Grilling

My husband realized that we hadn't had our grill out this summer... We both had a hankering for hamburgers so...

We made this masterpiece.

Local corn, silk removed, soaked in ice water 15 minutes than sprinkled with A1 dry rub and put on the grill for about 25 minutes. Turning frequently.

Hamburgers from the freezer. My husband had made hamburgers the last time he bought ground beef. We have a small charcoal grill, and he didn't expect them to cook so fast so dinner was 4 pm.

Local zucchini. Sliced. Marinaded in balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing and also sprinkled with the rub.

Stuffed Burgers

One day soon I shall blog about my culinary adventures in Djibouti and Yemen. I fell in love with freshly made cantaloupe juice, could have survived on bread and butter (in temperatures so hot the butter melted on your plate) and decided maybe I'm not so fond of Ethiopian. The Yemeni cuisine was worth returning for-- never have I eaten somewhere where the spices were so effectively used in a dish. I now believe I have never had a true saffron rice, the blend of saffron (which did more than merely turn the rice yellow) and the touch of clove really did tease the palate.

Oh, look at that. I did blog about the food. My true lament is that I did not bring home honey from Yemen. The color was so richly yellow it almost appeared orange. We had a small bowl of yogurt with this honey at our hotel and it was so simple and fulfilling. I miss it. Painfully.

I brought home American sauce as a joke for my family, purchased in the Nougaprix in Djibouti. I thought it was Thousand Island dressing and my husband confirmed it on our burgers tonight. Thousand Island without pickles. That works for my husband as he loves Thousand Island but hates pickles.

So, last night we finally went grocery shopping. We bought $155 worth of food (90 items) at Aldi. For the first time in months my freezer and fridge are full.

My husband made burgers tonight, stuffing the centers with feta and mixing fresh spinach into the ground beef. Good stuff. Served with leftover sides-- mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes and corn bake.

Garden Taco Night

I am happiest when I am cooking. I don't mean that when I cook I become happy, I mean that when I am happy I cook. And I do good stuff. Not the eat for survival stuff. 

The chicken sitting adventure is going well. We got 18 eggs today and rushed home and made thick egg sandwiches on rye before school.

I whipped up some soft taco filling: ground beef, beans that I made today not from a can, the last batch of corn preserved from a local farm last year and diced pepper from the lady who owns the chickens.

Spices for the batch include paprika, cumin, chili powder, hot chili powder and garlic powder. I use a lot of each, to taste.

Birthday Biscuit Shepherds Pie

Now if you're one of those people who need an exact recipe, you're poop-outta-luck on this one.

I started with the Betty Crocker biscuit recipe and an oven preheated to 450. And I started to change it because I didn't feel like measuring.

INGREDIENTS for the BISCUIT crust 

- About 1/2 cup unbleached white flour

- About 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

- About 3 tablespoons sourgum flour

- Almost 1/4 cup flax meal

 - About 1.5 tablespoons baking powder

- Not quite 1/3 cup lard (I got mine straight from a local butcher)

- A little more than 1/3 cup almond milk

- 1 big pinch salt

Combine. I didn't even use a spoon. I used my hand.

I sprinkled cornmeal into the bottom of a 11 x 7 Pyrex dish. Pressed the biscuit crust into it. Thin layer.

In my cast iron skillet, I browned some hamburger. Husband picked out some Chunky Steak and Potato Soup at Target  (on sale, plus employee discount, plus a Cartwheel, plus RedCard!) to use as a sauce. It is his birthday after all. I added the soup and some leftover tomato sauce.

Then veggies: a head of broccoli (chopped tiny), some frozen cauliflower and peas, about a cup of corn frozen from last summer (gotta use it up). 

When that started bubbling, I poured it on top of the crust. I layered sliced white potatoes from a can on top of that. Sprinkled paprika on top and lots of herbs from the garden (chives, basil and parsley).

Bake for 25 minutes. Uncovered.

Quick hamburger stew

- about 2 cups browned grown beef

- about 32 ounces low sodium beef stock

- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped

- 1 large potato, cleaned and chopped

- Italian seasoning

- garlic powder

In crock pot on high two hours, then reduce to low until time to serve

Quick burger lunch

Burgers with sweet potato fries. Mine has massive amounts of lettuce and wasabi horseradish mustard!

Mini burgers and canned goods

I made cinnamon raisin bread and multigrain bisquits today.

So for dinner my husband made little slider burgers while I made a side of fresh steamed broccoli.

We opened bread and butter pickles and firecracker carrots from our canning session with Gayle at the end of July.

Turkey-white bean burgers with spinach

During the day today, I plan to prep these:

http://m.finecooking.com/recipes/seared-turkey-white-bean-burgers.aspx

I plan to adjust some ingredients and add spinach.

