Sunflower Chicken Burgers With Wasabi Mayo and Beet Ketchup

A few months ago I had the chance to meet John Bishop while he talked to the Vancouver School District food service staff at Windermere Secondary about making some small changes in school food. I was kindly given a copy of his book Fresh, which has quickly become a favorite cookbook in my house. This chicken/turkey burger recipe is by far the best I've ever made. The Asian flavors, the crunch of the sunflower seeds, tang of the beet ketchup, all come together in "a party in my mouth" as my teenager loves to say. Do not be tempted to fool with this and skip either the wasabi mayo or the beet ketchup-all together they meld into one very, very good burger.


Adapted from Fresh

1 ¼ lbs ground turkey or chicken
3 Tbsp unsalted sunflower seeds
¼ cup chopped green onion
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp ground pepper
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 tsp wasabi paste
4 split hamburger buns
½ cup alfalfa sprouts
beet ketchup (see below)
2 Tbsp pickled ginger

In a large bowl, mix the turkey, sunflower seeds, green onion, ginger, cilantro, and soy sauce with your hands until it’s all well incorporated. Divide the mixture into four balls and then form each into a patty. Set on a plate. Season with pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a fry pan over medium heat, then add the burgers. Cook for about 4-5 minutes until the bottom is browned and crisp, then turn and cook the other side. Continue to cook until the burgers are cooked through and no longer pink in the middle.

Toast the buns under the broiler, then set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and then wasabi. Spread some on each half of the buns. Top one half of the buns with the hot cooked chicken patties, and top the others with some alfalfa. Top the chicken patties with a spoonful of beet ketchup before serving.

Makes four

Beet Ketchup

1 onion, diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups red wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
3 cups cooked, diced, beets

Combine everything over medium heat in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 45 minutes until the vegetables are softened. Transfer to a blender and process until smooth. Allow to cool before using. This will keep well for up to a month in your fridge in an airtight container.

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Peas with Lemon, Mint, and Scallions

I'm often looking for new ways to serve vegetables, and these peas served with a bit of cream, some green onion, and mint caught my eye immediately. They are delicious with some grilled meets and instead of having sad, leftover peas at the end of dinner time, the bowl was practically licked clean. If you have any reluctant vegetable eaters in your house, this might be your answer.

Adapted from Fine Cooking

2 cups of fresh shelled peas, or 1 ¾ cups of frozen
2 tbsp unsalted butter
4 large green scallions (green onions), thinly sliced
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
½ tsp fresh lemon zest

Rinse frozen peas under cold water for about 2 minutes, until they are thawed. Line a baking sheet with paper towel and turn them out onto it, rolling them around to let them dry.

If you are using fresh peas, bring a pot of water to a boil and then add the peas, cooking them until tender crisp (about 2 minutes or so, depending on size. Taste them to be sure) Drain and dry on a paper towel lined baking sheet.

In the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and then add the scallions. Cook for about 3 minutes until they are soft. Stir in the heavy cream, mint, and lemon zest, bringing to a boil and cooking until a wooden spoon drawn across the bottom of the pan leaves a trail behind. Toss with the cooled and dried peas, adding salt and pepper if you think it needs it. Serve immediately.

Serves 3

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Asaparagus with Orange Butter Sauce

I love asparagus-and it seems like I'm always trying to find new ways to serve it. This is a great recipe if you want a sauce, but not something with cheese. The citrus flavor with the bite of the chive petals go well with grilled meats and seafood. If you are looking for a variety of ways to cook asparagus, take a look at this Bon Appetit article that contains links for tips on prepping the vegetables, serving with a Parmesan vinaigrette, and my personal favorite, roasting.

From Fresh

1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup butter, in 1/2 inch cubes
1 lb asparagus spears, woody ends trimmed
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp chive flower petals for garnish

In a small saucepan on medium heat, bring the orange juice to a simmer and cook until reduced by half (about 3-5 minutes). Whisk in the butter, a cube at a time.

To trim your asparagus, cut off about 1 inch from the bottom, then get a veggie peeler and lightly peel the bottom half of the spears. You don't want to press too much and take off more than you need to, but a light peel will do nicely.

Steam the asparagus in a basket steamer until bright green and tender, about 3-5 minutes.

When it is time to serve, divide the asparagus among the plates and then spoon about 1 Tbsp of the sauce over top, sprinkling with some of the chive flower petals.

