Killer Aioli

Friday when we went grocery shopping they had some beautiful grass fed/grass finished ground lamb that I couldn't resist.  The price was actually pretty good too.  So Saturday for dinner we had lamb burgers with an amazing aioli and oven fries.

Lamb Burgers:
I keep them very simple.  I make the patties and sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and a pinch of cumin.  It was raining so I cooked them inside in a cast iron skillet.  About 5 minutes per side is perfect for us.

The aioli is what makes these burgers amazing.
Lemon, garlic, dill aioli:
Juice from 1/2 lemon
3 cloves of diced garlic
salt
dried or fresh dill to taste
Mix all ingredients with 3/4 cup of mayo

Drizzle mayo on the burgers, garnish with thinly sliced red onions.

Delicious!!

Today we had our first BLT of the season.  I may or may not have had potato chips with the left over aioli.  Yes it's that good.

Things That Make Me Smile

My cat Jet makes me smile everyday!

Gardening

We moved to our house 8 years ago and started two large gardens.  We built them out of cedar.  The wood was starting to split so earlier in the year we took them down.  We didn't rebuild them as I wanted them moved up a little from their original space.  So we decided to use our small garden and pots until we rebuild the gardens this fall with stone.

In the small garden we have that's made with bricks I planted a 4 foot row of a sunflower mix in the back of it and a tabasco, mammoth jalapeno and regular jalapeno in the front row.  The mammoth jalapeno plant was pulled up and chewed up by something.  I'm guessing squirrels as our yard is fenced in and nothing much else can get in. Then one night last week we had very high winds and it broke a couple of the sunflowers. There are still plenty but I wanted a full row.

In pots I am growing basil, oregano, tomatoes, baby bok choy, green peppers, lettuce and my rosemary that we wintered in the garage. We did have arugula but the high temperatures made that bolt pretty quickly.  The lettuce needs to be eaten before it bolts so it will be a week of salads for lunch.

We have a wonderful farmers market here and plenty of farms that sell their produce.  I supplement what I grow with their bounty.  I thought about just not putting in a garden again or growing anything as it is a constant fight with weather and creatures but there is nothing more satisfying then going out to your yard and picking things to eat.

Things That Make Me Smile

 

                            Not a great picture but I love driving by this Alpaca Farm in Albers.

This chicken was processed last Friday and eaten last Sunday. You can't get fresher or more delicious than that. 

Sopaipillos

I'm not sure exactly how 'traditional' this recipe is but I can tell you it is delicious, fast and easy.

I don't even remember where I got the recipe from I've had it for so many years. And the bonus is you will have extra chocolate sauce and lasts for 3 days in the fridge and is delicious over ice cream.

Chocolate Sauce:

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

Pinch of salt

1/2 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 Tbs. unsalted butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Sopaipillos:

Oil for frying

Flower tortillas cut in strips or triangles

Powdered sugar for dusting

Bring to a boil 1/4 Cup of water, sugar and salt stirring until the sugar has desolved. Wisk in cocoa until smooth.  Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla.

Heat oil in a pan until approximately 350 degrees.  In small batches fry the tortillas turning once.

Place tortillas on a paper towel or cooling rack and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Plate and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

Enjoy!