Food | Food Whims

May 20 2013

Beef & Kale Burger Lettuce Wraps

This is one of those meals that just happened… and I’m so glad it did. I was reading through the most recent issue of Food & Wine a few nights ago and saw a recipe for a burger with diced dill pickles in it. My curiosity was peeked, and I’ve been itching to try out the flavor addition. That, added to the half a pound of beautiful ground beef from Winters Family Beef, and a little almond meal and Parmesan cheese left in their packages (and crying to be used), was the beginnings of a new fave.

You could eat this with a bun like you would a burger and fix it up just how you like it, but if you’re gonna do it lettuce wrap style, the sauce is a must. I served mine with some herb roasted carrot sticks.

Beef & Kale Burger Lettuce Wraps
serves 4

burgers:
1/2 lb beef
1/2 cup frozen kale
2 Tablespoon diced dill pickle
1 Tablespoon almond meal
2 Tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese (omit for dairy-free & paleo)
1 egg
salt & pepper

dressing:
1 Tablespoon vinegar (I used some of my onion scape vinegar)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon mayo
black pepper
pinch of cumin

hearts of romaine – leaves removed whole and washed (or buns for burgers)

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the burgers. Divide and form into 4 patties. Cook in a skillet with oil, a few minutes on each side, until cooked through.

While burgers are cooking, combine all the dressing ingredients in a small jar and shake until combined.

For lettuce wraps, crumble up a patty and fill a lettuce cup with some meat and drizzle a little dressing on top. Or make it into a burger with some lettuce and sauce on the bun.

Herb Roasted Carrot Sticks

Cut some carrots into sticks, toss with olive oil and herbs of choice (I used basil, chives, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper) and spread on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 30 minutes, stirring ocassionally.

Tagged burger, gluten-free, lettuce wrap, paleo, pickels

May 15 2013

1 Comment

Baking, Cravings, Food

Muesli Breakfast Cookies

I made some muesli for an article I’m writing about easy breakfast foods. And while, yeah, muesli is a great breakfast option, I just can’t get into it. It’s a texture thing. It took me years to finally be able to eat mushy oatmeal and the fact that muesli is basically a cold version of oatmeal just makes it worse for me. So… there I was faced with the dilemma of having a jar full of muesli that I would potentially never eat when I saw a tweet about breakfast cookies.

Breakfast cookies!

For some reason the moment I read Shauna Niequist’s tweet about breakfast cookies, I just had to have them. So, naturally, I bought her newest book (which I finished in only a few days) so I could get the recipe. As I read through the ingredients I realized the majority of the ingredients were already in the muesli, so in theory I could just use it as a substitute. And it worked! And they were oh so delicious.

Muesli Breakfast Cookies
based originally on 101 Cookbook’s Nikki’s Healthy Cookies but featured in Shauna Niequist’s Bread & Wine (a must read for all you food lovers… AND the kindle edition is only $3.79 right now!)

Yields 6 cookies (or more depending on your scoop size)

1 cup muesli (my muesli is adapted from Joy the Baker’s recent recipe, except I just throw everything but the kitchen sink in)
1 ripe banana
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1/3 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350˚.

In a small bowl, mash together the banana, coconut oil, and vanilla. Add muesli, salt, and baking powder. Mix until well combined.

Using a teaspoon or a large ice cream scoop, scoop cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Gently press down and shape into a round cookie shape… the cookies don’t grow or change shape so you’ve got to do all the shaping work for them.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

Variations: I love adding some nut butter to mine (it gives this creaminess to the cookies). If you want to do the same, go ahead and throw about a Tablespoon of your favorite nut butter in with the banana and coconut oil. Just be sure to add about 1/3 cup more muesli to absorb the added oil and moisture.

Also, the cookies pictured have some honey drizzled on top for added sweetness. I added the honey while they were cooling so by the time they were cooled, the honey had soaked into the cookie.

Final Note: For a crunchier cookie you can use an egg instead of the banana. But… you’ll need to add some kind of sweetener, because you no longer have the banana flavor to carry you. I have a theory that doubling the recipe and doing 1 banana and 1 egg would give you a nice and crunchy cookie with good flavor. That test just hasn’t happened yet.