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Rebar Eggless Caesar with Chicken

I've tried a few different Caesar salad recipes, all with varying outcomes, but each has been pretty tasty. This one, with no eggs in the dressing, is more of a vinaigrette than a creamy dressing, and I quite enjoy it. The recipe makes a lot but it's really easy to mix because it's done in a blender. You can add anchovies if you wish but they are optional, which makes this a great salad for those who are egg and seafood allergic.

Adapted from Rebar

1 bulb roasted garlic (*see below)
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp capers
1 Tbsp caper juice
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
6 anchovy filets (optional)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup olive oil

Combine all the ingredients except for the oil in a blender. Blend for a bit. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow steady stream. Add more salt and/or pepper to taste.

Grill a few chicken breasts until cooked through, then allow them to sit for a few minutes before slicing thinly. Toss with the dressing, some shredded Romaine lettuce, croutons, and a bit of Parmesan cheese. Mound in bowls and serve with lemon wedges and fresh cracked pepper.

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Food Revolution Friday Cook Off: Roasted Cherry Tomato Pizza with Boursin Cheese

Pizza is, without a doubt, my favorite food. Cheesy, warm, loaded with veggies or meat, it's my go-to dinner when I want to indulge a bit. Food Revolution is having a weekly cook off, and this week the challenge is pizza! How could I say no?

I have written about pizza before and shared my favorite dough recipe, but I didn't give you my home made sauce or the toppings that landed on this particular one. Make pizza sauce is so easy, there's really no reason to buy it. Just make a batch and freeze in small 1/2 cup servings, then it's always ready to just thaw and spread on a pizza when you need it! Now you may notice that this sauce will seem more watery than the stuff you buy, but that is because it doesn't have all the thickeners and emulsifiers in it. If you prefer your sauce to be thicker, then stir in some tomato paste and you shouldn't have a problem.

Pizza Sauce

Adapted from Canadian Living

one 28 oz can of plum tomatoes (Italian ones are really good if you can find them, and sometimes they are low sodium)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt and pepper
pinch sugar

In a frypan over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft and translucent. Add the oregano, salt, pepper, wine vinegar, and pinch of sugar, stirring and cooking a bit more. Add the tomatoes and break up with a spoon.

Simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the sauce is thickened. Let it cool to lukewarm before transferring to food processor or blender and blending until smooth.


Okay now you have sauce, a link for dough, let's move on to toppings! I have become somewhat of a roasted tomato addict these days. Roasting tomatoes brings out the natural sweetness and they turn into these little bites of concentrated tomato goodness. First, pick up a carton of really good cherry tomatoes at the Farmer's Market or, if you were like me and missed it this week, the store.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Pre-heat oven to 400 F

Get a rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Cut all your cute cherry tomatoes in half and put them in a bowl, then drizzle them with enough olive oil to coat and sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top.

Dump them out on the parchment paper, cut side up and spread out so that they are a single layer. Roast for about 45 minutes, or until wrinkled and dried out looking. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Now, for the pizza!

Roll out your dough and fit it in a pan. Slather with sauce. Cover with some mozzarella cheese, then dot with roasted cherry tomatoes, some thinly sliced bell pepper rings, thinly sliced fresh mushrooms, and thinly sliced pieces of fresh garlic. Dot with crumbled bits of Boursin cheese. (I used about 1/3 to 1/2 package)

Bake your pizza at 450 F for about 10 minutes or so, until the bottom of the crust is all nice and brown-about the color that you like your toast. I like to turn on the broiler and broil the top a bit to get the cheese a bit browned and bubbly, but if you do this, be careful! You'd hate to forget about the pizza and let it burn by accident.

Let it cool slightly before slicing up, and enjoy.

Makes one medium sized pizza (enough for 3-4 people

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Greekish Marinated Chicken with Cucumber Salad and Home made Pitas

I am not Greek, nor can I claim that this recipe is Greek, but it totally reminds me of Greek spiced chicken and tzatziki in a pita.

Plus it's SO easy and delicious I had to make it a whole bunch of times, just to get pictures. The first time we just snarfed it down, smacking our lips. Kevin says it took self restraint not to just polish everything off and leave some for me as I came home late from work.

The original recipe for the chicken and cucumber salad was found in an issue of EveryDay Food from a long time ago, which had a surprising amount of recipes that just scream to be made. Don't you hate that when you get a new magazine in the mail and nothing is appealing? Not even one recipe? Not with that issue. Not only did I use it a lot but this one is a mainstay in our house.

