Jessica's pesto burgers

We have a good friend to thank for this idea and recipe, so I've named it after her in my book. Since our little herb garden has yet to mature we had to buy our basil and pesto, and we found beautiful organic herbs at Meijer. Come to think of it, all of our Pesto ingredients are organic from Meijer!

Pesto burgers

● 1/2-2/3 cup pesto
● ~1 lb. ground beef

Mix pesto and ground beef together in a small bowl before forming into hamburgers. Grill to desired doneness and serve on buns with your favorite toppings! We topped with mozzarella cheese, tomaotes, and mayo mixed with the leftover pesto.

Pesto for pasta

● 1 cup fresh basil, firmly packed
● 1/2 cup fresh parsley, firmly packed with stems removed
● 1/2 cup parmesan or romano cheese, grated
● 1/4 cup pine nuts
● 1 large garlic clove, quartered
● 1/4 tsp salt
● 1/4 cup olive oil

In food processor combine all dry ingredients and blend until a paste forms (pulsing sometimes helps with this), stopping the machine frequently to scrape the sides if necessary.
While machine runs slowly, add olive oil and continue to process to the consistency of soft butter.

Hamburger buns

● 2 tbsp. active dry yeast
● 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water , (105° to 115°)
● 1/3 cup vegetable oil
● 1/4 cup sugar
● 1 egg
● 1 tsp. salt
● 3-3.5 cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.  Let stand for 5 minutes. 

In mixer bowl combine oil, 2.5 cups of flour, egg, and salt, add dough hook and mix on speed 1 for a few seconds.  Add yeast mixture slowly, over about a minute, with machine running on speed 1 or 2.  Allow flour to incorporate then add remaining flour slowly until a soft dough forms a ball on the hook and begins to clean the sides of the bowl.

Remove to a lightly floured surface and divide into 10-12 pieces, rolling each into a ball.  Place on greased baking sheets, approx. 3 inches apart.  Cover and let rest for at least 10 minutes, then press each ball gently and bake at 425° for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Whole wheat english muffins

A number of people have requested our english muffin recipe, so here it is. For those who wish to try it I feel I should warn you in advance that these won't cook up like the store bought english muffins we are used to. I should say probably won't, of course, since maybe you know the factory secret, though personally I like the charm of a homemade muffin being what it is. Specifically, my muffins have never had that spongy, airy center that is the hallmark of the factory brands, which may be the consequence of the whole wheat flour, or possibly the lack of factory installed steam infusion ovens. Regardless, we won't be returning to factory made muffins.

Whole wheat english muffins

• 1 cup milk, warmed until just barely bubbling
• 2 tbsp honey (I hear granulated sugar works, too)
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast ( or 1 pkg)
• 1 cup warm water , (105-115 degrees Fahrenheit)
• 1/4 cup melted butter or oil
• 5-6 cups flour (I use 2 cups white, 3-4 cups whole wheat)
• 1 tsp salt

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water (105-115 F) and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Combine warmed milk and honey in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir until dissolved.

2. Combine warmed milk and honey in the bowl of the stand mixer and stir until dissolved, then add butter or oil, three cups of flour, salt, and the yeast mixture. Attach the dough hook and beat at a low speed (I use speed 2) until mostly smooth. Add remaining flour by the half-cup until a soft dough forms.

The dough has the right amount of flour when it pulls into a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl. Be careful not to add too much flour, as that will result in very dry muffins. I usually use 2 cups of white and 3-3.5 cups of whole wheat.

3. Remove the dough to an oiled mixing bowl, turn to coat with oil, cover and let rise (in a warm area free from drafts) until doubled, about an hour.

4. Sprinkle a work surface lightly with flour and cookie sheets or bread board with corn meal. Punch down the dough and move to the floured surface. Cut the dough into 12-14 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on the corn meal, leaving 3 inches between the muffins. Press each ball down gently, then sprinkle tops with corn meal. Cover and let rise 30 minutes.

5. Heat a greased griddle over medium-low heat. Place muffins on griddle and press once gently with turner, then cook until they turn a deep golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes on each side. Cool on wire racks (but be sure to eat one right off the griddle, spread with butter or jam, or both!)

Notes - Cook them slowly so that the center cooks up before the outside darkens.  You can use any combination of white and whole wheat flour.  The more white flour you use, the moister the muffins will be.  When I started with this recipe I used 1 cup white and 4-5 cups whole wheat, but as I work with it I'm finding I like them better with 2 cups of white flour.

I'll come back with pictures when I have them (after I make our new batch next week)

Monday plan day, 6/8

Organic delivery this week: Bananas, raspberries, apples, kiwi, carrots, broccoli, spinach, vidalia onions, roma tomatoes, zucchini

Dairy delivery this week: Two 1/2 gallons of 2%, 1 pint cottage cheese

Tuesday - Cavin's birthday! He has requested, for his birthday dinner, grilled steak and shrimp and brussels sprouts, to which I am adding carmelized onions and fresh bread. Yum!

