Beefless Burgers

In the June issue of Women’s Health magazine, I have a spread of beefless burger recipes for the grill this summer. I think the stuffed portobello burgers with caramelized onions are my favorite. For space reasons, the crab burgers below did not make the pages. It’s an excellent burger recipe, so I wanted to share it. Instead of crab in a tin, you could also use fresh crab which would probably make these even more delicious.

Corn Studded Crab Burgers with Curry Mayonnaise

Ingredients:
2 6 oz cans crab meat, drained
1 cup corn kernels
½ cup bread crumbs
½ cup + 3 Tbsp low-fat mayonnaise
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp spicy mustard
2 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Few dashes hot sauce (optional)
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp curry power
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1 cup baby spinach
6 100% whole-grain buns

Instructions: 
Preheat grill to medium. In a bowl, combine crab, corn, bread crumbs, 3 tablespoons mayo, egg, mustard, green onions, lemon juice, salt, pepper and hot sauce if using. Form into six equal sized patties. Brush each with vegetable oil and grill for 3-4 minutes per side, or until well browned. Meanwhile, mix together ½ cup mayo with curry powder. Place crab burgers on buns and top with curry mayo, tomato slices and spinach.

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Sensational Strawberries

If early summer had a flavour, I vote for it being strawberry. Way more flavourful than the strawberries on steroids from California, now is the time to find a local pick-your-own and get your hands dirty.

The only fruit that dares to bare its seeds on the outside. A mere cup of these ruby-red gems delivers more than days worth of vitamin C, 3 grams of fibre plus potent antioxidants called anthocyanins that lend them their flushed appearance. According to a recent study in the British Journal of Nutrition, polyphenol compounds in berries can reduce the spike in blood sugar following a meal which may help lower diabetes and heart disease risk. More reason to find a place for strawberries in all your meals, snacks and desserts like the crisp below.

Strawberries freeze very well, so load up know and have extra on hand when they go out of season. To freeze, wash the whole berries and then remove the leafy hats on top (without the stems, the berries can become waterlogged), and pat dry. Spread the berries, whole or sliced, out on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer to a sealable freezer bag. If you just toss strawberries in a bag and freeze without first freezing them individually you’ll end up with a huge brick of red ice.

For this recipe, I used a cast-iron skillet because it’s a cool way to make crisp. But you can make this with a cake pan just as well. To make it gluten-free, use gluten-free oats and flour such as brown rice, bean, coconut or quinoa.

Over at Muffin Tin Mania, I have a coconut strawberry muffin recipe you should check out. 

Cast-Iron Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Topping
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup almonds, finely chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour of choice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom (optional)
5 tablespoons neutral tasting oil

Filling
2 cups sliced rhubarb
2 cups sliced strawberries
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup raisins or dried currants
2 tablespoons flour of choice
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine oats, almonds, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and cardamom in a medium bowl. Drizzle with oil and stir until evenly moist. In a separate bowl, combine fruit, maple syrup, raisins, flour, lemon juice and ginger and mix well. Transfer the fruit mixture to a 9-inch cast iron skillet and spread out evenly. 

 












Spread the oat topping over the fruit mixture.

Bake until the rhubarb is tender and the topping is golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into it.

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Marketing To Kids

An interesting article discussing a study that proves kids love food with cartoon characters on the boxes. To bad most of that food is the stuff making tykes fat and diabetic.

Rainbow Trout

I recently wrote about why mackerel should be on your dinner plate more often. Another fish I cook (and so should you) often is rainbow trout. Like mackerel and salmon, rainbow trout is abundant in omega-3 fats – the magic nutrient du jour that has been discovered to help safeguard us against a wide range of ailments including heart disease, certain cancers and Alzheimer’s. One Australian study found that the subjects with the highest blood omega-3 levels were the least likely to be carrying around too much body fat.

Further, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program puts farmed rainbow trout on their “Super Green List” as a fish species that posses no health risks due to contamination and carries with it no significant risk to the environment, unlike farmed salmon which are riff with environmental problems.

This swimmer is really, really good with just some salt and pepper and a squirt of lemon. But a Foodie Fights challenge of combining ancho chili pepper with honey got me thinking about a good glaze for trout. Foodie Fights is a type of online Iron Chef where food bloggers are given two ingredients and asked to make them shine. An ancho chili is just a dried pablano chili pepper, one of the sweetest peppers. You can find packages in some supermarkets, and most specialty stores and Latin markets. Ground up dried pablano peppers is what makes ancho chili powder.

When making glazes with honey, its best to use very flavorful varieties such as buckwheat or blueberry instead of what comes in a bear-shaped bottle. Interestingly, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign discovered that darker honey varieties contain the most cell-protecting antioxidants.

This recipe makes a lot more glaze than needed for the trout. But that’s a blessing because it will keep in the fridge for a long period and it will be great on chicken, lamb, tofu and, of course, future trout adventures.

