Sliders for Kids & Grown Ups
Hello, it’s been awhile! The summer has been absolutely insane so I’m hoping I can catch up on some posts this week.
A couple of weekends ago I had a few cousins visit with their little kids, age newborn to 3. Not being a parent myself, I wasn’t sure what to make. I just knew that it had to appeal to both big and small people and wouldn’t take too long to set up since we were going blueberry picking right before lunch. I also wanted the food to be fun and flexible.
I didn’t quite make the timing right (we ate close to 2pm) but at least it tasted good. We were hit with a huge downpour right after we left the blueberry orchard so Hubby started these on an electric grill, then finished them outside when the rain slowed down.
Recipe for a Simple Slider Party
Protein (2 oz. each)
- Ground beef patties
- Ground turkey patties
- Black bean patties (I didn’t get a chance to make these; when I do I’ll put them in a later post)
Toppers
- Basil leaves
- Leaf lettuce, torn into small pieces
- Tomato slices (plum or cherry)
- Cheese (slices off a cheddar brick are the perfect size)
Condiments
- Ketchup
- Roasted red pepper mayo (I roasted a red bell pepper under the broiler, peeled the skin off, diced the pepper and mixed into light mayo)
Grill the patties and serve on slider rolls. Wouldn’t you know it, they actually SELL slider rolls now?? I found out after I ended up making my own. We also had corn on the cob (the right way if boiling is 3 minutes only!!!), and a great spinach and strawberry salad that my cousin made.
For dessert, I made peach yogurt popsicles. Puree sliced peaches and whole milk yogurt with lemon juice and a little sugar. Pour into molds, freeze, and watch the kids go nuts!
Filed under Fruit, Meat, Party | Comment (1)Unfried Green Tomatoes
Sometimes, when I work from home, I get so busy I forget to think about what to have for lunch!
I’ve been too impatient waiting for my scarce bounty of tomatoes to turn red, so I made a super easy sandwich with green tomatoes. Typical green tomatoes are battered and then deep-fried, but I think you lose a lot of the great texture from the tomato itself. Green tomatoes don’t have developed sugars, but they still have a nice sturdy meatiness perfect for a sandwich. I added in some sweetness with Italian basil and caramelized onions, and sea salt to punch up the savory flavor.
This would be even better with some crispy bacon, mmmm.
Green Tomato & Egg Sandwich
Original Recipe
1 hard roll (I used a leftover homemade garlic scape hard roll from the freezer)
1 small green tomato, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 eggs
1/4 cup sweet onion, sliced
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 large basil leaves (Italian, lime, Thai – almost any kind works)
Small pinch of sea salt and black pepper
Mayonnaise (optional)
Slice the roll in half. Meanwhile, heat a small skillet with 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and stir to coat with oil. Add balsamic vinegar. Let cook until tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove onions and drain lightly on paper towels. Toast the roll halves and put on a plate.
Wipe out the skillet clean of onion debris, increase heat to medium high, and add 1 tsp olive oil. Pat tomato slices with a paper towel, then add tomatoes to skillet. Fry 1.5 minutes per side, sprinkling with 1/4 tsp sea salt. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Break the eggs into the skillet, keeping them separated. Fry for 1.5 minutes until light brown, then carefully flip both eggs. Sprinkle on additional sea salt and pepper. Cook for 30 more seconds for slightly runny yolks. Remove and put on the bottom half of the toasted roll.
Top eggs with basil leaves, onions, mayonnaise (if desired), and top half of roll.
Filed under Fruit, Recipe, Vegetarian | Comment (0)Chutney…Or Is It A Salsa?
Now that blueberry season is almost over, my fruit obsession has quickly turned over to peaches. As always, the peaches from Manoff Market Gardens are some of the best around. I currently have a tray of sliced yellow in the freezer for mid-winter smoothies (brrr) and welcomed Hubby home with a peach and yogurt smoothie.
Amy is always so kind to give her customers a free ready-to-eat peach with every purchase. This trip I was blessed with a super juicy white nectarine – pair that with another ripe yellow peach in my bag and we had a nice topper for dinner. See you again on Friday for more peaches!
I guess since I didn’t cook it, this is technically a salsa. I just love the word chutney so much more. Hubby says he normally doesn’t like fruit salsas but would love this with tortilla chips. This would also be excellent with a little fresh mint. I served it on top of two grilled salmon fillets along with leftover Southwestern Slaw, sauteed Swiss chard, and micro arugula from Blue Moon Acres.
Rustic Peach Chutney
Original Recipe
Makes 1.5 cups, enough to top 2 fish fillets
2 ripe (but not mushy) peaches, pitted and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
2 T red onion, diced
1/2 tsp jalapeno, seeds removed, minced
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
Combine all ingredients and chill for 1/2 hour.
Filed under Fruit, Recipe, Vegetarian | Comments (4)Blueberry Monsters
This was the size of about half of the blueberries we picked yesterday. Whoa.
It’s Finally Spring
Hooray for spring and new growth! My absolute favorite part of the spring and summer is enjoying the abundance of local produce – especially things that you can pick yourself.
Some photos from our recent strawberry picking adventures…
Aside from eating them straight out of the ground, we’ve been enjoying eating strawberry shortcake (with that layer of cake salvaged from that bridal shower post) and chocolate fondue with strawberries. Oh and we started drinking them, too!
On a trip to San Fran a couple of years ago, we went to this cute restaurant called Park Chow by Golden Gate Park. They had delicious strawberry basil and watermelon mint coolers. We tried to make something similar with the recipe below (pretty close!).
Strawberry Mint Cooler (Original Recipe)
Makes 1 liter
10 very ripe strawberries, crushed
1 large mint sprig, stem removed (or 2 small)
Juice from a lime
1 liter seltzer
Mint Simple Syrup
1.5 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large mint sprig
Garnish
Ice
4 ripe strawberries, thinly sliced
Additional crushed mint leaves
Make the mint simple syrup: Bring water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add mint sprig and boil until liquid is reduced by half. Cool to room temperature (can add ice cubes to speed up cooling).
Add the crushed strawberries and juice to a pitcher. Crush the mint leaves with a mortar and pestle to release the oils (pressing with a knife on a cutting board also works). Add the crushed mint leaves and lime to the pitcher. Stir in the mint syrup. Fill pitcher with seltzer. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour to let flavors combine.
Fill glasses with sliced strawberries, mint leaves, and ice for garnish, then pour in strawberry-mint mixture. Enjoy out on your deck or patio with a good book!
Filed under Drink, Fruit, Recipe | Comment (0)