Category Archives: Urban Homesteading

Anasazi Bean Burgers

Skip to the recipe. Update 13 years after this was first published: we still make this anasazi bean burger recipe on the regular! We often refer back to this post for the recipe, even though it’s pretty simple. My husband over the years has pointed out a few places clarifications were needed. Here are the primary changes in the 2024 update:

  • Fixes for clarity and tips after making it on rotation for over a decade.
  • Doubled the recipe because we always double it now. (You could cut in half if cooking for two, or else freeze the uncooked patties.)
  • I’ve added how to cook the beans with a pressure cooker – because pressure cookers, like our basic Instant Pot (Amazon link), are time saving!
  • Confession: we don’t grow our own beans any more. We usually buy the anasazis in bulk online and store them in mason jars with silicon lids.
Anasazi Bean Burger from BabyBirdsFarm.com

(Original post): My mom was visiting last weekend. We had a nice visit and she checked out this blog. She let me know that I am again taking after my great-grandmother, Alpha, who wrote an article on Victory Gardens during World War II. I have always felt an affinity for this ancestor despite never meeting. Alpha (her father planned on working through the Greek alphabet except she was an only child) was an artist who studied under John Sloan. She was also a Long Island socialite who threw legendary Prohibition Era parties, attended by artists like author Thorton Wilder, who was supposedly in love with her. Before our urban farm days, I was known to host a party or two.

So I am all the more happy to carry on the tradition of championing Victory Gardens today. As much as we love fresh salads, tomatoes, and herbs like basil and mint, “salad” type items are actually not the best way to maximize a home garden. To really get the benefit of a “victory garden” try to plant calorie dense items, like potatoes, sweet potatoes and beans. Beans are an amazing source of protein, fiber and nutrients and my favorites by far are Anasazi Beans. They are a slightly sweet Heirloom bean, pretty and speckled maroon and white. If I were to describe the taste, I’d describe it as how the most awesome pinto bean should taste. They cook faster than other dried beans (they don’t need to presoak) and don’t have as much of the compounds found in other beans that can cause gas.

anasazi beans are easy to grow in zones 9-10

Plus, there is the legend of the beans…. Botanists may dispute the factual basis, but the story is that a dusty, sealed crock was found by archeologists in the ancient ruins of the Anasazi Indians, and lo and behold, the beans were viable and reintroduced to our diets. I have fond memories of exploring Mesa Verde and the dwellings of “the Ancient Ones,” carved into the stone, with my family as a child.

You can find Anasazis in the bulk section of a lot of grocery stores now, as well as online. Papa Bird has been growing them the last few years. One of the things I find “magical” about a bean is that it contains its future in itself. The bean is simply the seed. You can sprout and plant the beans from the grocery isle if you like. (I think we started from a bag I bought at the farmer’s market.) We try to remember to reserve a few from each harvest to plant the following year.

anasazi bean burger ingredients

Anasazi Bean Burger Recipe

My husband usually feels more satisfied with a little meat in a meal, but he makes an exception for Anasazi Bean Burgers. They are my favorite veggie burger and I hope you enjoy. Adapted from Moon Time/The Elk Restaurant.

Servings: 8 burgers

  • 2 cups dried Anasazi beans
  • filtered water, enough to go up twice the height of the beans in the pot
  • 1 bay leaf (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp cumin(optional)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more as needed
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 small bell pepper, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon Magic seasoning blend (link to our fav), smoked paprika (link to similar), and/or cayenne pepper
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 eggs
  • Approximately 1 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
  • brioche or other yummy burger buns
  • your favorite “burger fixings” such as a sharp cheddar, caramelized or pickled onions, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, aioli…

Step 1
Distinctive-looking Anasazi beans have a unique, slightly nutty flavor and firm texture, and don’t need to be pre-soaked. You could pre-soak, in which case, cut the cooking time in half. Rinse the beans in fresh water. Add to pot with enough water that it is twice the height of the beans. Add 1/2 tsp of cumin, garlic and bay leaf to the water. If using a pressure cooker (Amazon link), cook 30 minutes at pressure (30 minutes if unsoaked – 15 minutes if presoaked), let sit for 5 minutes, and then release pressure. If boiling in a normal pot, boil uncovered for 1 hour (unsoaked) or 30 minutes (if soaked.) They should be soft but not mushy. Strain and let cool enough to handle. Discard the bay leaf and squeeze the gooey goop from inside the garlic cloves onto the beans, discarding the hard coating.

