Today, I just want to tell you about this stew.  I made some last weekend for dinner and to fuel my lunches through the first chilly week of autumnal weather we’ve had. It’s delicious.

Really hearty – full of butternut squash (both chunks and mashed to thicken the stew), shredded chicken, quinoa  – and inherently very good for you indeed. The flavourful broth, herbs, and olives all bring a little pow! to make this wholly satisfying and such a great reintroduction to the kitchen for me.

The recipe is from Cookin’ Canuck and I urge you to go over there right now, jot down any ingredients you don’t have on hand, and get about making it sooner rather than later.

P.S. The winner of ‘My Berlin Kitchen’ by Luisa Weiss has been announced! Thanks so much to everyone who entered and left such thoughtful comments – they’re really worth reading.

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

1. Place onion, jalapeno and garlic in a food processor and pulse 5 or 6 times.
2. 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).
3. Place mixture into a mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
4. Remove chilled mixture from refrigerator and stir in breadcrumbs. Adjust seasonings.
5. 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.
6. Remove patties from heat and place onto burger buns. Assemble burger with toppings and condiments of your choice and serve.

This is a really great warm weather salad that’s fresh, filling, and packed with flavour. There’s a little Vietnamese place Dan and I like to go to in Minneapolis called Jasmine Deli which serves amazing phở, great bánh mì, as well as really excellent bún chay – a salad made with tofu or meat, rice noodles (usually vermicelli), lettuce, various crunchy raw vegetables, fresh herbs, and a moreishly flavourful sauce.

We decided to recreate the salad at home and it’s set to be a summer favourite. You could make it with chicken, pork, or beef instead of the grilled tofu that we made. In terms of veggies, we went with carrots, cucumber, and daikon radish, but bean sprouts are a common addition too and bell pepper would add a similar textural crunch. The sauce is wonderfully salty and full of flavour from the fish sauce and lime juice, but feel free to play with the ingredients there as well.

Bún Chay (Vietnamese Noodle Salad)

Ingredients

For the marinade

• 1/2 stalk lemongrass, bulbous portion only, finely chopped
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp chicken bouillon
• 1 dried red chili, minced
• splash of water

For the salad

• 7 ounces/ 200g dried vermicelli noodles
• 1/2 pound extra firm tofu (or substitute chicken, pork, or beef)
• Vegetable oil
• 1/2 a head of romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1/2 cup daikon radish, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup julienned cucumber
• 2 carrots, julienned
• Large handful of fresh cilantro (optional)
• 2 tbsp peanuts, chopped (to garnish)

For the sauce

• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 4 tbsp water
• 1 clove garlic, crushed

Directions

1. Press tofu between paper towels to drain excess water. Cut into 1-inch chunks.
2. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Place tofu in marinade and let sit for half an hour.
3. Meanwhile, prepare noodles according to package instructions, cooking until white and tender but still firm. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water, fluffing the noodles to separate the strands. Drain again completely. Set aside.
4. Heat bbq and grill tofu until crispy and golden. Flip and cook the other side. (Alternatively, you could stir fry the tofu in a wok over high heat.)
5. Shred lettuce set aside with cucumbers, carrots, and sliced daikon radish.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together ingredients for sauce. Set aside.
7. Divide the noodles between two bowls. Arrange greens and tofu on top and garnish with peanuts. Just before eating, drizzle with sauce to taste and toss.