The shadow of a full moon greeted Simba and I tonight as the unusual bite in the night’s cold air enveloped around us. The wind quivered branches, swayed trees and howled unceremoniously as it moved between the sharpness of cold, dark flora and unnatural objects. The path ahead was damp from last night’s drenching and puddles of water reflected the ominous mood of its surroundings.

Something was different about tonight…

Tonight was different alright.

Mindfully going out of my way to prepare and make a vegetarian meal, for a meatarian like myself, was unheard of and had never been attempted before. This was to be my first real attempt – but I had mentioned it early in the challenge to mentally prepare myself for this day. So, timing was perfect, a full moon and all that was needed was a wolf’s howl to complete the picture.

So in my sights was Jamie Oliver’s Happy Cow Burgers. Happy Cows because there is absolutely no beef or other meats. The recipe isn’t on his site but can be found in one of his 15 minute books or at http://catslovecooking.com/2013/05/16/jamie-oliver-happy-cow-burgers/

Before today, I had no idea what a broad bean was nor what one looked like. I had a bag of green beans in the fridge that I had earmarked as a substitute should my market plunder later in the day came to naught. Not only did I find them, I wtf’ed on them. They should have been more appropriately labeled as ‘the holy mumma mega sized beans to rule them all never ending story goliath stalk to the golden goose’ variety. The ones I saw were many times larger than an average green bean.

After mixing the red and white cabbages with the rest of the coleslaw (onion, yoghurt, French mustard), I gave it a try but for my liking it was a little tangy. Maybe it was me and my must-squeeze-every-bit-of-juice mentality out of the half lemon. Doubtful, so I added a spoon of sugar just to balance it a little bit. It didn’t so I left it at that and started to plate up with the patty, gherkin, tomato and lettuce.

I wasn’t expecting much but after taking a bite, I was quite impressed with the unique combination of flavours, particularly from the sweetness and slight hint of spices from the patties. The tanginess of the coleslaw complemented the patties deliciously. Nothing was overpowering, everything was well balanced.

I’m still pondering on the source of the sweetness as I didn’t think beans would contribute in that manner. Perhaps the broad beans? Not sure, but something attributed to it and it wasn’t just the gherkins. I’m intrigued.