Step 2
Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Sauté the diced onion, carrot, bell pepper, and add remaining cumin, spices, and salt/pepper. Let cool slightly.

Step 3
Mash the beans with a fork, or a mashed potato masher, or break up the beans using your hands. Add the sautéed veggies to the chopped beans. This is a great time to taste the mix and add more spices and seasoning. Once tasting good, stir in the eggs and bread crumbs.

Step 4
Form the patties (I usually do 4 patties the first night and save the rest of the “batter” in the refrigerator for night two. We have also made sliders). Next, sauté the patties in oil until they’re golden, about 5 minutes on each side over medium high heat. I find starting the patties in a cold pan gets a nice crust. Tips: try not to move them around too much before flipping and add another splash of oil before placing the second side down. Add a slice of cheddar to the top of the patty when almost done and melt it a little in the pan. Serve on a bun with typical burger “fixings” (i.e. tomato, lettuce, pickle, avocado, mustard, ketchup, siracha, etc.)

Notes:

Although Anasazi beans don’t cause as much gas as other beans, it never hurts to add a little cumin, bay leaf and/or epazote to the cooking water. All three are classic flavorings for beans and are carminative, meaning they help reduce gas when cooked with beans.

Feel free to substitute another bean in this recipe if you can’t find Anasazis, but you will probably want to presoak them before cooking.

Tips for Cooking for Baby:

Reserve some of the “batter” with all the ingredients added, minus the egg. Blend or grind in a baby food mill. Add a little breastmilk, maybe some avocado. Delicious! Babies love the naturally sweet taste of beans and they are an excellent vegetarian source of protein.

For a baby that is ready for finger foods, cooked beans (e.g., Anasazi, black or pinto) and sautéed, diced veggies are excellent ways to practice pincher skills. If it is the first time, if your beans are still on the crunchy side, or if you are just paranoid, feel free to cut the beans in half or squeeze each one between your fingers to mush it a little and make it easier for baby to gum.

Updated 2.19.24 to optimize the anasazi bean burger recipe, including the option of a pressure cooker. Updated 1.5.13 to add a photo of the burger. Originally posted 8.21.12. -Mama Bird

6 Tips for a Southern California Edible Garden in the Summer

Hi! Abby here. You may have noticed in my Mother’s Day post that I mentioned we moved. It’s true! We no longer have a third of an acre on a canyon as our backyard, playground, and chicken farm. It was a fast move, and our edible garden was just getting good on the day we moved. 

edible garden

Our new backyard will have room for some small garden boxes. Which brings me to the question: can you plant new vegetables in the heat of a San Diego summer? Guest blogger, Emily, recently reached out wanting to share some of her knowledge of gardening and conservation. She put together this guide for us with her best tips for planting edible summer plants in Southern California. 

Best Edible Summer Plants to Grow in Southern California

Southern California is a unique area with a climate that is varied, ranging from Mediterranean to desert-like conditions. Summers in SoCal are warm and dry with infrequent rain, so growing during the warmest days can be a bit of a challenge. However, overall, Southern California has an amazing climate for growing almost anything.

The average temperature in July is 92 degrees with only .04 inches of precipitation. Fortunately, there are still a number of edible plants that do well in this type of warmer weather and will thrive for you. There are also tweaks you can use to help plants grow better or take root when you transplant them.

1. Choose Plants that Take Heat

anasazi green beans

The harsh summer sun cooks delicate plants. In the summer, focus on plants that withstand heat, such as sunflowers, beans (like the Anasazis, pictured above) and corn. There are some additional things you can do to help these plants withstand dry conditions, such as regular watering and installing an irrigation system in your garden. Make sure you water early in the morning or early in the evening, so the water doesn’t heat up and further cook your plants.