Wednesday - Homemade tomato soup with cheese quesadillas on homemade tortillas (everything already on hand). This is our vegetarian meal this week.

Thursday - Ground beef stuffed squash (beef from the freezer, squash from the cupboard, stuffing from homemade bread)

Friday - Grilled herbed chicken (with chicken from our freezer), broccoli, and cous cous (from our cupboard)

Saturday - leftover grilled chicken made into mediterranean sandwiches with fresh bread, mozz cheese, spinach, and tomato sauce (all items already on hand)

Sunday - Leftover stuffed squash

Monday - Grilled chicken with spinach pasta toss (all items already on hand)

Grocery list - This week I'll need to pick up shrimp and brussels sprouts for Calvin's special dinner (and if we can't find organic sprouts we'll use the zuccs from our delivery instead).  We also need some fresh oregano (mine hasn't grown enough just yet) for the herbed chicken.  As usual I'll be watching sales so I can replenish our freezer and cupboard storage with things like meats, pasta sauces, and flour.  I also need to pick up OJ for breakfast, but that's about it.

Happy week!

Bulgur salad with grilled shrimp

We're always looking for new things to try, especially things that are fresh, include grilling, and/or can help us fill in our vegetarian menu collection. While this is not a strictly vegetarian meal, it at least fits the "eating less red meat" bill for us at least. Plus shrimp is one of Calvin's favorite foods, so this is bound to become a summer favorite around here. It was pretty yummy.

Bulgur Salad with Grilled Shrimp (from Healthy Cooking, by Taste of Home)

• 1 cup bulgur
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 8 pieces green onions, chopped
• 1 cup fresh parsley, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, minced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1-2 tsp fresh gingerroot, minced
• 1-2 tsp coriander, ground
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 1/4 lbs shrimp, cooked, peeled, deveined

Place the bulgur in a medium bowl, add boiling water, stir, then cover and let stand for 30 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed; drain if necessary. Add cucumber, onions, parsley, and mint. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, oil, ginger, coriander, salt and pepper. Pour over bulgur mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl and chill.

For the shrimp, the recipe just called for grilled shrimp. We bought fresh frozen (hilarious) shrimp, already shelled and deveined (who wants to do that part anyhow?), and thawed it in the refrigerator. Before grilling I sprinked the shrimp with some paprik and salt and a spritz of lemon juice, then placed them on skewers. We grilled them over medium hot coals (organic wood charcoal) for 1-2 minutes per side, which meant cooked through and slightly blackening on the outsides.

Serve shrimp hot and salad cold. Now, I have seen recipes that call for topping with fresh mint leaves, mixing some feta, or serving over a bed of baby arugula (Bobby Flay in particular has a very similar recipe with some extra finishing touches that look devine), so we'll probably play with this a bit in the future.

Strawberry rhubarb pie

Our organic order arrived today with lots of beautiful rhubarb, only I had no idea what to do with rhubarb. I'm not sure I'd ever had it before. So I made a pie. And since the order also came with strawberries, I threw a few of those in as well. Actually, quite a few. I looked up recipes and then made my own compiled version of those that I found, and wouldn't you know it? It was actually great. Jon said it was the best thing ever to come out of my kitchen (I'm still trying to decide if this is a compliment or not...), so here is what I think I did to make it...

Strawberry rhubarb filling (for 10 inch pie)

• 3.5 cups rhubarb stalks cut into 1/2 inch pieces (Trim outside stringy layer of large rhubarb stalks and remove any leaves.)
• 2.5 cup strawberries, stemmed and sliced
• 1 cup sugar
• Unbaked pastry for two-crust 10 inch pie

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix the rhubarb and the strawberries with the sugar and let stand for 5-10 minutes (while you roll the pie crusts works well). Pour into a pie shell, then top with pie crust. Cut slits for steam and bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F, and bake an additional 40-45 minutes longer. Cool on a rack.
Filling will be a bit runny if the pie is cut while it is still warm, but still really really good. If allow it to cool to room temperature, the juices will have more time to thicken.

I served this with homemade whipped cream - yum!

Pie crust

I tried this crust today and it was okay, but I like the crust I used with the pumpkin pie last fall better.

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 to 6 Tbsp ice water

Combine flour and salt, then cut in butter using a pastry knife (or your good old fashioned fingers) until you have pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time until mixture just begins to clump together. Place dough ball on a clean surface and shape into 2 discs. Be careful not over-knead. You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes then roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8 of an inch thick. Carefully place onto a (10 inch) pie plate and press down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Trim dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish.

After adding filling to the pie, roll out second disk as before. Gently place onto the top of the filling in the pie and pinch top and bottom crusts together. Trim excess, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. Fold edges together and press, decorate with finger or fork as desired.