Fresh Spring Rolls

I watched a demonstration in the store and was inspired to try to make these Vietnamese fresh veggie spring rolls. They weren't as good as his, but it was a fun experience!

Avocado-Tomato Salad and a Burger

A simple salad of diced fresh avocado and tomato (from my garden) with fresh-squeeze lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt.

The burger is topped with BBQ sauce, onion, a cheese blend including asiago, and ketchup on a home made patty.

When I make hamburgers patties, I usually use the following ingredient (but I don't measure - sorry!):

• ground beef (lean)
• Worcestershire sauce
• onion powder or puréed onion
• garlic powder or crushed garlic
• an egg, to bind them

For every pound of beef, I make three burgers, on average.

Baked Kale Chips

Three simple ingredients: kale, oil, salt.

I had never tried kale, except maybe mixed into a salad at a bistro, but recently, my colleague brought in some highly addictive tortilla chips purchased at Costco that include kale in the mix of "healthy" ingredients. Since I found them quite tasty, I got up the nerve to try a "crunchy granola" recipe: baked kale chips.

The verdict? Surprisingly edible - that mystery flavour I enjoyed in the tortilla chips has been identified, and am willing to try again some time. Admittedly, my spouse wasn't pleased with the smell of freshly baked kale, and refused to try any.