Cook quinoa according to directions. Use 3/4 cup of the cooked quinoa.
Heat olive oil in a saute pan and add chopped onion and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat, until translucent and beginning to brown. Set aside and don’t clean the pan, because you can use the same pan to cook the quinoa cakes!
Purée black beans in your food processor until mostly smooth. A few chunks is okay and even good! This is where you may need to add the water to get the beans to process well.
Spoon the puréed beans into a mixing bowl and add quinoa, millet, onions and garlic, walnuts, Worcestershire, half of the flax meal, and all of the herbs and spices. Mix thoroughly and divide into 4 large patties, or 8 small patties for appetizer size.
Sprinkle the remaining flax meal on a plate and gently coat both sides of the quinoa cakes. This provides a nice crunchy outer edge once you cook them.
Heat a little bit of olive oil in the frying pan that you used for the shallots over medium heat. Place the quinoa cakes in the pan and cook over medium-high heat to brown both sides of the patties. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for another 10 minutes or so, or until heated through.
Serve with a bun and all of your favorite burger fixings, if you are making these as veggie burgers, or if you plan to serve the smaller quinoa cakes as a side dish or appetizer, you might want to serve them with a creamy cilantro avocado sauce. (Avocado, cilantro, garlic, plain nonfat Greek yogurt, lime juice plus your favorite hot sauce.)