Week 40: Mangia, Mangia!
This project has definitely shone a spotlight on the fact that I’m much more like my mother than I care to admit. It’s not that I believe that my mother was a horrible person, rather it’s just that I’ve spent a great deal of energy trying to create a life that was different than hers. In many ways, I’ve been successful at that, but in certain areas of my life I see my mother’s reflection. I’d like to think that I embody more of her finer qualities, such as creativity, curiosity, passion, and wit, and less of her darker qualities, those of which I’m not in the mood to share right now.
This week in particular, I noticed the commonality of how much my mother did and how much I do express love with food. Add to that the lineage of my Italian grandmother, May, and you can just picture me in an apron robustly saying “Mangia, Mangia” as guests arrive through the door.
I’m finally realizing that this expression is less about a love for cooking (as I’m not a fan of washing the dishes that stack up) and more about the process of creating sustenance that (without words) allows me to say, “I love you and you matter”. Adult humans, small humans, friends, family, strangers….I like to feed people healthy, delicious food. But, sadly my new role of empty nester leaves me with fewer people to feed.
Who knows, maybe at the end of this whole project I’ll feel drawn to volunteer at a soup kitchen, or even start something of my own where I can manifest my love through food. For now though, one of the benefits of 52 Saturdays is that it has provided opportunities for me to include my friends and family not only in the food preparation, but also in the consumption of my culinary delicacies, which I’d say is a huge bonus!
This week, my dear friend Gillian was my recipe taster. She has been one of my biggest 52 Saturdays supporters, so I was thrilled that I finally got a chance to serve a meal to her as a way of saying “Thank you”. The shared bottle of bubbly, lively conversation, and laughs were pretty great, too!
Original Recipe
Lamb Patties with Melon and Mint
The Process:
Once again, this week’s recipe included an animal ingredient that I’m not willing to purchase, cook, or eat, therefore the first change I made was substituting lamb for ground turkey. Not that I have anything against turkeys, but I just find it easier to justify my consumption, especially because I purchase cage-free poultry.
The goal of 52 Saturdays is to make these recipes healthier, and I was able to decrease 150 calories per serving, plus about half of the fat by using 93% fat ground turkey. I also replaced store-bought breadcrumbs, which tend to be heavily processed, with toasted ground oats. Since the meat in the original recipe was lamb, mint was the perfect herb choice, and surprisingly it still worked with turkey; however, I might give sage a try in the future. I wanted to grill peaches, but I couldn’t find any at the farmers market, so I grabbed some pears, although they were just okay.
I kept the grilled melon component of the recipe, which at first sounded weird to me, but left me intrigued, so I had to give it a try, especially because Gillian is a vegetarian, so this was the only aspect of the recipe that she could enjoy. Wanting to include other aspects of the original recipe, I served Gillian the grilled melon topped with toasted almonds and chopped mint. She’s not usually a big fan of melon and had what she called a “love-hate relationship” with the grilled melon upon tasting it, but she did enjoy the toasted almonds and mint.
The Results:
While neither of us really loved the grilled melon, we both agreed that it worked and was something that could be served for brunch. It could have been that the melon I chose wasn’t very ripe, so I think I’ll try it again with a sweet cantaloupe. Overall, I would say this recipe revamp was a success!
I enjoyed the light flavor of the minted turkey burgers and could definitely taste the addition of the toasted almonds. I will certainly make this revamped recipe again.
Minted Turkey Burgers with Grilled Cantaloupe
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of slivered almonds 1 egg
2 tablespoons of oat bran, breadcrumbs, or oats
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, minced
1-pound lean ground turkey
1 cantaloupe peeled, seeded, cut into eight wedges
Directions:
Toast almonds and let cool
Toast oat bran and let cool
Grind almonds and oat bran together using a blender or food processor.
In a large bowl beat egg with salt.
Finely chop garlic, mint, and onion or “pulse” in a food processor.
Add the ground turkey, plus the almond/oat and garlic/onion/mint combinations to the bowl with the egg. Mix until well combined.
Shape into patties. Place melon wedges and patties on a greased grill. Turn the melon often and cook for approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Grill the meat patties until browned and heated to approximately 160°.
Week 41 Recipe Pick
In honor of Columbus Day Weekend (why is this still a holiday?) and my Italian Heritage
thank you for the illustration Mom 🙂
