Life and Recipes

I just spent 10 minutes searching the interwebs for a quote that would summarize this casserole of a post I'm about to serve you. But alas, everything was too poetic and far too full of itself. I was looking for something about pulling everything out of your pantry and turning it into a recipe. (I did this once, while living in Oxford. My friends lived to tell the tale of chicken with nutmeg, grape jelly, and mustard.) Anyways. This month...

-We celebrated Mother's Day with D's family.

Per usual we cooked too much, ate too much... and then ate dessert. It was lovely.

-We took a turn at parenting. Ok. We babysat for a few hours.

Puzzles, juice, diapers, pizza, wrestling, the Backyardigans... there wasn't ton of sitting but there was plenty of fun. D was in his element.

-We made my mom's recipe for Turkey Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries last week. Both were so tasty that I've decided to share the recipes with you.

Turkey Spinach Burgers

1 lb. ground lean turkey

1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and water squeezed out. (I subbed in fresh.)

2 T, barbecue sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 c. chopped onion

1. Heat grill to medium-high and coat rack w/ cooking spray. (We cooked on our panini maker.)

2. Combine turkey, spinach, barbecue sauce, salt, pepper and onion in large bowl. Shape into four patties.

3. Grill patties 10-12 minutes, turning once, or until meat thermometer inserted into the middle from the side registers 165 degrees. Serve on buns w/ tomato & lettuce. (We chose to serve with more BBQ sauce, mozzarella, and tomatoes.)

Roasted Sweet 'taters

16 oz. sweet potatoes - washed

1 tsp. Olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt - coarse kosher is best

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1/8 tsp. pepper - coarse ground

-Preheat oven to 425.

-Cut sweet potatoes into about 3/4 inch cubes (large dice). Leave the skins on removing only the hard knob at each end. Alternatively you might cut them in wedges or slice them in 1/2 inch discs.

-Combine sweet potatoes and remaining ingredients in a bowl (or plastic bag). Toss gently to coat. Place potatoes on a baking sheet (do not overlap); bake at 425 for 25 minutes or until very tender.

-I'm obsessed with a new podcast: WNYC Radiolab. It's a fabulous mixture of science, math, physics, literature, and everything else. I feel really intelligent listening to it at the gym. Don't ask me about what I've learned. All the magic will be gone when I say things like, "So there's this switch in our brain that flicks on and scientists can see it in an EKG or um... in a brain scan, I guess and anyways..." Just listen to the experts (not me) and feed your brain.

-I watched Adele's music video for "Someone Like You" and didn't breathe the entire song. (Or maybe just once.)

-I'm going home in ONE MONTH! It's big doings: Dad = retiring. Grandparents = 60th Anniversary. Father's Day = Mother's Day. (We are celebrating Mom and Dad on the 19th. We have lots of surprises in store.)

-Next month I'm going to the Grand Canyon for the FIRST TIME EVER. I've been in Arizona for five and a half years. I KNOW!!

-I need to go and make my dinner. I don't think I'm going to use a recipe. You are welcome to join.

P.S. posting photos through blogger is exhausting. I had more but it's not worth it. Anyone with me?