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Hoisin Beef Burgers

July16

One of the many wonderful attributes of burgers is that they adapt to most every cuisine.   In the winter months we consume lots of dim sum and Asian dumpling soups but we begin to miss the fresh, crisp tastes come summer.  So I adapted my Hoisin Meatball recipe to produce these delectable burgers.   Ground beef is economical and kids love it!


Hoisin Beef Burgers
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2-4
 
Fusing Asian ingredients with a summer burger treat.
Ingredients
  • 8 oz ground beef
  • 1 egg
  • 1 t chopped mint (or cilantro)
  • 2 T minced red onions
  • 1 medium carrot, grated
  • 1 t grated ginger
  • 1 minced garlic clove
  • 2 T+ hoisin sauce
  • 3 T dried breadcrumbs (delete for gluten free)
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients in a large bowl.
  2. Combine and mix with clean hands.
  3. Form into patties and place between sheets of parchment paper.
  4. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  5. Grill to your likeness on open flame adding more hoisin sauce if desired before removing from heat.
  6. Serve with toasted burger buns and grilled tri-coloured peppers if desired.
  7. More hoisin can be smeared unto the bun.

We needed the energy that beef delivers because we had a busy weekend at the cottage which included spending some time as babysitters to three of our grand nieces and nephew.

D need his strength to tickle and wrestle with the youngest as the girls and I had a lovely time walking our dog on the beach.

Find out what your burger personality is at: https://www.facebook.com/ILoveCanadianBeef/app_325742427515323 I’m a Canadian Beef Ambassador and I love Canadian Beef.

Kath’s quote: “Beef is the soul of cooking.”-Marie-Antoine Carême

Love-that is all.

 

Stella’s Catering

June22

At this time every year, the fall TV line up is announced by the local stations.  In former (more prosperous) times this meant golf tournaments, steak dinners and lavish prizes of trips; or lunches catered by private chefs in glass-walled board rooms.  As media has converged and down sized for efficiency, those times are history.

But because for this media buyer, it is all about the food, I was delighted to attend the CBC luncheon event this week.  The timing overlapped with a teaching opportunity, so I arrived and hour after the event had begun, just as guests were being whisked off to the presentation room.  This meant that I had the platters of Stella’s Canapes to myself!  I very carefully made my decision of the Pickerel Cheeks which was so sensational, that I scooped up as many as I could recognize and stood at the doorway of the speaker’s room so that I could see and hear and savour my lunch at the same time.

Photos were not an option as I was trying to be discreet about my consumption.  Besides, I did not even remember to bring my camera along, as hurried as my day was.  So even though I cannot offer you the eye feast of this event, I can tell you that the canapes were sublime.

I pulled this list off of their website in hopes that the words might make up for my lack of images:

Asparagus Frittata, Prosciutto, Roast Beef, Shrimp & Egg, Blue Cheese and Walnut, Chevre & Pepper Jelly, Smoked Salmon, Vegetarian Muffaletta, Roasted Asparagus & Chevre, Mushroom and Caramelized Onion, Gravlax (Scandinavian Cured Salmon) and Bison & Saskatoon Jelly.

The artisan breads that they were served upon were equal to the fine ingredients perched on top.  The dessert trays looked just as tempting with bakery made Nanaimo slice, carrot cake, brownies and macaroons.

I highly recommend that you include Stella’s on you list of potential caterers for a casual midday event.

Kath’s quote:  Sandwiches are beautiful, sandwiches are fine.  I like sandwiches , I eat them all the time.  I eat them for my supper and I eat them for my lunch.  If I had 100 sandwiches, Id eat them all at once. -Fred Penner

Love-that is all.

New Mom Meal Tips by Guest Blogger Jen

June19

Today I am proud to introduce a second blogger in the family.  Daughter #3, otherwise known as J2 is sharing her skills and reflections on pre and post- natal care.  Jen is a trained midwife (in the US), a certified pre & post-natal fitness instructor and a certified doula with a wide variety of unique doula services-inlcuding the preparation of nutritional post-natal meals for your family!  Her blog address is Baby Lady of the Prairies.  I hope that she will guest post for me on a regular basis.  Be sure to bookmark her site.

“After you’ve had a baby life can become a bit of a blur. Everyday tasks like cleaning and preparing meals can become almost impossible. Here are some tips for new moms to make life a little easier and give you the optimum time to enjoy your new little one and TRY to get some sleep.

1. Get Help! Ask a friend or family member to organize a group of people to bring over a meal each day for 2-3 weeks after the baby is born. (It won’t feel as awkward if you get someone else to organize it) Friends, family, church members or neighborhood communities are great places to start.