Enjoy as a snack, for breakfast, or a nice healthier dessert option.

Abigail

Tagged banana, breakfast, cookie, gluten-free, muesli, oats, vegan

May 07 2013

4 Comments

Food, Whims

Onion Scape Vinegar

A few weeks ago I found these gorgeous onion scapes at the farmers market and decided to use the tops of them to make an infused vinegar. My grandparents have a bottle of vinegar in the fridge that is stuffed full of peppers and they use it to put on top of cooked greens, among other things. This is my version of the pepper vinegar. It is great in salad dressings or used straight to flavor cooked greens – just the other night, I put some on top of some kale that I’d sauteed with caramelized onions. It adds a nice little tart kick to each bite.

And its as simple as stuffing a jar or bottle with bits of onion scape and filling the bottle up with your vinegar of choice. I used champagne vinegar. You could also use white, apple cider, or brown rice vinegar. Let sit for a few days before using so the flavors have time to release. Store in the fridge.

Enjoy,
Abigail

Tagged condiment, dressing, easy, onion scape, vinegar

Apr 23 2013

2 Comments

Food

Asian Stir-Fried Kale

Asian Stir-Fried Kale
adapted from May 2013 Food & Wine

2 Tablespoons safflower oil
3 garlic cloves
1 bunch kale, stems removed, torn into smaller pieces and massaged briefly until softened
1/4 cup coconut milk (I used coconut cream that I found at an Asian grocery store)
1 teaspoon fish sauce (or more/less, to taste)
fried onions for serving (you can use store-bought ones or quickly make your own, as I did – recipe follows)

In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the garlic, and cook over high heat, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the kale and toss until nearly wilted. Add the coconut milk and fish sauce and cook until the kale is tender and the coconut milk has reduced, a few minutes. Top with fried onions and serve.

Crispy Fried Onions

1/2 small yellow sweet onion, thinly sliced into half moons
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup flour
2 Tablespoons cornmeal
salt & pepper

oil for frying

Place sliced onion in a small bowl and cover with buttermilk. Let soak while you prepare the kale. In a shallow dish or plate, combine flour with cornmeal, salt, and pepper. In a frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. In batches, remove onions from the buttermilk, allowing excess buttermilk to drip off. Coat with flour mixture and then carefully place in hot oil. Fry, flipping after a few minutes, until golden brown on all sides. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

Repeat with remaining onion.

Enjoy!

Abigail

Tagged coconut milk, fried onions, kale, side dish

Apr 18 2013

Filling my Time

I’ve had several days off in the past weeks… Why? Well, I decided to leave my job at Blackbird Bakery and spread my wings a bit – destination still unknown.

Wedged in between crazy days of antique week in Round Top, personal chef-work, and odd jobs here and there, here are a few of the things that have been filling my time:

At Anthro last week, I purchased a copy of Edible Selby – and read it from cover to cover before I went to bed that night! In the days since, I’ve been poring over Tom Selby’s blog The Selby. There is something so fascinating about getting a glimpse into such creative peoples’ homes. And the way Tom captures the smallest details makes the pictures even more intimate.

Sweetapolita – I have literally read this blog from beginning to end, drooling over the wonderful pictures and trying to rally the energy to get in the kitchen and recreate a few!

Late last night while sleep evaded me, I sat at my computer doing some work and stumbled up on these wonderful posts:

10 tips for blogging with soul

For Sarah, for all of us – one of those posts I read and immediately think to myself, “I’m glad somebody had the courage to write those words down.”

Taxes… enough said. The day after we both finished filing, roommate sent me this hilarious tumblr that helped us forget our tax woes!

Speaking of hilarious tumblrs… have you heard of thug kitchen?! (Warning: explicit content.)

Oh, and my brother and sister-in-law are making a movie! Help make the project a reality.

A few recipes I can’t wait to make:

Antioxidant Power Muffins + Clementine Glaze

Blueberry + Almond Buttered French Toast

The Best Coconut Soup Ever

Until next time… stay warm & dry in this crazy April Austin weather!

Abigail

Food Whims

Tales of my food ventures.

Category Archives: Food

Beef & Kale Burger Lettuce Wraps

Onion Scape Vinegar

Asian Stir-Fried Kale

Filling my Time

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