Another mighty fine burger

I haven't had much in the way of cravings while pregnant. Haven't sent Scott out late at night for ice cream or chocolate. Haven't been eating weird combinations of potato chips and jam or bananas and cheese. I do lust after certain foods from time to time, but unless they are readily available I just shrug it off and deal with it.

Except for hamburgers. Gah, I think about them so often the last month or so. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken burgers, veggie burgers. With bacon and lettuce and tomato. With ketchup only. With bbq sauce. Hang on, I've got to wipe up all this drool. I will admit that a couple of times in the last month I've given in and treated myself to a burger. But only a couple. Cause really, this could get out of control VERY easily.

So around these parts, I may have been talking about hamburgers; may have mentioned them a few (dozen) times in the past couple of days. And Scott was nice enough to suggest we have burgers for dinner last night.

I'd recently found a recipe I was dying to try from Rachael Ray for Asian pork burgers that she then cut into appetizer sized pieces. We made some changes.

Asian Turkey Burgers

makes 4

1 lb ground turkey
1 green onion, minced
1 Tb soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch red pepper flakes
juice from 1/2 of a small orange

1 Tb honey
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 of an english cucumber, sliced into thin half moons
1 carrot, shredded

1 handful lettuce, shredded

4 large tortillas
hoisin sauce

Whisk together the honey and vinegar. Stir in the cucumber and carrot. Set aside.

Mix the ground turkey, onions, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, hot pepper and orange juice. Form into 4 patties.

Heat a large pan over medium heat and add a little vegetable oil. Add the patties and cook, turning once, until golden and cooked through.

While the burgers are cooking, spread approximately 1 Tb (or to your taste) with hoisin sauce on each tortilla. Top with lettuce and cucumber carrot salad.


When your turkey burgers are cooked through, place one on each tortilla.


Fold up the 4 sides of the tortilla, and turn the package over so the seam is at the bottom. Cut in half.


Eat and enjoy with plenty of napkins to mop up the juicy goodness. Plan to make again soon.

Oh nos!

Apparently I am showing off how miserable my time management and planning skills are - I've run out of time to take part in this months Bread Baking Babes bread of the month.

This month Gretchen was kitchen of the month and she chose a Peruvian Bread called Tanta Wawa for us to try.

My deepest apologies Gretchen that I can't take part. All the Babes breads are gorgeous - please check out the blogs - everyone is listed over on the right.

Epicure Selections

This summer I was approached by a lovely lady named Darcy from the company Epicure Selections to see if I would be interested in trying out some of their products and sharing my thoughts with you.

For those who haven't heard of Epicure Selections, they are a Canadian owned company selling food products, cookware and home and body items. The company was started in the early 1990's and sold only 4 spice blends. Today they sell nearly 200 different products.

Darcy generously sent me 8 items that I chose from their website, shown below.


Bacon Potato Topper I love potatos and I love bacon. This topper, which is vegetarian, tastes delicious. I sprinkle it on my baked potatos with a little sour cream and pretend I'm eating at a steakhouse, where they come around with their little caddy to dress up your spud. We also tried the website recommendation of adding it to scrambled eggs, and that was good too.

Greek Dressing This one was a dud for us. I have made it twice for salad dressing and both times it was a flat tasting bland dressing. I have saved it and will try again, in pasta salad and a marinade. As a dressing, this was not for us.

Cajun Seasoning Ages ago I worked at a restaurant that had blackened fish and chicken sandwiches on our menu and the cajun seasoning we used was so delicious. This spice blend is definitely a close second. This makes the most delicious cajun chicken sandwiches with a nice little blast of heat.

Lemon Chiffon Fruit Dip Mix This stuff is just plain good. Mixed with yogurt, the chiffon can be used as a dip (like we did), stirred together with fruit (also tried) or used as a filling for baked tart shells.

MBO All Purpose Cleaner We try to stay away from any harsh or harsh smelling cleaners in our house. This spray, safe for counters, tile and more, contains peppermint, orange and bergamot so it smells great as you clean.

Margherita Sauce Mix Sometimes we buy bottled pasta sauce and sometimes we make our own. This turns a can of tomatos into a light pasta sauce in a jif. It is also a great seasoning to add to your pizza (homemade or frozen) before you bake it.

Beef and Steak Rub This stuff is AWESOME rubbed on steaks and burgers. The ingredient list is vague - onion, garlic, herbs and spices - but it adds a whack of flavor. I'd also like to add how much I love the canisters that this rub and the potato topper came it. Nice and sturdy with large holes so the seasoning doesn't get stuck. They also lock and unlock easily but well, so you won't get a dump of spice in your bowl or counter. Love 'em.

Fruit Salsa I love salsa of any kind, but this fruit one was pretty cool. Mix the seasoning with diced tomato and diced pineapple or peaches. So good. I love pineapple and used that. I'm sure it's wonderful with peaches too though.

