I’m back after spending a few days away from here on Madeline Island (in Lake Superior). It was as breath taking as ever so I thought you might like to see some photos I took on my phone.
A few of you have emailed me to say you’ve missed these Friday posts and I’m secretly glad because I really like writing them. June has been spectacularly busy and I’m looking forward to a quieter, more chilled out July and August.
We’re off on a short holiday today with my brother and sister-in-law – I’ll be back here with a recipe to share in a week or so, no doubt, but for now it’s family time. Here are some fun posts from around the web…
A tall, cool glass for summer.
Get thee to the market.
This has summer party written all over it.
Depressing…and kinda gross.
My favourite kind of pasta.
Behold the summer drinks generator.
Perfect for making your own banh mi.
Speaking of pickling.
Gorgeous cake and a gorgeous sentiment.
(Photo from my recent trip to San Antonio, taken on Instagram. Follow me there @Angharad_Guy.)
The official start of summer according to my calendar is this Wednesday and somehow that date is totally in tune with what I’d decided is my personal “start of summer”. On Thursday my brother and his wife arrive from the U.K. (via Mexico – only slightly envious) for a week and Dan and I are pumped.
I can’t tell you what we’ll be up to because it involves Top Secret Birthday Celebrations for my brother but suffice to say, I’m excited for a few days off (our only real summer holiday this year – sob) and an excuse to kick off summer properly.
The other exciting thing happening this week? I’m celebrating five years of living in this wonderful city. If you’re the sentimental type then you can read my heart-on-sleeve ode to Minneapolis, which I wrote this time last year. I can’t believe it’s been half a bloody decade. Old.
These black bean burgers totally scream summer and they’re the best we’ve ever made at home. They have fantastic flavour and a really good texture, falling apart just a teeny tiny bit (I think that’s because we couldn’t quite get them dark and crispy enough on both sides). They soak up a fair bit of oil while frying so you’ll likely want to douse the pan with some more as you flip ’em.
I love that they’re studded with sweetcorn and doubly love the spices added to the mix. It adds some great flavour without making them spicy at all. If you want them hot you’ll need to up the quantities of spices. We added a smear of chipotle sweet and hot sauce to our buns which brought the heat.
Black Bean Burgers
from Spoon Fork Bacon
Ingredients
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can black beans, drained
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons rolled oats
- 1 ear yellow corn, kernels and milk removed from husk
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 whole wheat burger buns
Directions
- Place onion, jalapeno and garlic in a food processor and pulse 5 or 6 times.
- Add beans, oats, corn, green onion, cumin, curry powder, and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper and pulse 8 times. Scrape downs sides of the bowl and pulse an additional 5 to 8 times (depending on desired texture).
- Place mixture into a mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
- Remove chilled mixture from refrigerator and stir in breadcrumbs. Adjust seasonings.
- Pour oil into a heavy bottom skillet and place over medium. Form mixture into four equal patties. Cook patties for 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until a crust develops and the patties are heated through.
- Remove patties from heat and place onto burger buns. Assemble burger with toppings and condiments of your choice and serve.