2. Freeze meals. During your last couple of months of pregnancy prepare and freeze meals like casseroles, stews, lasagnas and soups. One-dish meals with lots of vegetables are even better so you don’t even have to prepare any side dishes! Be sure to cool the recipe before wrapping it for the freezer. Label the food properly with the date, recipe name, and thawing and heating instructions.

3. Breastfeed! Believe it or not, breastfeeding is one of the best ways to help you lose the extra weight that you gained during pregnancy. It also cuts down on formula and bottle prep time leaving more time for you and your baby. Remember, even though it’s tempting to want to shed that baby weight as fast as possible, this is not the time to be cutting calories. Your body needs about 500 more calories than it did pre-pregnancy when you are breastfeeding. It also needs plenty of hydration. A good rule is to make sure that you drink a glass of water every time you sit down to feed.

4. Get a pospartum doula to help you with meal preparation. This is especially helpful if your partner has to go back to work right away or you don’t have family members close by who are available to help out. Postpartum doulas help with meal prep, light housework, sibling supervision, breastfeeding advice and general new baby information. This can play a huge role in keeping you sane and healthy in the weeks following childbirth.”

 Kath’s quote: “So where did these cravings come from? I concluded it’s the baby ordering in. Prenatal takeout. Even without ever being in a restaurant, fetuses develop remarkably discerning palates, and they are not shy about demanding what they want. If they get a hankering, they just pick up the umbilical cord and call. ‘You know what would taste good right now? A cheeseburger, large fries, and a vanilla shake. And if you could, hurry it up, because I’m supposed to grow a lung in a half hour.’”-Paul Reiser

Love-that is all.

Unburger Revisited

June12

Over a year has come and gone since the opening of Unburger and D had still not had a chance to visit there.  But the fabulous little place was “top of mind” since Uptown’s- Best of Winnipeg list had come out and indicated that it was voted “best new restaurant” on the vibrant Winnipeg scene.  (Food Musings was declared “best Winnipeg blog”-quite an honour).  A casual dinner with a business friend from out of town became the right occasion and D finally ventured in.

D just had to have the Drunken Aussie, tempted by the taste combination of beets, double smoked bacon and Bothwell cheese.

But look more closely for the real taste sensation-an omega three, perfectly cooked,  sunny side up egg, perched on top.  This makes for glorious, rich and goey eating.

Our American friend loved her Chicken Burger (but I was holding the table by the window and was not in ear shot to hear which one she ordered).

I was well pleased with my choice of a Bella Burger- a portabella mushroom burger with a special treat of balsamic onions.

At Unburger even the sides are good or shall I say the sides are especially good.  I was really hoping that D or our friend would have ordered either of the potato fries but was not disappointed by the “Edamommy” in curry salt and was over the moon for the 8 Grain Energy Salad that D and I both chose.  It was chock full of 2 kids of quinoa and roasted almonds-yummers!

Kyle came over to say hi but quickly had to get back to expediting the hot orders from the busy kitchen to his hungry guests.  It sure is wonderful to see young talent like the Unburger guys obviously doing so well.  The food and the restaurant itself is fresh and clean and simply adorned.

The evening was gorgeous and so we had a walk through the village and ended the evening with a glass of wine at the new/old Basil’ s patio-a perfect summer evening in Winnipeg.

Unburger on Urbanspoon

Kaths quote: “Love and eggs are best when they are fresh.” –Russian proverb

Cheesy Baked Eggs for a Large Group

May23

 

With the arrival of the May Long weekend, our routine of heading out to our little cottage as often as possible, is in full swing.  There aren’t many weekends as busy as May Long (Sister #2 prepared omelets for 17 people), but we do often feed a gang and so I am always on the look out for oven recipes that can be served to many.

When it was my turn on the brunch roster, I prepared these apple bran muffins and blue berry scones.

J1 grilled the sausages on the barbeque for me-such a good boy.

And I put together these Baked Eggs.  These photos aren’t terribly artsy as I was focused on getting hot food in front of the masses.

drizzle of canola oil

1 doz ripe tomatoes

1 doz eggs

grated parmesan to your liking

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Prepare a shallow baking dish by drizzling canola oil into the bottom.  Choose the dish size, so that the tomatoes will stand upright without falling onto their side.  Remove stem and scoop out tomato (set aside inside flesh for another use i.e. salsa).  Place tomatoes with the open top up, into pan.  Crack eggs one by one into tomato cup.  Sprinkle with parmesan.  The easiest way to reduce fat in a dish like this is by sparingly adding the cheese.  On this morning, I had slices of spicy havarti available and so I used it for a heartier version.  Bake for approximately 20 minutes until eggs are cooked to your liking.

Two of the hungry gang.

Kath’s quote: “Hunger is the best pickle.”-Benjamin Franklin

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