Thank you again to Darcy for sending me these wonderful products to try. I hope she will forgive me for taking longer than I anticipated to get through them all, but food and pregnancy don't always go together. :)

If you're interested in checking out their website, please visit Epicure Selections. Would you like to find a consultant in your area? Visit here. Interested in becoming a consultant? Visit here.

U Pick Pumpkin Patch and Roasted Squash and Garlic Spread

It was raining pretty hard last Saturday when we went to the pumpkin patch after the farmers market. The field was so muddy they weren't letting cars in past the gate as 2 were already stuck and waiting to be towed out. We walked in. I didn't care, I'd never been to a pumpkin patch before.






After we got home and changed out of our muddy clothes I made us a snack. It was supposed to be a bruschetta of squash - I envisioned cubes of roasted squash tossed with a dressing, piled on bread. But it's been a while - since last winter - since I've attempted to cut into whole squashes. I had 2 small ones from the farmers market the week before and by the time we got them hacked into manageable pieces I knew there was no way this was going to be as pretty as I'd hoped. But looks don't matter as much as taste and this was pretty darn good.


I baked my squash pieces with chunks of red onion and unpeeled garlic cloves, all tossed with some oil and salt and pepper. When the squash was tender and the onions nice and soft, I let them cool briefly, then chopped up the onions and mashed the squash (rind removed). I squished the roasted garlic out of their papers and mixed them with some oil, balsamic vinegar and honey. Then I stirred the dressing into the squash, and slathered it on the bread.

So good.

Tablecloths

This one isn't about food, but what's under it.
Scott's Mom came to visit us for Thanksgiving and she brought us out some tablecloths that had belonged to Scott's Grandmother who recently passed away. I am not a huge table covering person, but these cloths are SO awesome.

(Please don't make fun of my (lack of) ironing skills.)

This one below is my absolute favorite


I can't even imagine the time and talent it would take to stitch something like this.


I don't know if Scott's Grandmother made this, or if it was made for her, but you don't see stuff like this anymore.


The fabric (linen?) is so delicate.


This one is a little sturdier, made of cotton, again with gorgeous embroidery.


Seriously!


This one is store bought I'm sure, but damn, how 70's is this one? Awesome.



This is the most beautiful and delicate one. I have a similar one that my paternal Grandmother made for my maternal Grandmother. This one is so thin and fine and delicate.


Sort of afraid to use this one - what if we spill?

Seriously, they do NOT make them like this anymore.

Potato Carrot Balls

This past weekend was Thanksgiving, and Sunday night the family stuffed ourselves silly on ham, mashed potatos, carrots, brussel sprouts, Nigella Lawson's fantastic peas and pancetta in cream, and carrot cake. The fridge is overflowing with leftovers and I'm trying to be somewhat creative in using them. Last night we made these Potato Carrot Balls. And liked 'em.


Potato Carrot Balls

1 cup mashed potatos
1/2 cup finely chopped or pureed cooked carrots
1 egg, separated
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400'. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray.

Warm the potatos and carrots in the microwave (30 seconds, just to take the chill off) or in a small pan. Stir in the egg yolk and season with salt and pepper. Whip the egg white until stiff, then fold into the potato mixture. Form into 10-12 balls, place on baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes, then turn and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes, until brown and crisp.

_____________________________________

I really liked these; they were light and tasty and I loved the sweetness that the carrots added. When I make these again I think I'll try adding some garlic. Yum!

Saturday Market and Downtown

An Interview with Alton Brown.

He's never met Ina????

Emeril's English Muffins

And just like that, Fall has shown up. Were you expecting it quite so soon? Not me. One day it's 30' and gorgeous, the next it's 20 degrees cooler and pitch dark by 6. However, this is probably the first time in my life I've been so happy to see October, as it brings us closer to our big day.

It was cool and sadly still dark when I got up this morning and it seemed like the perfect time to do some baking.

Last Fall at a book sale I picked up a copy of Emeril Lagasse's From Emeril's Kitchen. It was $2 and looked brand new, who could say no? Flipping thru it a couple of weeks ago I was sort of surprised at how many recipe there are that I'd like to try. I don't know why I was surprised. Anyway the first one I knew I had to try was for his English Muffins, which are served with onion soup at one of his restaurants. The cool morning today just screamed homemade muffins, and the recipe is super easy.

Homemade English Muffins
From Emeril's Kitchen
Emeril Legasse

1 tsp vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups water at room temperature
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tsp salt
3 tb dry milk powder
2 tsp solid vegetable shortening
1/4 cup cornmeal

Lightly grease a large bowl with the oil, and set aside.

