Turkey Burgers and Kale

Hello October.

Right. I can't believe it either. It feels like just yesterday I was flying into Austin, nervously waiting to get off the plane and make my move official. No, actually, it feels like not so long ago (January) I was complaining to my parents about how I had nothing to do and I was bored all day. Ha! Don't I wish I could turn back time--or at least stop it.

Well, surprise, I can't! And it's just going to keep going faster and faster--or so I've been told. So I think the only way I'm going to be able to deal with it is with food, food and more food.

Before I get into today's recipe. Let me share my most current woe. Every weekend (almost) I head out to the grocery store on my bike. I bring along my backpack, my two Ortliebs (bike bags), and a spare Whole Foods reusable bag (and no unfortunately I don't shop at Whole Foods on a weekly basis); of course I also bring a list, a pen, and my wallet. But that's it.

As I make my way to the store I wonder if today might be the day when I can fit everything without having to pull aside next to the cash register and organize everything neatly. It's tough, and it breaks my heart, but I always have to choose between an extra yogurt container or another pack of sliced turkey.

Just kidding. It's actually just the quirk that my type A personality needs after a long week of studies. Since I can only fit a certain, small, amount of groceries, I really have to think about what I'll be consuming during the week. And you know what? It's actually not that bad: having to think about each and every thing I buy makes me appreciate that last spoonful of yogurt that much more!

That said, today I was really, really craving a burger. And since my trip to the groceries happened right after my craving, I made it happen. Here's a recipe for a lean turkey burger with a kick. It's simple, healthy, and delicious, so really no excuses for it not being on my (and your) regular meal plan. Enjoy!

Also, I decided to try the whole portobello mushroom bun idea, and while I'm not saying I didn't love it (because I did), there's no reason these can't be in-between regular burger buns!

Turkey Burgers (adapted from Real Simple: Easy, Delicious Home Cooking)
Active time: 20 mins; total time: 30 mins.

• 4 portobello mushroom caps
• 1 lb. ground turkey (99% lean; or 93% lean)
• 3 green onions, sliced thinly
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray portobello caps with olive oil spray and season with salt. Place portobellos on a baking dish and cook for 10 minutes; flip over and cook for another 10 minutes or until steamy. Prepare the meat while you wait for the mushrooms to cook.
2. In a medium bowl, combine turkey, onions, mustard and thyme; using your hands, mix gently until onions and thyme are distributed. 
3. Form four 3/4-inch patties and season with salt and pepper. 
4. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Cook patties until cooked through, and golden, 6-8 minutes on each side. 
5. Serve burgers over portobello caps and top with favorite burger toppings!

Here is the recipe to the kale chips I prepared on the side. 

Open-Faced Salmon Burgers

I can finally share a goal of mine now since I'm fairly certain that I will attain it. I hesitated from telling people I was thinking about running a marathon, because I didn't want to be that person who talks the talk but doesn't run the run. And to be honest I'm still terrified of not being able to complete the 26.2-mile monster, but I'm confident enough to know that I have a great chance.

That said, I'm more than six weeks into my training and it's already a challenge--and I know it'll just get tougher, but that's the whole point of the monster right? So I decided to start a new eating plan. From now on my goal is to eat for the marathon. Every meal now revolves around strengthening and accelerating my run. 

Here's the first of it. Take a salmon filet, chop it up, mix in some veggies and grill into patties. Then just treat it like any other burger. Mustard, ketchup, etc. In my case, I decided to place it atop a whole wheat bagel (no buns available in my pantry) and add some spinach, cherry tomatoes and dijon mustard. Anything goes. Enjoy!

Salmon Burgers (adapted from The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition)

• 1 lb. fresh salmon, chopped
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh pepper
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

1. In a large bowl, mix onion, oregano, salt, pepper and hot sauce with chopped salmon. Add egg white and stir until well combined. Shape salmon mixture into four patties.
2. In a large sauce-pan heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook for about 3 minutes on each side. 

Of Opening Acts and Quinoa Burgers

Raise your hand if you genuinely enjoy opening acts. Yeah, that's what I thought.

I'm sorry but when I pay $50+ to watch my favorite band/artist perform, I don't appreciate having to wait close to two hours on my feet. When a ticket says "show at 7," I expect to see the band/artist I paid for at 7--give or take a half an hour.

