Black Bean Burgers á la Jenna Marbles

"Hey Phoebe, what should I have for dinner?" 
"Not sure."
"I'm vegan."
"huh."
"And I want something filling."
"Okay."
"And maybe gluten free."
"Great."
"Oh and I'm a college student and insanely broke."
"I have just the thing!"

I am a true YouTube addict. Most of the time the things I watch do not contribute positively to my life in any way. Jenna Marbles, for example, usually entertains me through making fun of other people or annoying her dogs. However, I respect this YouTuber because she's empowering, self-made, creative, and, thanks to her, I have the best black bean burger recipe out there. Okay, it's probably not the best, but it's damn good and wicked cheap. Jenna Marbles and her boyfriend Julien have a vlog (well I think it's Julien's vlog but obviously Jenna is heavily featured), and sometimes they cook together. They call these episodes J&J's Kitchen. Julien is celiac and a weight lifter and Jenna is vegan, but they always make such delicious, filling, healthy things. Usually Julien will add meat or dairy to his, but the base is always gluten free and vegan. I am neither of these, but, done right, these diets are often healthy. 

Here's the link for their video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGTNL5VDDUg

To begin these burgers, I rinse and drain a can of black beans, and then mash them with a fork or wiz them in the food processor. I got a small food processor for my birthday and my life has changed forever. You want them halfway mashed. 

To this, I add some minced red onion and salt, garlic powder, parsley, and chili powder. After this, I add the flour. I use whole wheat flour, but, if you're like Julien, then you can use gluten free flour. I add enough flour so that it really holds a shape, about 2/3 a cup.

Next, I fry them in oil until they're crispy and the bomb.com. 

     

         
These things are perfect alone, but if you're so perfect that perfect becomes mundane, then add some sriracha mayo on top. If you're vegan, like my imaginary friend from the beginning, then use vegan mayo. You just mix a little mayo with however much sriracha you want, and then plop it on top. You can also eat these guys with buns, but I usually don't simply because I never buy buns and I think they're better alone. 

So, a can of beans costs roughly nothing (ok, one dollar on average), and the rest is pretty cheap as well. I usually have something on hand that I can put in it, whether it's white onion, peppers, or, on the rare occasion, red onion. I may not always have the spices on hand, but I've had these things with just salt and pepper and they were still pretty close to perfect. In summary, four of five black bean burgers, are about, let's say, two dollars total. At Wal-mart, four MorningStar Farms spicy black bean burgers cost $3.67. That's pretty cheap, but it's still twice our price, and, I'm gonna guess, not nearly as good. Also, mine don't have disodium inosinate in them. Whatever that is.