facilities and when you go to the gym to use their showers, you kind of feel more obligated to use the rest of the gym too. So, I've been working out most days and feelin' goood. 

In order to not negate all of my hard work of climbing up a never-ending staircase while watching Live with Kelly and Michael, I've been trying to clean up my diet a little bit too. I found this veggie burger on Food52 and gave it a little twist, adding some avocado crema, bean sprouts and serving on a tasty pita. And don't forget lots and lots of hot sauce. Pro tip: buy pitas in Queens, if you can. They're so much better than the floury pita pockets you get all over Manhattan. Onto the recipe!

Black Bean Burgers with Avocado Crema

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans black beans
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1 ear corn, kernels removed from cob
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• juice of one lime
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• olive oil
• 6 pitas
• 1 cup alfalfa sprouts
• hot sauce, to taste
• salt
• pepper

Cooking Directions

1. Heat a Dutch oven on medium heat, add a glug of olive oil and then sauté onion and garlic until fragrant (8 minutes). Add in spices and stir, cooking for a minute or so until spices begin to leak their colors onto onions and become aromatic.
2. Add in 2/3 of the black beans and season with salt and pepper. Cook a few minutes until mixture is warm. While these cook, preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Turn off stove heat. Add bread crumbs to your black bean mixture and then transfer mixture to a blender or food processor. Pulse a few times and then blend until combined.
4. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. Add corn and remaining black beans. Mix with your hands and then form patties. I was able to make 6, total. Place patties on baking sheet, drizzle or brush with a bit more olive oil and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a crust forms.
5. Meanwhile, chop avocado into 1-inch cubes. Add in sour cream, lime juice, chives and season with salt. Mash with a fork until you have a smooth crema. Cover and keep in refrigerator until you're ready to use.
6. When burgers are done baking, remove from oven, but keep heat on. Place pitas directly on oven rack and toast for 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven and turn off heat.
7. Top warm pita with one burger, a tablespoon or two of crema, a helping of alfalfa sprouts and then douse in hot sauce to taste! Eat while still warm. (The burgers won't fit perfectly in a wrapped up pita, but will mold to whatever shape you like, should you want to roll yours up, wrap-style!)