That being said, some openers are an exception to my complaint. If the act is relevant, lasts somewhere between four and six songs and is actually good--I've had my share of screams coupled with instruments pretending to be music--then I'm ok with it.

For example, yesterday at the Mumford & Sons concert, there were two opening acts. Mistake number one: two opening acts are not ok. If I want to see an array of bands then I'll go to a music festival. But let's put that aside for a second and analyze the acts separately. The first opener, Ben Howard, was good. He has a soft and enjoyable voice that I would guess appeals to the Mumford crowd. And his set lasted about twenty minutes, so it was a great introduction to the main act.

But the second act, The Felice Brothers, was long and somewhat irritating. There were three things that bothered me the most. First of all, if you're going to open for a band like Mumford, do not come out drunk and high, it makes you sound terrible. Also, please do not play songs that seem to be improvised--or if you do, make sure it works. Finally, if you're playing right before Mumford, do not play for more than 45 minutes!

Ok, I'm done venting. Now let me just say that the actual concert was amazing! Mumford & Sons is all I could think about today. If you ever have a chance to attend their concert, go!

Anyways, tonight I made quinoa burgers. In all honesty, I had no idea what to expect, but turns out, they were quite tasty. If you have them in pita bread, just make sure you warm it up before serving. Enjoy!

Greek-style Quinoa Burgers (adapted from Martha Stewart)
Active time: 35 minutes. Total time: 40 minutes.
Makes 4 servings.

• 12 cup rinsed quinoa
• 1 medium carrot, cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 15 oz. great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup plain on-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 4 pitas
• 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced diagonally

1. In a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. Add quinoa and lower heat; cover and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 12 minutes. 
2. In a food processos, pulse carrot until finely chopped. Add quinoa, half the cilantro leaves, beans, breadcrumbs, egg, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Pulse mixture until combined but slightly chunky. Place in the refrigerator and chill for 10 minutes.
3. Form mixture into four 3/4-inch-thick patties. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Cook burgers until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes on each side.
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice and remaining cilantro; season with salt and pepper. Place pita bread in a convection oven set to 300F and warm up, about 5 minutes. 
5. Serve burgers in pita topped with cucumber and yogurt sauce.

• 
  

Summer Grilling: Turkey Burgers

Ok so this is my very first post from an iPhone. Long story short, I have been trying to organize a very hectic last week in Boston (I leave for Mexico early on Friday). Since this week also happens to be finals week, I am cramming all the studying I failed to do using June into a couple of days. Anyways, I thought I could start writing while I'm waiting for class to start and that way I can put up a post or two this week.

And let me tell you, I'm not hating typing on my phone; I thought it would be excruciating, but it's not--we'll see how many typos I have to correct later though.

So a bit about my summer so far. Now that classes are coming to an end I really can't wait to finally be on vacation. Sure, I love Boston in the summer and two classes are not bad, but I'm ready to go home. I'm also ready to start reading the pile of books (or bytes of ebooks) that I have accumulated over the year. Oh, and there is also a considerable amount of recipes that have been just decorating my Pinterest boards an bedroom shelves. I'd like to change that soon.

**Turns out my great idea to try to blog during summer finals was actually very stupid. But here is the end of my post and a recipe for delicious turkey burgers. This recipes is easy peasy, but it tastes so gourmet that you would never tell. Oh and the chutney-mustard dip on the side is delicious for dipping in fries too. Enjoy!

Turkey Burgers (adapted from Martha Stewart)
Makes 4.
Active time: 10 minutes. Total time: 20 minutes.

• 2 slices whole wheat bread, tore into small pieces
• 1 lb. lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 4 tablespoons store-bought (or home made) mango chutney
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• Coarse salt
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 1 cup mixed greens

1. In a medium bowl combine bread, turkey, ricotta, 3 tablespoons chutney, 1 tablespoon mustard, chili powder and 1 teaspoon coarse salt until fully incorporated. Shape into 4 firmly-packed patties. (Patties can be frozen wrapped in plastic and placed in a Ziploc bag; they will keep for about 2 months)
2. Preheat grill. In a small plate combine remaining chutney and mustard. Set aside.
3. Cook burgers until well done, about 4 minutes on each side. Serve burgers topped with chutney-mustard sauce, tomato and mixed greens. (I also added some cilantro)

Not Your Ordinary Burger

Article first published as Falafel Burgers and Truffle French Fries on Blogcritics.