2. Shade Transplants

When first moving plants to a new edible garden, they are particularly vulnerable. Use screens or taller plants to create shade for these transplants until they fully take root in the soil. Remember that the sun is harsher from June until August, so anything you can do to reduce the intensity a bit, without completely taking it away, will help your new plants. The key to planting in the summer is to do it in the morning or evening when temps are cooler.

3. Plant Melons

Melons tend to love the heat and absorb the sun. While they do need some water, they do okay in drier conditions as long as you give them water occasionally. To see if they need watering, pay attention to the vines and make sure they aren’t drying out too much. The first thing to suffer if the plant gets too dry is the edible part of the plant, or the melon. You can also purchase water stakes that deliver water to the roots of the plant throughout the day.

4. Pick Heat Tolerant Greens

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to grow your own organic salad? Unfortunately, many varieties of lettuce or vulnerable to heat and wilt in the summer sun. There are some heat hardy varieties, such as magenta spreen and calaloo amaranth. Choose varieties that do better in the sun both for garden décor and to make a salad for your next dinner.

5. Start Your Winter Vegetables

In August, start your winter vegetables. Some varieties that do well in the area include cabbage, broccoli, kale, leeks, onions and fava beans. If you’re worried cool weather will arrive sooner rather than later, plant in pots or above ground gardens, so you can easily cover and protect from the cooler nights.

6. Choose Everbearing Strawberries

strawberry picking

Southern California grows about 80 percent of the strawberries in America thanks to the perfectly suited soil that drains quickly. Even though it is ideal to plant in cool weather, so that the blooms develop properly, everbearing plants will bear fruit all summer long, giving you fresh berries to enjoy during the warmest days of summer.

Growing Your Edible Garden

Summer is a good time to enjoy the fruits of your edible garden labor. You don’t need a lot of acreage to grow your own garden, either. Even a patio will suffice if you’re willing to go vertical or put plants in pots. Although you’ll need to pay particular attention to how much water plants get, overall the milder weather of Southern California allows you to not only grow fabulous crops in the summer, but to enjoy fresh foods all year long.

About Guest Author, Emily Folk:

Emily Folk, guest author on Conservation and Sustainable GardeningEmily is passionate about gardening and is currently working on a three bin composting system. You can read more of her work on her blog, Conservation Folks.

Emily on Twitter

Emily on Google+

Emily on LinkedIn

Loquat Sorbet Recipe with Tequila and Salt

Here’s a fun post: a delicious recipe for loquat sorbet made with a splash of tequila and sprinkled with Hawaiian black lava salt.

Loquat Sorbet Recipe using fresh loquats and a splash of tequila and salt

The loquats came from a tree in our backyard. We started it from the seed of a tree down the street and it’s taken off. According to the Specialty Produce App, loquats grow well in most Southern states, but usually only fruit in California, Florida and Hawaii.

Loquat Tree with fruit ready to make into loquat sorbet

This post is a family collaboration! Papa Bird (our sorbet master) came up with the recipe and shot the “making of” photos. The child labor came from the (not so) Baby Birds.

Fresh loquats from the treekids cooking loquat sorbet

Kids Cooking in the Garden

Kids cutting loquats for sorbet with playful chef safety knives

The girls have been honing their kitchen skills with their new knife set. They love the safety knives from Playful Chef (Amazon link) which are designed to cut through apples and carrots, but safely fit in young hands. They use them almost daily.

The kids also harvested the loquats from the tree, selecting the ripest, softest and sweetest fruit.

My kids enjoy cooking, especially sweet treats. And they LOVE making and eating anything from our garden.

How to Make Loquat Sorbet

Loquat Sorbet Recipe using fresh loquats and a splash of tequila and salt

Loquats are from the same family as apples, pears and roses. The fruit have a mild, sweet, slightly sour and refreshing flavor.

loquats on the tree, ready for this sorbet recipe

They grow rampant in Southern California. So check your neighborhood and forage! If you or a friend have a tree, you likely have more fruit than you can deal with. And sadly, there are not very many loquat recipes out there. Select fruit that are a little soft and pull off easily from the branch.

