Sunday, July 25, 2010

Perfect Summer Meal




INDIAN-SPICED CHICKEN BURGERS
Adapted from the Everyday Food; Great Food Fast cookbook.
Original recipe on page 124. 

1 to 1 1/2 lbs. of ground chicken
4 green onions, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger
(from a peeled 2-inch piece)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

4 Whole wheat pitas
Sliced cucumber to taste
1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs

Grilling Pam spray for the grill
Original Pam spray

1 Heat grill to medium-high. In a medium bowl place ground chicken, scallions, ginger, lemon juice, paprika, cumin, cardamom, cayenne, sea salt and pepper; remove wedding rings if necessary and mix thoroughly with hands. Set aside for 10 to 30 minutes for meat to marinate. 

2 Separate chicken and form into patties. The ground chicken mixture will likely be quite sticky (but makes for a nice burger), so I recommend spraying some Pam your wax paper or plate before you place the patties on it. 

3 Spray the Grilling Pam on the grill grates and grill burgers for 2-3 minutes per side, or until the patties are cooked through. 

4 Halve pitas or cut so that the pocket will hold one burger patty. Into each pocket place one burger, cucumber slices, and cilantro sprigs. Serve with the cumin yogurt sauce (recipe below).

CUMIN YOGURT SAUCE
1/2 cup lain low-fat yogurt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

1 In a small bowl, combine yogurt, cumin, and salt and pepper. 

I served the chicken burgers with watermelon slices and grilled corn on the cob. When I grill corn, I fashion a packet out of aluminum foil and place the ears of corn inside with about 2 tablespoons of water  and a dash of salt in the pouch and grill for about 10-15 minutes. 

Sorry I didn't take any pictures of the meal. I wasn't planning on posting this when I made them, and then decided I should afterwards! 

Thursday, July 8, 2010

It's all in the lens



I recently lost my point-n-shoot digital camera in a local downtown park. My brother, sister-in-law, and niece were visiting for a day and John and I were giving them a whirlwind tour of Kansas City. Granted, this was not the digital SLR camera of my dreams. It wasn't super expensive, the little flap door that holds in the battery and memory card was broken, and it took too long to load each photo, so that I had to pause between each shot. I never got rid of my old point-n-shoot digital, so I'm at least not without means of taking digital photos. So, I'm sure you can see why I was more upset about losing the photos I had taken of us all that day than about losing the camera itself. Luckily, right before they came, I made the decision to start shooting with my film camera again. I have a Canon Rebel 2000 EOS. My dad gave it to me for Christmas when I was in 10th grade and I took it with me everywhere I went. On my honeymoon in the Canadian Rockies, we took photos with this camera and our little digital one, and the most beautiful photos are from the film camera. The difference is in the lens. I can't wait to buy a digital SLR, but in the mean time, I am going to use what I have. Using film is less cost effective because you have to buy the film and pay for the processing each time. I can't, however, afford a digital SLR at the moment, so using my film camera is a more cost effective way of getting great photos. 


Here are some of my favorite film shots from my family's recent visit with us in Kansas City...