Meet Kate!

Hello!  My name is Kate, and I live in the beautiful, bold city of Boulder, Colorado.  I'm a freelance writer, specializing in fiction, features for magazines and newspapers, and food.  It's a job that has no traditional benefits, but does allow me to start pizza dough for dinner at 2 in the afternoon or go grocery shopping when there are no crowds, and those are bennies that count, in my opinion.

In terms of food, I've blogged at www.localdish.net for more than five years, ghost-written cookbooks and served as restaurant critic for the second largest newspaper in Colorado (The Colorado Springs Gazette).  I also enjoy yoga, motorcycling, reading, hiking and taking way too many pictures of my beloved dog, but most often you can find me:

1. In the kitchen

2. Connected to the Internet

3. In the kitchen connected to the Internet

My cooking style is easy to spot but hard to define.  It's bright, modern and multicultural with a focus on using whole rather than processed ingredients.  By focusing on whole, natural foods, my recipes often turn out healthy, but that's not my only goal.  For instance, I can be quite liberal with cheese and butter.  Butter all the way!  My food is also often vegetarian, though I'm an omnivore myself.

There were several dishes I considered as good representations of my food, including Barbecue Chicken Pizza, Pumpkin Polenta and Massaman Curry.  These Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers won the day, however, and will certainly win on your table, too.  Serious noms here.  The "burger" patties are not meant to mimic meat.  Instead they turn out very soft, which is actually wonderful against the crisp texture of the panko crust.  

I like pairing the burgers with a fresh salad, such as Honey Mustard, Broccoli and Apple Salad, seen in one of my burger photos.  Enjoy!

Sweet-Potato Veggie Burger

by Kate Jonuska

adapted from Lunch Box Bunch

For patties:
2 cans cannellini white beans, rinsed and drained
1 large sweet potato, baked/peeled/mashed (about 2 cups)
2 Tablespoons tahini
2 teaspoons maple or agave syrup
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (or another spice blend of your choice)
1/4 cup wheat flour
Panko bread crumbs

To create the burger:
6 whole-grain burger buns

whole-grain mustard
mayonnaise
avocado, sliced
romaine
onion, thinly sliced

Cook your sweet potato with the method of your choice.  Bake it in the oven or toaster oven.  Nuke it in the microwave.  The best is when you save 2 cups of sweet-potato puree as leftovers from another meal.  (Freeze that leftover puree, and use it anytime, people!)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

After beans have been rinsed, place them in your food processor with the potato, flour and spices. Pulse until well combined but not totally pureed.  *If you don't have a processor, mashing the ingredients in a bowl with work fine.

Divide this filling into six patties, dusting your hands with flour if the mix is sticky.  Roll and/or press the patty -- which will be very soft -- into the panko to form a nice layer of breading all the way around.

Layer a baking sheet with foil and spray it with cooking spray.  Gently place the patties on the sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes, until the breading begins to crisp and color.  Flip the patties and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.

The patties will still be soft, so gently place them on your buns and add the toppings of your choice.