Just another burger and a salad

Salad: baby romaine, cucumber, tomato, feta cheese, pecans, and avocado topped with a raspberry walnut vinaigrette.

Burger: BBQ sauce, onion, ketchup, tomato and avocado on a home made beef patty.

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.

Kibbee (a Lebanese dish)

From Wikipedia: Kibbeh or kibbe (also kubbeh, kebbah or kubbi) (Arabic: كبة‎) is an Arab dish made of bulghur, minced onions and ground red meat, usually beef, lamb, goat or camel. The best-known variety is a torpedo-shaped fried croquette stuffed with minced beef or lamb. Other types of kibbeh may be shaped into balls or patties, and baked or cooked in broth.

This particular recipe is a pan-fried version of burger-shaped patties that has passed down through the generations. Kibbee is also eaten raw, drizzled with oil (I wouldn't recommend that unless you hand grind your meat, as ground beef is notorious for food safety issues unless fully cooked), and can also be baked in a pan as a single piece and cut into pieces (but I find it less flavourful), or in a muffin tin at 350F for about 20 minutes. I have tried to be thorough in my instructions. If there are any questions, just ask!

Note: the real recipe involves purchasing steak, trimming all the fat, and grinding the meat by hand, but I cheat by using very lean, high quality ground beef.

Ingredients:
This recipe is based on the pounds of meat used. Quantities here are for 1 pound of meat, which should make about 7-8 pieces of kibbee, depending on the size.

• 1 lb extra lean ground beef (I use extra lean sirloin or extra lean from my local butcher - must be at least 90% lean)
• 1 c. dry bulgar
• 1 medium onion (puréed)
• 1-2/3 tsp. salt
• 3/4 tsp. pepper
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. allspice
• 3/4 tsp. cumin
• Arabic spice/7 spice (if this cannot be found, add extra 1/4 tsp allspice, and about 1/3-1/2 extra tsp of cumin/lb)

Instructions:

1. Measure out bulgar. Pour into a very large bowl, and add water until the bowl is full. Leave it to soak at least 30 minutes. Drain & rinse it well - pour it out trough a sieve, rice with water, and push down on the bulgar to squeeze out excess water.
2. Puree onions.
3. Add beef, bulgar, onions and spices together in a large bowl.
4. Mix by hand until evenly blended.
5. On the stove, place a large pan (cast-iron or non-stick with high sides work best). Add oil until the pan bottom is covered - if making more than one pound, use about 1/2cm/1/4" of oil in the bottom. You can always add more if required. Turn heat onto medium.
6. Form patties - make a think oval-shaped burger, and press an indent into the centre.
7. Put a small amount of butter (about the size of a pea) into the dent. Note: butter should be placed on a side plate and not cut directly from the block so you don't contaminate the rest.
8. Add more of the meat mixture to form a complete patty. Try to pack is so it's smooth - no cracks or the patties may break apart when turning over while cooking.
9. Place patties into hot oil.
10. You'll notice the sides start to change colour. Turn over patties when bottom is well-browned.
11. When both sides are well-browned, remove from pan and place on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Repeat until all patties are cooked.
12. Eat - plain, or in a piece of pita.

Kibbee freezes well, and can be eaten hot or cold.


Photo tutorial (click to enlarge):

Nutrition Information (based on 8 pieces per pound, pan- fried):
Calories: 221
Potassium: 0
Fat: 10
Carbs: 10
Fibre: 2
Protein: 15

Enjoy!

Improvised Rolls

All the recipes I find online are for larger batches of rolls. I wanted enough to make a sandwich for supper with leftovers for tomorrow's lunch, so I improvised and tried my hand at creating a simple recipe (below photos). Tune in tomorrow to find out what I used the rolls for!

Before/after/after cooking:

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp dry active yeast
• 3/4c warm water
• pinch of brown sugar (about 1/2 tsp)
• A couple of dashes (about 1/4tsp) table salt
• 1c + 1/2c flour
• herbs/cheese to garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. Stir these first three ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl and let sit about 10 minutes.
2. Add salt to mixture and stir.
3. Add 1 cup flour to the mixture and stir with a fork. Add more flour until it forms a ball, and sticky sides are coated with flour. Let rise about an hour in a room temp (or warm) spot.
4. Punch dough down. Add more flour so you don't stick to it.
5. Divide dough (I took 5 pieces), and knead each into a roll.
6. Place rolls on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover with damp tea towel for 20 minutes.
7. Uncover, sprinkle rolls with a couple drops of water and sprinkle any toppings on. I used oregano and parmesan cheese.
8. gently squish rolls flat (ish).
9. Bake at 350F until bottoms are browned and top is stiff when knocked on (about 12-16 minutes).

Nutrition info per roll (from batch of 5):
Calories: 111
Fat: 0
Carbs: 24
Fibre: 0
Protein: 4