When buying rainbow trout fillets, make sure the skin is intact. This imparts more flavor during cooking and you can just grill the trout skin side down the whole time without the need for flipping, which reduces the chances of it breaking apart.

If you think this recipe is a winner, give me a vote over a Foodie Fights. I served it with wehani rice and a grilled vegetable salad. Basically, just a bunch of veggies grilled up.

Grilled Rainbow Trout with Ancho Honey Glaze

3 dried ancho chilies

1/3 cup honey

Zest of ½ orange

1 rainbow trout fillet

Salt and pepper to taste.

Break open the dried chilies and remove the seeds (don’t toss them out yet). Also make sure you break off the stems. Cover the ancho chilies with boiling water, and soak for at least 10 minutes.

In a food processor or blender, combine chilies, 1/2 cup water, honey and orange zest. Process until smooth. At this point taste the paste. If it is too hot, blend in more honey. It if is to sweet, blend in a few of the reserved dried seeds.

Preheat the grill to medium-high. Rinse rainbow trout fillet and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Brush on a layer of the ancho honey glaze. If placing the trout directly on the grill grate, make sure it is well oiled. (I usually just us a cast-iron griddle).

Grill trout for about 8-10 minutes or until flesh is slightly firm and opaque throughout. You can apply more glaze halfway through the grilling and again afterwards. But always use a clean brush!

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Radish Riot

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are part of a community garden here in Waterloo and the first thing pulled out of the ground were radishes. So surprised how fast things babies grew. I’ve always loved the peppery kick that they lend salads. But most people overlook the radish greens which are very much edible and highly nutritious. Packed with vitamin C and beta-carotene, you can eat them like other salad greens or use them in this pesto which can be slathered on toast, crackers or mixed with pasta.

Over at Muffin Tin Mania, I've got some salmon radish green cakes with radish raita that are really easy and good.

Instead of traditional garlic, I used garlic scapes which I also plucked from the garden. Like radishes, the garlic plant has more than one usable portion. Garlic scapes are basically the stem of the garlic bulb. This time of year you can usually pick up a bunch for dirt cheap at a farmers’ market. If not, just use regular garlic in this recipe.

I like hemp oil in pesto for its earthy taste and wallop of omega fatty acids. Of course, extra virgin olive oil would work well too.

Radish Hemp Pesto

1 bunch radish greens

1 cup basil

1/3 cup walnuts

½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

3-4 garlic scapes, chopped

Juice of ½ lemon, about 2 Tbsp

Salt to taste

¼ cup hemp oil

Place radish greens, basil and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times until coarsely minced. Add cheese, garlic scapes, lemon juice and salt, and process until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Through the feed tube add hemp oil while processing, until fully combined and smooth.

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Marvelous Mackerel

If you are already eating seafood, there is a boatload of reasons why you should include more mackerel into your fish arsenal.

1) Mackerel is sky-high in the superstar omega-3 fats. Experts recommend that we consume on average about 250 to 500 milligrams per day to help fend of cardiovascular disease and a host of other maladies. Holy Mackerel, a 3 ounce serving of Atlantic mackerel contains a whopping 2270 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids. So if you just had one serving per week this would work out to a seven day average of 325 milligrams.

2) This swimmer is a great source of vitamin D – rare in the food world. On top of acting as calcium’s wingman to build stronger bones, studies suggest those with adequate vitamin D levels are less likely to be inflicted with depression, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and the seasonal flu. Adequate blood levels may even improve athletic performance.

3) Mackerel is also abundant in protein, vitamin B12 and the potent antioxidant selenium.

4) Mackerel is a green pick. According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium: “Mackerel matures fairly quickly and produce high numbers of offspring, making it resilient to fishing pressure.”

5) Mackerel is easy to cook and delicious. When buying whole mackerel from the fishmonger, you might be able to get them to gut and clean it for you but it’s really easy to do on your own. Here’s a good guide to show you how to do it. Once cleaned, you can just toss in whatever seasonings you like and slap it on the stovetop or grill. Because of its fishy odor, mackerel is a good candidate for the outdoor grill.

Grilled Mackerel with Lime Salt

Serves 2

1 lb. whole mackerel
2/3 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Zest of 1 lime
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Fresh thyme

Preheat a grill to a medium-high heat. Add salt, pepper, cayenne and lime zest to a small bowl and combine well. Clean mackerel if needed and rinse with cold water. Pat dry with a power towel. Season the inside of the mackerel with lime salt and place lemon slices and fresh thyme in the cavity. If you like, you can close the fish with kitchen twine. Grill the fish on lightly oiled grill rack (I usually oil the fish skin as well), covered if using a gas grill, for about 10-12 minutes, flipping once half-way. The grilling time will vary depending on the size of your catch of the day.