The recipe tells you to make a yogurt cucumber salad, which is the tzatziki flavor that I was talking about. The only thing I found is that with this recipe, it goes all watery if you let it sit so you have two choices; drain your yogurt well before you make it (dump it in a cheesecloth lined colander and let it sit overnight) or just buy some really great tzatziki, which is what I did for the photo. I'll let you decide.

Okay so here we go. You need,

Chicken marinade:

1 1/2 lbs of chicken tenders, or just chicken breast sliced into strips
1 lemon (you need the zest and 2 tbsp juice)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, sliced

Cucumber salad:

1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 garlic clove
2 tsp fresh lemon juice (zest the lemon too, it's yummy that way)
pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves


Mix up the lemon zest and juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add your chicken and toss. Let sit as long as overnight, but even for 6-8 hrs is good. If you are making the yogurt cucumber salad, dump your yogurt into a cheesecloth lined colander, set it over a bowl, and put it in the fridge overnight to drain.

While your chicken is marinating, go visit Andrea at A Peek Inside the Fishbowl and get her recipe for No Fail Flour Tortilla 'Pitas'. Make them. They are easy, and I like them better than store bought. If you are like me, you'll forget to heat up the baking sheet before you put the dough on and they will take a bit longer to bake (like 3 min per side). At any rate, watch them carefully so you don't burn them!

While they cool, thinly slice a cucumber, toss the slices with some salt, and then let them drain in a colander for about an hour. If you do this AND drain your yogurt, it should get the water out and you won't end up with a runny end product.

When you are ready to eat, heat up a little olive oil in a fry pan and saute the onion until it's nice and golden. I season them up with some salt and pepper, and a little cumin. Remove to a bowl and set aside. Top up the pan with a little more oil, and saute the chicken over medium heat until cooked through. Toss with the onions.

In a bowl, mix together your drained yogurt, the garlic, lemon zest and juice, some pepper to taste, and the fresh mint leaves. Fold it into the drained sliced cucumber.

Serve the chicken with the cucumber salad, and pitas. I like to just pile the chicken, onions, and cuke salad in the middle of the pita, fold and eat. Or you can just spread some tzatziki on the pita and pile the chicken and onions on top. I also like to top mine with a little fresh dill, like I did in the photo.

Makes 4 servings.

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Raspberry Oat Bars

Back when I used to buy granola bars, Nutrigrain bars were one of my favorites. Soft, full of sweet fruit like filling, I bought them often so I could take them in lunches. Last year I resolved to stop buying packaged granola bars, and so I said goodbye to Nutrigrain bars forever. I won't lie and say I don't miss them, because honestly, I kind of do.

Fortunately, these raspberry oat bars came to my rescue. No, they aren't just like Nutrigrain bars, instead they are better. Full of oats, whole wheat flour, and nuts, you can change up the jam filling to whatever flavor you like, and switch the nuts around too. Use all whole wheat flour if you want. Try almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, along with blueberry, apricot, or rhubarb jams and see what happens. They are so easy to make your kids can help you, and they slice into nice pieces to enjoy with a glass of milk or cup of tea. They also pack well in lunches and you can freeze them too.

Now if I could just stop EATING them....



Adapted from Rebar Modern Food Cookbook

3/4 cup flour
3/4 whole wheat flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups walnuts (I used pecans), chopped
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup + 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup raspberry jam (I used a little more)

Pre heat your oven to 350 F.

Lightly grease a 10x15 inch baking pan, or if you are like me and am a huge fan of parchment paper, then hack off a piece and line the pan.

Measure the flours, oats, nuts, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, butter, and brown sugar into a large mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, combine the ingredients until it comes together like a crumble mixture. (you could also do this in a food processor, but I think it would make the nuts into tiny pieces, which might not be your thing)

Remove about 1/3 of the mixture from the bowl and set aside.

Crack an egg into the remaining oat mixture and blend well. Press it into the pan you had lined with parchment or greased and then put it in the oven for about 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.

Spread your jam all over the baked crust, right out to the edges. I added more jam because it looked super thin to me. Then sprinkle the reserved oat crumble all over the surface of the bars, covering them evenly. Bake about another 12-15 minutes.

Cool completely before cutting into bars. If you want to make these a special dessert, I recommend serving them with a really good vanilla ice cream.

Makes a good sized pan. The recipe says 15 but I think I'd likely cut them smaller.

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