Combine the water, yeast and sugar in a large bowl, stir well and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except the cornmeal and mix with a large wooden spoon until well blended, about 5 minutes. (I used my mixer and also held back on adding all the flour, as Mary has taught me) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 15 minutes, until smooth, adding more flour 1 tsp at a time if the dough is too sticky. (I did not
kneadneed to use all 3 1/2 cups of the flour.) Place in the prepared bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft free place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Dust a baking sheet with the cornmeal.


Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 equal portions. Roll into smooth balls and place evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with a slightly damp towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.


Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the dough balls, non cornmeal coated side first (down), in batches, and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes.


Turn the muffins over, press down on them with a large spatula to flatten slightly, and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.

We really enjoyed these - they were easy to make and taste very very good. I had to turn my heat down to low as my first batch got a little too dark. I also flattened them when I first put them into the pan as well as when I flipped them.


I could definitely see making these on a regular basis. Next time (maybe a few weeks?) I'd like to try do a white/whole wheat flour mixture.

Here's Scott's breakfast this morning - poached eggs on homemade English Muffins. After the photo he added hot sauce and cheese. I had to charge him more for that.

Brussel Sprouts and Bacon

Brussel sprouts are one of my very favorite veggies, although I am always boring and only have them steamed and eaten with lots of butter. With the first sprouts of the season I wanted to do something different.

Brussel Sprouts and Bacon


4 slices bacon, chopped
olive oil, if necessary
4 cups trimmed brussel sprouts, quartered or halved, depending on size
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup chicken broth
pepper

Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove from pan. If there is not enough drippings in the pan, add some oil. Add the sprouts and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, until the sprouts start to brown in places. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover and let cook until the sprouts are tender-crisp. Remove lid and turn heat back up to medium high. Cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the bacon and season with pepper. Serve straightaway.

Bread Baking Babes - Chinese Flower Steam Buns

This month the lovely Karen of Baking Soda chose our bread for the Bread Baking Babes. She threw at us a really interesting pick - Xiang Cong Hya Juan Bao (Chinese Flower Steam Buns) from the book Global Baker by Dean Brettschneider.


This recipe differs in a couple of ways from "traditional" dough. First, the dough is not kneaded, but is rolled out thin, folded, rolled again, repeat repeat until your arms want to fall off. I was surprised that quite soon the dough lost its roughness and turned soft and silky. The other major way it is different from any other recipe the Babes have tried so far is that in the end the buns are steamed, not baked. How cool.

Here's the dough being rolled (and rolled and roooooooolled):

And justlikethat here's the finished buns ready to be cooked! So easy! Actually we took some video of filling and cutting and rolling the buns but as I write this I haven't looked at it yet. But you sprinkle the dough with chopped green onions and red chile, fold and cut into slices, then twist the slices, and knot.

The buns are steamed for 20 minutes.

And then ready to eat. I was going to make some sort of fancy dipping sauce, but no. We just used a wee bit of soy.

These buns were easier than I thought they would be, and pretty fun. These would be great to make as part of a larger dim sum meal. My original plan was to also make some sushi and dumplings to go along side, which then turned into buying some sushi and dumplings, but in the end I did neither. We just ate the buns on their own.

Many thanks Karen, for a great choice this month! Please visit the other Babe's sites (listed over on the right) for more steamy goodness.

Xiang Cong Hya Juan Bao

(Chinese flower steam buns)
makes 10 buns
"Everywhere you go in China you see people eating steam buns, also known as mantong. Typically Chinese, a sweet bread is combined with a savoury filling, such as red bean paste and barbecued pork, but take care and avoid using too much filling or the bun will fall apart during the rising and steaming stage. The baking powder helps to open up the texture and gives a little tenderness to the eating quality of the buns. If you can, use imported Chinese flour from a specialist Asian food market or store".


Dough
300 g Chinese flour (plain flour will do)
15 g sugar
15 g butter
good pinch of salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
150 ml chilled water, placed in the refrigerator overnight


Filling
rice bran oil, for brushing on dough
40 g finely chopped spring onions or chives
25 g finely chopped red chillies
salt to taste


To make the dough, place all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and, using your hands, combine to form a very, very firm dough mass. Don't be tempted to add any water or the steam buns will be flat after steaming.
Place the dough on a work surface and, using your rolling pin, roll out to a thin strip, fold this in half and roll again. Repeat this 10-15 times with a 30 second rest in between each time. This is a way of mixing a very firm dough, the dough will start to become smooth and elastic as a result of the rolling process.
Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a warmish place (23-25C) for 15 minutes. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out each piece to a 25cm square. Brush the dough surface lightly with oil and sprinkle the chopped chives and chillies evenly over the dough. Season with salt.
Fold the dough in half and then cut into 2.5cm strips so that you end up with 10 folded strips. Stretch each strip and, starting at the folding edge, twist the two pieces of each strip over each other to form a rope.
Take the twisted rope and tie into a double knot, tucking the loose ends underneath. Place each bun with ends facing down on a 5cm square of non-stick baking paper** and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Prove for approximately 30-45 minutes in a warm place.

