Turkey Burgers... with a secret

It will come as no surprise to those of you with children that my kids hate most vegetables. They like a select few...but for the most part, if they can identify a naturally grown object, they will refuse it. I keep offering...but occasionally I like to make sure they get some in whether they know it or not.
This is especially easy to do when working with turkey burgers, meatballs, any kind of ground-meat application. As long as they're chopped finely, I can toss in whatever I have lying around. As a bonus, they add moisture and flavor to the lower-fat turkey meat. It takes about 60 seconds if you have a food processor to turn a handful of crudite into an unrecognizable relish, and another 10-15 minutes to saute it--just long enough to fire up those coals. That's my big secret--here you thought that I was sneaking my kids vegetables --- nope! If you add veggies to a burger or meatball, you MUST saute it first! If you chop them up and add them raw, you will have crunchy veggie bits and a dry burger--think about it. You know what happens when you sweat onions or mushrooms--they soak up liquid. They do the same thing to your meat. So always cook them first--I like to start with tablespoon or two of olive oil, then add chicken stock if I need to as they cook. If cooking right away, you can mix them right in to your meat.
I'd also like you to notice the buns on my burger--handmade by me. These are Yeasted Cornmeal Buns, and they are an original recipe. They're soft, tender, with a great texture, and the barest hint of cornmeal. Quick to rise, too. I'm working out the kinks on the exact recipe, but hope to have it in a few days. It will be available on my baking blog, Life's Too Short For Mediocre Chocolate.
I'll leave you with a Quick Tip--if you grill with coals, you'll be left with some smoldering heat that shouldn't go to waste. I like to slice a head of garlic in two, drizzle it with a little oil, salt and pepper, and wrap it in foil. I usually place it in a cast-iron pan, too, just for insulation. If you place it over to the edge of the grill over dying coals and cover it up with the vents open, 45 minutes later you will have perfectly roasted garlic that you can use all week--look for some upcoming recipes featuring my favorite flavor!

A real harvest, and my new toy

This is as close as I've come to having gardening be worth my time this year! Something has been eating my strawberries...all of them. My plants are doing beautifully, but just when they turn red...bam. I finally covered them both with plastic bags, and it seems to have worked, because I just harvested almost a handful! Local wildlife...0. Gardener, 1.
I have some cherry tomatoes about to ripen as well--Sun Gold or Gold Nuggets, I'll have to check my notes to remember which. Usually the cherries don't get bothered too badly by animals, but I'll have to be vigilant.
I'll also show you my new toy I got at the gourmet kitchen store today. I have been wanting one of these for awhile, just perfect for hand-grinding seeds, nuts, spices, and anything else. It's made of marble and only cost $10--a great find.
I also wanted to say really quickly that tomorrow's dinner will be a healthy and yummy burger recipe on some homemade buns--so come back tomorrow for that one!

Grilled Chicken Sausage with Asparagus and Whole Wheat Penne

Pretty easy stuff tonight. I took a precooked, packaged (but high-quality) sausage--Aidell's Chicken with Apple--and grilled it over the gas grill til it got some beautiful color. Then I tossed on some asparagus--I must admit I'm always sad when the thick asparagus starts arriving in the store. I don't have the space to grow it myself, so I'm at the mercy of the grocer--and I just adore the pencil-thin ones we get around January and February and into early Spring. I could eat them every night, roasted, grilled or sauteed. (NEVER boiled. Ever. Ever. That's the meanest thing you can do to asparagus.)
Anyway, I added this to some pasta I'd cooked up inside, and tossed it around with a little reserved pasta water and a few tablespoons of leftover red sauce I had in the fridge. Voila, dinner all three of my boys would eat with no complaints.
But...I'm not a big sausage fan. I'm just not crazy about it, even the chicken kind. So I improvised for myself--I just started a 6-month long fitness plan of increasingly harder workouts, and it emphasizes a higher-protein diet than I'm used to. (Look to the Amazon widget to get the book. It's wonderful.) I had some leftover salad from going out to Applebee's last night--I highly recommend the green apple and candied walnut chicken salad. All I did was added some freshly cut strawberries and my favorite pear dressing from Trader Joe's, and I had a brand-new dinner. It's not an ideal situation, making two separate meals, but sometimes it just works out that way. My husband is such a carnivore, and I really don't care much for red meat, so we'll do this sometimes. It seems to make everyone happy--even if I do have a sinkful of dishes with my name on it!
I also wanted to add to this post that it's starting to warm up here, and my plants are beginning to bear fruit...which means that the bugs and birds and whatever stray rodent happens by are getting a free buffet. My strawberries are being consistently eaten, I actually had to cover them completely with a trash bag today...and my cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen and are already under siege! What kind of bug eats the entire center out of a tomato?! I'm going to research this a bit...I refuse to do down without a fight !