Burgers are a favorite for many people. I am not one of them. Since I was little I never really had a liking for ground beef formed into a flat disc. Then, when I was about ten, I started enjoying cheeseburgers—probably mainly because of the cheese part—occasionally. But now, I am leaning towards them less and less. I would much rather have a flaky fish fillet or marinated chicken breast. 

Still, burgers are a popular meal worldwide (I’m not referring solely to McDonalds) and many variations have stemmed to please a larger array of palates. There are spin-offs such as turkey, veggie, and chicken burgers. My most recent encounter though was with a middle-eastern inspired recipe: falafel burgers.

Do not be scared by the word falafel. If you have not tried it yet, you have to do so. Not only is it a healthy alternative for protein, it is also a flavorful addition to a simple menu. I was hesitant to try this out at first, but I will be repeating this recipe—and others involving falafel—often in the future.

These easy-to-make patties boast great flavor and better nutrition than the ordinary beef burger. Paired up with whole-wheat pita bread, lettuce and tomato, they make a delectable dish to spice up barbecue get-togethers. Or, in my case to simply make eating a burger appetizing.

I decided to accompany them with truffle fries, partly because fries are a must when having a burger. Also, because I wanted to try out the truffle oil I recently acquired. The recipe for truffle fries is pretty simple: make fries the traditional twice-fried way and toss in truffle oil afterwards.

Falafel Burgers (adapted from Cuisine Lite Magazine)

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped shallot
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
• ¼ cup packed fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon coriander
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• Cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup ground dry old-fashioned oats
• ½ cup bread crumbs

1. In a small saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high heat and sauté onions and shallot until soft, about 3 minutes.
2. Blend onion mixture, chickpeas, parsley, ricotta cheese, lime juice, egg, cumin, coriander, and salt until fully combined. Stir in between blends in order to ensure all ingredients are well incorporated. Season with a pinch of cayenne pepper. Transfer falafel to bowl and stir in ground oats until combined.
3. Divide mixture into six portions. Roll into balls and flatten into patty. Coat each patty with breadcrumbs and place on a plate or baking sheet. Cover patties with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 15 minutes, and up to 24 hours.
4. Preheat grill and brush grate with oil. Grill patties, covered, until marks appear, about 5 to 6 minutes. Flip patties and grill 5 more minutes. Serve hot.

Truffle Oil French Fries (adapted from How To Cook Everything)

• 2.5 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes
• Neutral vegetable oil, enough to fill a large deep pan about 3 inches.
• 2 tablespoons truffle oil
• S & P

1. Heat oil in a large deep pan over medium high-heat until it reads 300 F in a thermometer. Meanwhile, cut potatoes into sticks of about ¼ inch thickness (could be thinner or wider depending on the type of fry you want).
2. Place fries in oil, working in batches, and adjust heat to keep oil around 300 F. Cook fries for about 10 minutes or until they begin to acquire color. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.
3. Once all fries are drained, bring the oil to 350 F and place fries inside again. Working in batches, cook fries for about 3 minutes or until they are golden and crispy. Remove fries from oil and drain again.
4. Toss fries in truffle oil, salt, and pepper.

Burgers, fries, and the superbowl

So I'm not really a Superbowl fan, but some of my friends are. And they're even greater Glee fans. So it was appropriate to through a Superbowl-Glee Party tonight. Since I wasn't going to be entertained by either of the shows I decided to concentrate on cooking.
I planned to make burgers and fries for dinner, guacamole to snack on, and chocolate cherry clusters for dessert.
Guac was a hit. Fries were kind of a fail, but after frying them (originally they were supposed to be "oven fries") they weren't so bad. The burgers were very very good. I technically didn't make them (my roomie did !!), but I helped bake the Trader Joe's Ciabatinni rolls that went with them haha. The Chocolate Clusters were ok, but not the best.
Anyways, overall our Superbowl-Glee party was great since I got to eat deliciously and hang out with great friends.
Enjoy the pics.