I have some serious preparations to make since my ground turkey is frozen and my beans are dry beans that I need to soak and cook. Once I get these beans ready, cooked and divided into freezer bags, not only will we have turkey burgers but we'll have black and white beans in the freezer.

Stuff in the freezer is my secret weapon.

I had some problems, so measures are approximate.

Mix into patties:
- about two cups beans, mashed (mine weren't tender enough to mash well, since I didn't use canned beans)
- two tablespoons olive oil
- two teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 cups cooked spinach, drained as best as possible
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup cornflake crumbs
- 1/3 cup sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Newman's Own sesame ginger dressing
- juice of half a lemon
- 1.25 pounds ground turkey

Brainstorming "The Ultimate French Burger"

Tomorrow is July 14. I'm pining for things French and the iron deficiency has me yearning for red meat. "Bastille Day" brings to mind family, picnics and national spirit. And it makes me hungry for a burger.

But how would we make a French burger? Oh, I feel a trip to Wegmans in my bones.

The ultimate French burger would have (play along)...

A brioche for the roll, with a perfectly shaped to fit the roll patty (not too thick not too thin) definitely rare... With some sort of creamy herby mustard sauce, a mild Camembert, hearty leaves of sorrel and maybe spinach or endive. I'm on the fence re: tomato or even scallions...and BIG steak fries with a side of au jus

My friends and my husband are encouraging me to make this bad boy, but it's a culinary creation that can't be rushed.

Mulling it about in my head. Brioche alone is a two day affair requiring 2 lbs of butter and a trip to the farm for eggs. Not to mention, finding the right Camembert to be strong but not too strong and the right meat to make a quality au jus...

My husband wants desperately to take me to Wegmans but the finances aren't proper for a splurge like this.

I ate this weekend

I ate this weekend.
After what I feared would be never-ending torment of liquid diet options, I ate.

It was wonderful.

And, of course, even the small meals I make for myself make me feel very heavy and gross.

It’s been a week since I posted. Part of that was the fall out from disappointment. I went to the dentist Thursday and she reconstructed my one tooth in only a few moments. The second tooth refused to numb. I received so many chemical shots that my mouth wouldn’t open for two days. Yet, the tooth was not numb. So, I left the dentist with only one tooth repaired.

And that night while eating a french fry, a chunk of filling (I think) came out of my mouth.

I almost wept.

But once that jaw eased open again, I had a salad of iceberg lettuce. And thin sliced radishes. Then a small plate of pancakes.

Which reminds me: my husband, at my request, substituted peach yogurt for the milk in the pancakes. Yum.

Had dinner at the Mexican restaurant. Burritoes con mole.

And then last night, I ate a hamburger with a fork. My husband, again at my suggestion, got basil and sorrel from the backyard herb garden and added them to the meat. Turned out very nice.

I meant to take pictures, but every time I had a meal in front of me, I forgot. I was too intent on eating!

Mango Basil Meatballs

Looking at the week ahead, I opted for some red meat for dinner. Local beef from a nearby dairy farm, but hamburger nonetheless. Meatballs. Served as? Not sure. But it won't involve red sauce or pasta since we had that for lunch and it's too late in the game to make brown rice.

Betty Crocker's Meatball recipe is this:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 egg

Mix. Make 1.5 inches balls. Cook in 13x9x2 inch rectangular pan at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

But we all know I can't follow a recipe. I swapped the rectangular dish for my Le Creuset skillet.

Here are my ingredients:
- 1 package (I hope it's) 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup crumbled Matzoh
(now my meat was frozen and I thawed it in the microwave and it got juicy, then the Matzoh was too big, so I tossed it all in and improvised)
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup mango coconut pepper sauce (to replace the milk, but I misread the amount)
- 1/2 teaspoon four color organic peppercorn
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground garlic salt
- 10 leaves fresh basil from the garden, torn
- 1 egg

They "feel" "right."

Will keep you posted.

They were incredible!

Tacos

I don't know what got into me, but I decided to make tacos.
I made the homemade tortillas this afternoon and found this site:
http://www.mex-recipes.com/tacorecipes.html

QUOTED FROM THE SITE:
Ground beef
(I prefer ground chuck)
Salt
Chili powder
Paprika
Cumin
Garlic powder or 2 cloves
Bell pepper
Onion

Instructions for taco recipe:

Let's take 2 pounds of ground beef in 2 quart sauce pan add 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of chili power, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder or 2 chopped garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 2 tablespoons of paprika. Enough water to cover meat.

Bring to a boil. Simmer over medium low heat about an hour. I will check in about 15 minutes take a potato masher break up the meat a little don't want it to cook up in lumps.

Repeat this process 2 or 3 more times. Also make sure we don't run dry of water. Add water if needed. Hour over already!

OK, add 1/2 medium chopped onion, 1/2 medium chopped bell pepper, continue cooking 20 or 30 more minutes.

