A friend of mine runs Zeyal, a video production company in San Antonio, and offices out of Geekdom, a collective environment for creatives and tech professionals to co-mingle and co-work. I visited him several months ago, after hearing about this environment for almost a year, and was completely floored. Geekdom was created by Graham Weston, the guy who brought us Rackspace, and in it, creative individuals and companies rent office space or stations, come and go as they please, help each other out with projects, give ideas and receive feedback. The space is open 24-hours a day and has a cafe-style vending area, a coffee bar, and tons of working options, whether you want an office, a conference room, or an open space. They offer weekly happy hours and socials to their members, who are encouraged to learn from each other, and are required to give back and help the other members with projects. What a great way to meet people, to learn about each other’s strengths, and to see how you can benefit each other and the world we work in. Whether you’re a software engineer, a painter, a graphic designer, a copywriter or any other type of creative individual, there’s space for you to office at Geekdom.
Geekdom sits in downtown San Antonio, right off the riverwalk, in a historic building with a bike share station out front. A couple of the people I met rent their bike outside of their lofts on the other side of downtown, ride to their office, and park it out front, back on the bike share station. They don’t need to own a car, or a bike for that matter, to get to where they need to go. It’s what as a society, we could be shaped around. Maybe we all need to own less; maybe we all don’t need as many things that we think we need. If society was built around these types of environments, where we could ride bikes, take buses or trains, and work together, we’d all grow. We’d all benefit, especially those who come after us. We don’t need to work for a company or a business or a brand, and we don’t need to be separate. We just need to work together, to build things, to create, to grow. Geekdom is the essence of that idealism, and it’s working. It’s a refreshing, stimulating environment, created for people to come together. That is beauty.
Our cities are changing, our work environments are changing, and it’s becoming easier to do the work we want to do, when we are able to do it best. That’s incredibly encouraging. San Antonio has grown into a city I absolutely love, and it’s places like Geekdom that have helped the city become what it is. The city is colorful and vibrant, filled with incredible independent restaurants (with many vegan options), artsy coffee shops, a good selection of visual art, a plethora of good universities, super cute mid century neighborhoods with beautiful old trees, and a huge assortment of creative people. And most importantly, you can still afford to live there for cheap: the true essence of a real art town. Move over, Austin, I have a feeling San Antonio is where it’s at.
All throughout Texas right now (and New Mexico for that matter), you’ll see hatch green chilis at the grocery stores and farmers markets. These spicy chilis are delicious when roasted and I can’t get enough of them each year. I decided to try out a new veggie burger last week and it’s been a huge hit around our house. Roast up some hatch peppers, cook up a few patties, and enjoy these burgers before hatch season is over for the year!
Hatch Chili Quinoa Burgers and Creative Geekdom
Ingredients
For the patties
- 3 tbsp. flax seeds, ground
- 2 c. quinoa, cooked
- 1 c. carrots, grated
- 1 c. cashews, ground
- 3 garlic cloves, diced
- 1/2 c. breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. salt
For the hatch chili sauce
- 8 hatch chile peppers, hot
- 1/2 c. vegenaise
Instructions
For the hatch chili sauce
- Rinse, dry and then roast the peppers for about 10 minutes on each side, until browned. Watch them, you don't want them to burn.
- Remove from heat, place in a large bowl, and cover with saran wrap. Let sit for 15 minutes until the skin can be peeled easily.
- Remove the skins and the seeds and discard. Chop the peppers, and mix with the vegenaise. Set aside.
For the patties
- In a small bowl, combine the ground flax with 9 tbsp. warm water, stir well, and set aside for a few minutes to thicken.
- Place the cooked quinoa, shredded carrots, ground cashews, diced garlic, breadcrumbs, and all spices in a large bowl, and mix well. Stir in the flax mixture until all ingredients are combined. Form into patties.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a large pan, and add the patties. Cook for about 4-5 minutes per side.
- Serve these as burgers with buns and your favorite toppings (I used sliced onions, avocado and tomato) and top with a large spoonful of the hatch chili sauce. Enjoy!