Bring a wok or saucepan of water to the boil with a bamboo steamer sitting on top. Remove the bamboo steamer lid and place the buns on the paper in the steamer 3-4 cm apart to allow for expansion during steaming. Replace the steamer lid and steam for 20 minutes. Repeat until all the buns have been steamed and are firm to the touch.

Beans R Good

Things are going pretty well over here. I recently had a doctor's appointment and all was proclaimed good, including that I don't have gestational diabetes (YAY), and my blood work was all good, except that my iron levels are "acceptable but low". I did a search on the internet yesterday before work for some iron rich foods but was coming up with only creepy lists that included whale and seal meat. I twittered (of course I did) what I was looking for, and when I got home that night I saw I had some responses from some very helpful people, suggesting leafy greens, red meat, beans and beets. So we had a big salad for dinner and after dinner I checked out the cupboards for what would be for dinner the next night and we had about 10 cans of beans, and I knew right away what to make -
Mexican Black Bean and Roasted Pineapple Bowl from Everybody Like Sandwiches.

Now who wouldn't like rice and beans and pineapple and salsa all layered together? Only a fool, I tell you.

We made the salsa with tomatos from the garden.

How good does this look?


The iron rich beans were sauteed with onion and bell pepper and spices. The pineapple, which should have been fresh and roasted, was canned and warmed in a pan. But still good. We topped the beans rice and pineapple with the fresh salsa and sour cream. I skipped the cheese on mine.


So delicious and good for you! Give Jeanette's recipe a try, you'll love it.

Fall is coming

Ferocious spiny sea monster?
Nope, just a chestnut from the park.

Freezer Pickles Part Two

Back a few posts I shared with you that we'd made some freezer pickles that would be ready after chilling out for 3 weeks.

Time's up and I've pulled a bag out of the freezer.


These are really nice, turned out better than I expected. The texture is good, and the taste is a combo of sweet and salty. Interesting and delicious. This recipe is a keeper!

Freezer Pickles

8 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tb salt
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup sugar

Toss the cucumbers onions and salt together in a large bowl. Cover and let sit for 2 to 3 hours.
Rinse the cucumbers very well. Squeeze handfuls of cucumber to remove excess water.
Put the cucumber/onions into freezer bags or freezer containers. Stir the vinegar and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved, and pour over the cucumber/onions.
Freeze at least 3 weeks before eating. The longer the pickles sit, the sweeter they will be. Thaw in the refrigerator before eating.

What's in a name?

My lack of interest in food and food related anything continues. It upsets me - I love my blog and I love all of you - but I just can't gather up enthusiasm for anything food. We are eating incredibly boring, completely not worth writing about food 99% of the time. But occasionally I come across a recipe that I just HAVE to try. Like this one from Ina.

We were watching a Barefoot Contessa episode I'd recorded and Ina was testing, among other things, 2 chocolate cupcake recipes, one with coffee in the batter and icing, and one without coffee. I'm not a fan of chocolate cake, but something snapped in my head and I googled the recipe so I could add the ingredients needed to my shopping list.

First off, Sara is once again reminded that sizes differ from place to place. This recipe calls for chocolate syrup and I just assumed that the can I found at the grocery store would be the same size used in the recipe. It wasn't until I had the butter and sugar creaming that I discovered via a ml to oz converter online that I only had half the amount of syrup needed. So after placing my hands on my belly to cover the baby's ears (to muffle the curse words I uttered), we halved the butter/sugar mixture and made a half batch of cupcakes instead.

Second, I learned that not all muffin cups are created equal. We were now making 6 cupcakes, but had way too much batter. Is there no consistency in the world????? We ended up with 10 cupcakes, tossed them in the oven and went to clean the chocolate batter off the living room furniture (I blame the baby).
After letting the cupcakes cool completely I made the icing - cream, chocolate and more instant coffee. I threw in a pinch of salt too. The icing is insanely fabulous - I didn't measure the coffee, just tossed some in, so it was more coffee-heavy than it should have been. I could have eaten it with a spoon. I still might - there's some left over.

These cupcakes - well, they're not cupcakes. For me, a cupcake is light and airy. These are dense and fudge-y - a fudgecake! Very nice, but mis-named, in my opinion.

Ina Garten's Chocolate Ganache Cupcake

1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 (16-ounce) can Hershey's chocolate syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules


upons1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz chocolate chips
1/2 tsp instant coffee granules

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and coffee granules and mix until just combined. Don't overbeat, or the cupcakes will be tough.

Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 30 minutes, or until just set in the middle. Don't overbake! Let cool thoroughly in the muffin pan.

For the ganache, cook the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the ganache. Do not refrigerate.