Things…

This was my view from the gym yesterday.  There’s worse things to look at while sweating up a storm, no?

I swear I had plans for a recipe post this week.  I made this Quinoa and Bean Soup the other night and while it’s OK, it’s bland so I didn’t deem it good enough for a post of it’s own. 

To be fair, it was better heated up and it was really easy to make so maybe with some better seasoning I might make it again and tell you about it.

So far, my grocery budgeting has worked out exactly as I had planned for the week.  In fact I bought myself a happy little bouquet and still didn’t break the budget.  Huzzah!

Once a month I load my Starbucks card for buying coffee beans and occasional handy dandy coffees.  Yesterday I was happy to use up my last $3 just to get my hands on a cute Love cup!

I didn’t do it, but there’s an iPhone app you can use to scan the cup and the picture will magically come to life!  Starbucks…you are a PR machine.

UPS arrived at my door and I may have squealed with delight when I buzzed the guy in to deliver this package!!  I’ve been sitting, waiting, and wishing for a real food processor for years now (I only have a wee 2 cupper) so I finally gave in and ordered one.

Don’t worry…it didn’t cost me a dime!  As if a KitchenAid anything is in my budget right now.  Nope!  You can thank Airmiles for this one.  :)

This thing is enormous!!  I’ll probably be complaining that it’s too much food processor for me now.  Never satisfied you know. 

Now, what to make…what to make? 

Oh, and the third instalment from #CanadianBloggerSeries is up over on Heidi’s blog.  This time it’s my buddy Scott from Your Inner Skinny explaining what a giant pain in the ass it is to eat healthy living in Yellowknife. 

I hate to break it to you bud, but those organic eggs cost the same ridiculous amount here in Victoria.  You aren’t alone up there on that one!

Rainbows and BBQs, oh my.

Do not adjust your monitors.  That is indeed a crazy upside down rainbow!  Strange things are afoot in rural Victoria.

As if the shrimp boil on Saturday wasn’t enough I also attended a delicious BBQ on Sunday. :)  Feeeeed meeeeee!!  My friend Matt needed an excuse to use his new real coal barbecue.  It was the perfect opportunity for me to play around with my friend Rose’s turkey burger recipe. 

There is a whole lotta lovin’ in these here burgers. 

When I asked Rose what she put in her burgers she emailed me a list as long as my arm and said “just chop it all up really small and mix”.  Super duper rocket science going on here, folks.

I used her email as a guide and came up with my own recipe for this burger adventure.  All measurements are approximate…just wing it!

Kitchen Sink Turkey Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 pound extra lean ground turkey
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I toasted a piece of Mack’s Flax, then pulverized it in the food processor)
• 1 egg
• 1 small carrot, grated
• 1 rib celery, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp yellow pepper, finely chopped
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 1/3 cup broccoli (florets), pulverized in food processor
• 1/3 cup cauliflower, pulverized in food processor
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• Seasoning of choice, to taste (Montreal Steak Spice – 1 tbsp)
• Fresh herbs of choice, minced (fresh basil – 1 tbsp)
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger, grated

You could put all of the ingredients (except turkey and egg) in the food processor to save some work, but I liked having different textures.

Directions:

1. Mix everything together by hand.  Add more bread crumbs if necessary.
2. Form into balls, then patties.  I got six good sized burgers.
3. Grill 3-4 minutes each side.  (We used a greased pizza pan on the BBQ, but a grill pan or indoor griddle would work perfectly as well).

Served on whole wheat kaisers with Dijon, mayo, fancy lettuce, tomato slices and sundried tomato Havarti cheese.

Matt made his now famous deeeelicious ribs.  Black bean & orange glaze….oh yes!  I bet it’s been 10 years since I had ribs.

Accompaniments to the meat:  pasta salad with fresh berries, mangoes, feta, and a lime vinaigrette…tomato salad with cukes, avocadoes, and balsamic dressing….and an incredible dish of braised leeks.  So good.

Crisp pear cider to sip on the deck while enjoying their bajillion dollar view.  How would you like waking up to that sight every morning?  Rough stuff, eh?

Miss Chibani had a lovely day visiting with her old family…you should have the seen the excitement.  You can’t tell by this photo but these two were pretty damn happy to see each other!  Puppy love.

Before I waddled on home there was pie.  Homemade pie.  Homemade blackberry pie.  Homemade rhubarb pie.  Home made by a truly wonderful pastry chef (and loving Xolo Mama!).

It’s a good thing other people wanted in on the pie because I had trouble tearing myself away from it.  Thankfully there was an upside down rainbow stealing the show and saving me from the pastry goodness.  Thanks Mother Nature, my waistline loves you.