Loquat sorbet

Next, Papa Bird set up an assembly line for the girls outside. The fruit can be juicy and sticky.

Kids Cooking Recipe: Fresh Fruit (Loquat) Sorbet

The kids cut the fruit in half. Loquats contain 3-7 large, hard, inedible seeds in the middle.

fresh loquats with seeds

Remove the seeds. The fruit are now ready to run through a juicer.

loquat sorbet

Preparing the loquat sorbet

This sorbet came out delicious!

Loquat sorbet with tequila and Hawaiian lava salt

To make 2 cups of juice, Papa Bird used approximately 60 halved, seeded loquats. We have a Breville compact juicer, which quickly separated the juice from the skin and less edible parts.

Read the printable recipe below. Continue reading

Meet Fuzzy Feather: Our New Incubator-Hatched Baby Bird

We have a new addition to our backyard chickens! “Fuzzy Feather” is here! (You can see more adorable baby birds here and here.) We have seen the birth of lots of chicks, but Fuzzy Feather is our first incubator hatched chick.

incubator hatched baby bird

Out of our dozens of hens, there is usually at least one broody hen able to sit on fertilized eggs when we come by them. “Broody” means the chicken is wanting to sit on eggs to keep them warm and hatch. Before we got our hens in 2010, I though all hens did that, but apparently, it is bred out of most egg-layers. When they are broody, hens lay few eggs, because they are focused on hatching the ones already laid. Heritage breeds, such as Auracana (who lay pretty blue eggs), are more likely to get broody, and most of our broody girls have been Auracanas or Easter Eggers.

incubator hatched baby bird

If you live in an area, like San Diego, that allows for backyard hens but forbids roosters, you can still hatch chickens! Sometimes a friend gives us fertile eggs. This time City Farmers gave us a few for free. (Smart — for the cost of a few eggs, they gain customers to buy chicken feed!) I have even heard of people hatching the “fertile eggs” from Trader Joes and other grocery stores. I plead the Fifth Amendment as to whether there has ever been an illegal rooster on our property.

Our First Time Using an Incubator to Hatch chicks

incubator hatched baby birdAs I mentioned, we have hatched chicks many times, but have always had a momma, or adopted momma, hen do the work. This time none of the girls were in the mood, so when Papa Bird brought home some fertile eggs, we ordered an incubator.

Can you see Fuzzy Feather’s cute face though the condensation? I put a video of the freshly hatched chick on my Instagram story, but it’s disappeared. (I love me some IG, but I still don’t really like stories.)

Chicken Incubators and Supplies

Disclaimer: I’m an Amazon affiliate, meaning some purchases made through links on this site may result in us being paid a small percentage. That being said, here are some supplies we like and you might find useful:

Since hatching was just for fun, we ordered a relatively cheap incubator. You do get what you pay for. Out of three fertile eggs, only one has hatched. Papa Bird explains that temperature is relatively easy to regulate, but humidity is harder. If you get more serious about hatching, or want to have better results, check out this incubator. We haven’t used it, but it has better reviews. You can also add a separate humidity monitor, which is what Papa Bird did.

Have You Ever Hatched Chicks in an Incubator?

What was your experience? Did you get a Fluffy Feather Butter Butt Cotton Tail of your own?

incubator hatched baby bird

Green Eggs and Ham

“That’s not how my school made green eggs and ham,” Little Bird was quick to point out. No, probably not.

We had ham leftover from Thanksgiving. And the basil she planted from seeds from a Mother’s Day fundraiser at Green Acre is still going strong, so we made a hand-chopped pesto and served it over fresh eggs and the leftover ham.

green eggs and ham

Little Bird was happy to cut some of her basil.

cutting the basil she planted from seed

Our youngest hens have just started laying.

backyard eggs

I wanted to try hand-chopping the pesto. I saw someone in Italy do that once on a show several years ago. I used a curved knife and chopped the dry ingredients first and then stirred in the olive oil. The ingredients were the same as from my pesto recipe here.

hand-chopped pesto

To make a more complete dinner, we ended up eating all of this over spaghetti. And we added avocado, because, well, we eat avocado at almost every meal!