MY VARIATIONS:
I used 1/2 ground beef from a local farm and 1/2 black beans (the ones I made in the crock pot over the weekend.)
I omitted onion, and used one green pepper from my garden.
I turned up the heat a little on the stove, not the taco meat, because I didn't start early enough.

And I'm using my Le Creuset skillet instead of a saucepan.

Nachos

For a late lunch yesterday, we used the leftover browned hamburger from the "Daddy Pasta" my husband made the other day (I don't think I blogged about that), added some cheddar and Velveeta on multigrain chips and some Wegmans mango salsa and sour cream leftover from my cake.

Hamburger Stuffed Bread II

Of course, I can't make anything twice the same way...

I started with some extra virgin olive oil and about 1/3 pound hamburger in the Le Creuset skillet. Added 1 clove garlic, sliced, and about 1/4 cup red wine. When it was brown, I added 1 can condensed tomato soup, oregano from the garden, a tablespoon of brown sugar, and some garlic powder. Oh, and four color peppercorn.

Layered it into a hollowed out baguette with some cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350, in aluminum foil, until the family gets to the table.

DON'T do what I always do. I cut the bread in half. You want more of a deep hole, like a boat, instead of two French bread pizzas.

Mommy's meatballs

• 1/2 cup mixed Italian vegetables, smashed
• about 1 cup hamburger
• about 3/4 cup cheddar cheese cubes
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs from homemade bread
• 3 small cloves roasted garlic
• 6 ounces tomato paste
  

Smoosh vegetables and garlic with pastry blender. Add all ingredients except cheese. When everything is mixed, fold in cheese.

I'm going to fry them in the Le Creuset skillet in the extra virgin olive oil from Forks Mediterranean Deli.

Okay, so I based this on a recipe from about.com and I noticed it didn't include egg. My meatballs don't appear to be binding. I don't know if it's because I'm frying them and turning them too much or because of the egg. Or because of some of my strange ingredients.

I finally smashed them all and added the sauce to the frying pan and let it all simmer into meat sauce.

Daddy pasta

Last night, I had three meals in mind. But, since my husband got home from work first, he whipped up his famous Daddy Pasta for an Army. He makes more than a pound of pasta, because he thinks it will make good lunches to take to work.

In this case, he made a huge quantity of wheat pasta with red sauce, peas and vegan Boca burger.

The sauce, as usual, is the cheap cans of plain tomato sauce with his special seasoning added.

Recipe from my daughter

My daughter wanted to share this recipe with you:
It reads...

Bun
Tomato
Burger
and
Bun

More Daddy Pasta

Daddy made his hamburger helper style stuff... the red kind. He browned some hamburger (almost a pound, goodness gravy) and added it to shells with red sauce.

Homemade pasties?

This morning we had farm-fresh strawberries and bananas (obviously not local bananas) for a first round of food.

At ten a.m. my daughter and I had my first and her second breakfast. I got two of my wheat biscuits from the freezer. Then I mixed one egg, some garlic pepper and some fresh milk from Klein Farm and fried it up. I added a slice of cheddar cheese and placed on the biscuit. We had some strawberry-banana drinkable yogurt, also from Klein Farm.

For lunch, I plan on using the leftover strawberry syrup and local strawberries to make crêpes again. Of course, the milk and eggs for the crêpe batter will be from Klein Farm.

For dinner, I hope to use a store-bought pie crust to whip up some vegetable beef pasties. I'm going to fry some hamburger from Klein Farm and use vegetable soup as a sauce.

****
Later that afternoon...
I only have one pie crust so I'm going to put it in a bread pan and make a giant pastie or a small pot pie...

I fried some hamburger and added some peas as it cooked. Then I added a can of condensed vegetarian vegetable soup, garlic pepper, four-peppercorn blend. and a half can of milk from the farm. When that simmers for a while and gets a little thicker, I'll pour it into my crust and then cover my concoction will foil before baking. About 15-20 minutes before it's done I'll remove the foil.

Ice Cream Man and Spaghetti

My daughter had a meltdown today when I told her we didn't have money for the ice cream man. She must have cried for ten minutes. A little while after she settled down, I offered her an ice cream cone Mommy-style and she enthusiastically said yes. I warned her this would be the best ice cream cone ever.

I started with a wafer cone, the kind my father-in-law brings. I packed in some vanilla bean ice cream and lined the top with Goldfish honey grahams, a gift from a neighbor who visited the Pepperidge Farm Outlet. I spooned on some butterscotch topping, added another portion of ice cream and topped the whole mess with rainbow sprinkles.

My daughter is so over the ice cream man.

For dinner, I wanted to use the leftover beef BBQ. My daughter had eaten most of it for lunch yesterday. I opted for spaghetti. We made meat sauce with the beef BBQ and then served with grated parmesan and shredded mozzerella. We all had two big plates.