First Burger

The first burger of the summer! Summer arrived very late this year. These juicy patties were sandwiched inside mini brioche buns with morbier cheese and red onion jam.

Still Rainy

Pan-fried udon noodles with shredded beef, shiitake mushroom, sesame and onions.

Chili Pasta

Leftover chili con carne from yesterday now becomes spicy pasta for today, when I add some whole wheat spaghetti.

Ch-ch-ch-chili

That's it--autumn's already over and winter's here. Frost is appearing on cars everywhere and the only thing I can do is make chili to battle the, uh, chill (sorry). Now before I go on, I must confess I don't really like beans. I only enjoy them as various pastes and curds. So cutting out beans, I sautee garlic, plenty of onions and a generous pinch of red pepper flakes. Throw in some ground beef. Add a half a dozen low-sodium beef stock ice cubes that I keep handy in the freezer, toss in carrots, tomatoes, tomato paste, pepper, smoked paprika and some chipotle powder. Simmer and stir...serve with sour cream and toasted garlic-buttered loaf ends. The perfect food for vegging out in front of the TV, watching Mad Men on a cold rainy day.

Steak Wrap

Cheap steak at the supermarket = steak wrap with avocado and crispy greens.