 

 
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A hard fought meal

Sensational Seaweed

Health gurus are increasingly yelling at us to eat more fish as part of a healthy diet. But those swimmers at the fishmonger are not the only health-promoting food found under the waves. Sea vegetables (a.k.a. seaweed) are increasingly being touted as one of the new superfoods. They’re chockablock with iodine – necessary for optimal thyroid functioning – protein, folate, vitamin K and an assortment of phytochemicals.

From wakame to kombu, there are now several salty and savory varities available at health food stores but nori, the paper-like dark seaweed used to make sushi rolls, is likely the type most people have been exposed to. To date, it remains the most popular seaweed used in the kitchens of the Japanese. Above and beyond getting your fix at the local sushi joint, bring some nori home and try wrapping all sorts of seasonal vegetables in those sheets. Or toast sheets in a skillet and crumble them over scrambled eggs or brown rice for an unami kick.

It’s best to purchase organic seaweed whenever possible, because sea vegetables can absorb contaminants from polluted seas. For the recipe below stuffed with the three big A's: avocado, asparagus and arugula, I used organic nori from Navitas Naturals, one of my favorite forward-thinking food companies out there. Having a sushi mat makes rolling nori a snap but I don’t have one so I just used my hands and tightly rolled these up. The end result may not have looked like the job of a sushi pro but the hand rolled rolls were more than passable.

Any other ideas of what to roll up?

Nori Asparagus Rolls

Serves 2

5 oz asparagus, woody ends trimmed

4 sheets of nori

1 bunch arugula

Sprouts of choice

1 avocado, thinly sliced

Rice vingar (or lemon juice)

Tamari or soy sauce

Steam or boil asparagus until tender. Lay a nori sheet (glossy side down) on a board or a bamboo sushi mat and cover with arugula. Leave at least 2 cm clear at the top. Then add sprouts, avocado and asparagus. Add a few spritz of rice vinegar. Apply a little bit of water to the area at the top that is clear of ingredients, which will help the nori stick when rolled. Now using your sushi mat (or just your hands like I did) roll up from the opposite side of the the clear edge. Press the roll tightly in on itself as you roll it up. Cut each roll into three parts and repeat with remaining nori sheets. Use soy sauce or tamari for dipping.

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Hemp Milk

Rich and creamy with a great nutty flavor, hemp milk is a most welcomed addition to the non-dairy beverage market.

Made by blending organically grown hemp seeds with water, a glass of hemp milk boasts a healthy dose of those beneficial omega-3 fats that have become a regular blip on the media’s radar. It’s also one of the few dietary sources of a fat called gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). GLA may play a role in helping ward off inflammatory diseases such as Alzheimer’s, arthritis and heart disease. Hemp milk is also free of any allergens such as lactose, gluten and oligosaccarhides and dishes out a respectable amount of high-quality protein, iron (absent in moo juice), magnesium, phosphorous and vitamin E.

Made from different cannabis varieties than those used to produce marijuana, hemp milk contains none of the psychoactive ingredient THC.

For the smoothie below, I used Hemp Bliss from Manitoba Harvest. They recently reformulated their hemp milk which has resulted in a better tasting product. Hemp milk runs about $3.99 at most health food stores and some larger supermarkets. Make sure to give it a good shake before pouring.

For an additional recipe using this up and coming beverage, check out my hemp milk panna cotta over at Muffin Tin Mania.

Hemp Milk Spinach Smoothie

Potential health benefits aside, this smoothie is deliciously creamy and sweet. Trust me, not even the pickiest kids will be able to guess that it contains a green giant.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 orange, peeled and quartered

1 cup spinach

1 cup plain or vanilla hemp milk

½ cup frozen strawberries

1 banana

1/3 cup walnuts

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon cocoa powder (optional)

Instructions:
In a blender, add orange segments and ½ cup water. Blend until smooth. Add spinach and process until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend again until desired consistency.

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Chive Flowers

I decided to join an organic community garden this season and so far the experience has been amazing. Lots of friendly people and seeing the radishes, kale and French beans already sprouting up has given me a little confidence that this garden newbie might just be able to grow his own salad.

Some of the member plots


Lucky for me, my plot came with a mega patch of chives and it turns out the purple hued flours, which are abundant at the moment, are completely edible and totally delish. They have a mild onion flavor with a peppery finish. You can break apart the florets and use them in salads, soups or the scrambled egg potato recipe below. Of course, this recipe works without the flowers. Just add in some chopped green chives.

Egg Potato Scramble

Serves 2

2 potatoes, diced into small cubes

2 shallots, diced

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 medium tomato, diced

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

Salt and pepper to taste

2 green onions, thinly sliced

In a skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil over medium. Cook potatoes until browned and tender. Add shallots and cook 3 minutes. Add eggs, tomato, turmeric, salt, pepper and green onion and cook, stirring frequently, until eggs have just set, about 3 minutes. Place on serving plates and garnish with broken apart chive flowers.