Grillin' and Gardenin'

A thing of beauty!

 Grilled, Caramelized Onions

They are easy! On a large piece of foil, put thinly sliced Vidalia (or any sweeter onion) inside, add tiny bits of cubed butter (EB or whatever you like) probably about 1 Tbs per every two onions, organic brown sugar (about 1 tsp. per sliced onion), and sea salt (sprinkle generously over the onions).  Mix with your hands.  Fold up the foil into a nice packet.  Add another piece of foil and wrap again, sealing up all the seams.  Grill until tender and as caramelized as you want them.  

Here's the foil packet as I was about to open it.  You can see I unfolded the left side already.  

Other wonderful things to grill in the packet:

 Fresh, Jersey Asparagus (peeled, French style :-)

 Green Beans with Salt and Sesame Oil 

Really, any food that will fall through the grill cracks can be grilled in a foil packet.  Don't forget it! Just add your seasonings and a little oil, mix with your hands, and fold up that packet.  Yeah!

And, some gardening for you.  I made Mother's Day planters for my mom, my husband's mom, and my sister:

 Planted with Organic Basil and Organic Chives.  

My son picked out the pots, I loved them!

My planter:

Also basil & chives.  This way I don't have to go outside to get them! I think I threw in a bunch of arugula, too, so, it's gonna be crazy in there.

Also, my artichokes have "taken," and I see new growth on them, my Scarlet Runners were raided by something that ate all the leaves off 3/5 of my plants (but left the two healthiest, largest ones), I have tons of primroses blooming, my fig tree is leafing out like crazy, and I put in my Zucchini Garden with four hierloom zucchini plants!

What are you guys cooking & planting?

Garden Fazool, April 2012

And so it begins...

Scarlet Runner Bean (seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds).

And these ladies have taken up residence in what was last year's Tomato Garden.  I planted the rest of this garden yesterday (4/13/12) with the Scarlet Runners pictured above (back row, they will climb up the fence), and in the front row is Swiss Chard (planted on Thurs, 4/12/12).

Does anyone know what the ladies are?  I didn't start them from seed, I bought cheater plants.  

Here's a closer look at my cheaters!

That's cilantro behind, wanted to get some in the ground while it is still cool and I hadn't started any from seed.  Cilantro doesn't like it hot!

This is my other "garden" which needs significant amending in terms of soil (there are still asphalt chunks in it from an old driveway that used to be there!) gets the herbs since not much else really worked there last year.  So, this year it's The Herb Garden. Cheater cilantro is in place.

However, the little bit of Swiss Chard that did grow, the Lemon Thyme, Oregano and Parsley ALL overwintered!  You can't tell because it's been so dry here, but we did turn this garden over and added some of our compost, I know it doesn't look like it! 

Rainbow Chard from last year.

Also,

Rosemary blooming.

 Side beds.

Back yard.

And, in a notebook by my bed, lie the answers.

The new ladies are...artichokes!  And they look very happy so far.

So, The Artichoke Garden & The Herb Garden are planted.

I also have a bunch of things I am going to start from seed (planting tomorrow, hopefully), and stuff I am planting in-ground around the house, including the front yard and the "hell strip!"  I have to dig a new garden for my zucchini, too.

What new things are you guys growing this year? 

The Beans, Grains & Greens Burger

Did you guys know you can pretty much make a veggie burger out of any combination of beans, grains & greens? Provided you get a consistency you can shape into a burger (even if it is delicate) you really have myriad options in the v-burger department.

Here's one I made recently:

Winter Risotto, Russian Kidney Beans, and Kale Burger!

I just took my leftover Winter Risotto, added my Russian Red Kidney Beans (was a pressure cooker recipe I had made recently), mashed those up with a fork, added more cooked carrots, whatever organic kale I had left in the fridge (I just chopped it up raw and put it in), added some roasted red peppers, organic raisins (I love raisins in balls & burgers!), fresh lemon juice, olive oil (jalapeno oil!), chopped raw organic walnuts, salt, pepper, and then mixed in some old fashioned oats to dry it up a bit.  You could also just use all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, or any kind of flour, really, to dry up a very moist burger mix.  I like to use oats because they are tasty.

Here it is in the bowl:

I wish I had this right now!  I could totally go for these, they were awesome (esp. since all the work was already done, leftover grain dish + leftover bean dish= awesome burgers).

And here it is formed into patties and placed on a well-oiled, rimmed baking sheet:

 Bake at around 400 to 425 for like 15 minutes per side.  You want them nicely browned on each side. You'll know your oven better than I do as far as the specifics.

Delicious, crispy, totally flavorful burger.  I love the crispy kale parts, it's like having kale chips in your burger!

I had mine in a burrito, I get into burrito phases with everything!

And hubby had a more traditional burger, but still Mexican themed:

So, check your fridge.  Do you have leftover grains, beans or greens? If so, make a BGG (beans, grains & greens) burger. 

You won't be sorry!