Turkey Basil Burgers

Beef burgers have been supplanted by ground turkey. It's more expensive than ground beef but not so much it's out of reach. This time I bought a pack of breast and a pack of dark ground meat. I chopped up fresh basil and seasoned the meat with salt, paprika and a little ground garlic. The patties hold together well in a pan, I wouldn't try to cook them on the BBQ in case they fell apart. 

Potato Salad

4 medium potatoes

1 stick celery

1 slice red onion

salt

paprika 

mayonaise

I put too much mayo on the potatoes and overwhelmed the salad. I like mayo so it wasn't too bad but Fern really didn't like it.

Tomato Cucumber Salad

6 cherry tomatoes

3 inches English cucumber

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

salt

pepper

2 tsp olive/canola oil

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

Whisk dressing, pour over salad and toss. I put romaine lettuce on the burger and the usual condiments. It was a good fresh meal. 

Shanghai Noodle Chicken

Fern had lots of peppers ready so I went to the store with the meal mostly planned. I spotted the noodles by chance but quickly decided they'd be perfect. I've never tried them before but Fern likes pasta so they should satisfy. I got some boneless skinless chicken breasts, a few mushrooms and headed home. 

I diced up a green bell pepper and two poblamos all from the garden. I diced up the chicken breasts, seasoned them a bit and coated them in flour. Sliced up some mushrooms, a stick of celery and a carrot. I put olive and canola oil in my frying pan and added a bit of sesame oil.  First I browned the chicken, then sweated the carrot and celery followed by the mushrooms. Next the peppers went in, a tablespoon oyster sauce and soy sauce. I tossed it all to evenly coat everything then ran the noodles under hot water for a few seconds before adding them to the pan. When the noodles were heated through I plated and served.

The noodles were really good, they didn't taste like pasta. Everything else was wonderful. It's hard to miss with fresh from the garden. Shanghai or Udon noodles are good, fast and easy to prepare, I'll use them again.

Sole, Potatoes Au Gratin and Kale, Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Sole is the kind of fish you can have when you don't feel like fish. Here all I did was salt one side, coat with flour and fry in hot oil. When I put the fish in the pan I sprinkled shaved almonds on top. Then turned them over to brown the nuts.

Potatoes were sliced thin then layered in a 9x9 pan. I only did 3 medium potatoes, 1 in a layer, a 1/2 tsp flour sprinkled over with a pinch of salt. A little grated cheddar, salt and another layer of potato. A little more flour, more cheese and the rest of the potato. More grated cheese on top then nearly cover with milk. Jostle the potato so they are all covered in milk and put in the oven at 375-400ºF for an hour. I turned the heat down to 350 for the last half hour.

The salad was kale finely chopped, red and yellow tomatoes from the garden and cucumber from the garden. The cuke had gotten huge so I took the seeds out and used only the flesh. The dressing was 2 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp canola oil, 2 tsp lime juice, 1/2 tsp salt, plenty of black pepper, whisk, pour over salad and toss.

The fish was great. The potatoes were really good, and I loved the salad. I always thought kale was bitter but found it isn't so I bought some and started using is. Fern says he doesn't like lime or lemon juice in salad dressings. He's a bit stodgy.

Onion Chicken Breast

It's the hottest day of the year! I don't want to spend too much time near any heat source.  Fern did up the potatoes with salt, olive oil, chives and rosemary in foil then put them on the rack in the BBQ. The boneless skinless chicken I salted then coated in:

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp flour

1 tsp poultry seasoning

Brush the coated chicken with olive oil and put it on the BBQ grill off the heat.  It will brown nicely in 25-30 minutes at 400-500º. The corn I steamed in  the kitchen where I didn't need to be. 

The onion powder caramelizes on the meat imparting a wonderful flavour. The poultry seasoning gives a hint of holidays and happy times. I managed to take the potatoes off when they were perfect. Still firm but cooked through. The corn was served with plenty of butter and salt. Even Eliot, our older dog, had some corn. He apes us and eats the corn right off the cob. I'll take of photo next time, it's hilarious.

Rib Steak

In a rare mood Fern suggested steaks for dinner. I jumped in the truck and screamed off before he could change his mind! Someone gave us a zucchini from their garden so I diced that up along with a carrot, stick of celery and an onion.  I fried the vegetables to get golden brown zucchini and finished them with a dash of soy sauce. I plated the steak on top.  The potato I did in the microwave and put in the BBQ wrapped in foil with butter to finish.  The steak was done on the BBQ in my usual 2x2x2x2 minutes over high heat to get crossed grill marks and perfect medium rare.

I practically inhaled it.

Breaded Pork Cutlet

We still like these store breaded cutlets from Save On. I can't tell what they put on them, but it's good! Mashed potatoes are pretty ordinary but the peas. Usually my peas are frozen but this time I bought peas in the pod, podded them all and steamed them for dinner. Fresh peas are a lot of work but well worth it. They had so much flavour the frozen peas have lost. You just can't tell how much freezing is robbing the food of flavour until you have the same thing fresh. The difference is undeniable.

Vinaigrette

1 tbsp olive/canola oil

1-2 tsp rice vinegar

salt

pepper

Whisk and pour over iceberg lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Toss, serve and enjoy. Fern's home made apple sauce on the pork.

A really good, simple meal.

Prawns and Pasta with Asparagus Salad

Not as much time in the kitchen in summer. I bought Mezzetta Tomato Basil sauce because it's good right out of the jar. I peeled the prawns and removed the tails.  Then I cooked them on both sides but not through the middle. Remove prawns from pan and add the sauce. It needs to boil down a bit so heat it up get it reducing. Once the pasta is ready and the sauce thickened add the prawns to the pasta and toss. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss. Plate and garnish with fresh grated parmesan.

I had asparagus in the fridge and needed to use it.  When I bought it a lady told me she blanches asparagus and uses it in salads. What a good idea! So I blanched the asparagus and made it into a Greek inspired salad.

Vinaigrette

1 tbsp olive/canola oil

1-2 tsp lemon juice

salt

pepper

blanched asparagus

slice red onion diced

tomatoes diced

black olives

feta cheese

The prawns and pasta we've had lots before, it's good but not remarkable.  The salad was new. It was delicious! Almost as good as having asparagus hot and smothered in Hollandaise! I'll definitely be making this salad again.