The Impeccable Mini Pecorino Crusted Turkey Burger

Wow, now that is a long name for such a mini burger but I guarantee this will be a hit at a casual  lunch/dinner get together or for a quick meal for yourself or family. And for all vegetarians, please note that this recipe was just as delicious with my favorite veggie burger recipe using mashed chick peas. If I am not creating a recipe, I read through many before making a decision. I choose one that sparks my taste buds and I must admit anything with the word crusted catches my attention. But as in any recipe I decide on, I make a few changes as I did with this turkey burger from Food.com. And, I know this will be a surprise, but it includes Mead's Maple Syrup.

*My oven was 375. My time 35 to 45 minutes. Check after 25/30 minutes.

*First, I made eight small burgers from a pound of ground turkey not the six they suggest.

*Next I used 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup Pecorino Cheese, and 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs mixed with 2 TBS of Italian Seasoning. I mixed these all together on a flat dish.

*In a bowl I used two eggs ( beat them with fork) and mixed in  3TBS of fresh lemon juice

*I dipped the formed burger into the egg mixture then into the crumb mixture, then redipped it into the egg mixture and back into the crumb mixture to give it a nice thick crust to keep burgers moist.

*I then put the burgers onto a lightly greased baking dish, covered them with foil and baked. I removed the cover half way through cooking.

I served with a  Maple Mustard Glaze on the side and put Caramelized Onions on top after removing from oven.

Maple Mustard Glaze

Stir together:

1/4 cup maple syrup ( the darker the better for this glaze)
1/4 cup Dijon mustard or any of your favorite mustard.
1TBS mayonnaise

Eating Solids

Update: We want to extend our sincere condolences to the people of Boston and everyone affected by yesterday's bombing.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

This is an example of what baby-led weaning looks like.

While my mom has been busy traveling around Vermont and stocking up on penny candy at the Vermont Country Store, we've been exploring the world of solid foods with Rainier.  It doesn't take long as he doesn't seem to like food.  He will look at the food, open his mouth, and then make a horrible face once he realizes what happened to land on his tongue.  Repeat, repeat, repeat.  There are a couple of notable exceptions - he loves apples when he can gnaw on the whole apple, and he really enjoys orange slices.  He hates liver.  On the other hand, he seems way too interested in coffee and alcoholic beverages for a kid his age.  We are taking the French approach with these beverages and waiting until he is at least a year before introducing them.

There are a million books out there on how to feed your kid, what to feed them, when to feed them, how to let them feed themselves, what not to feed them, when not to feed then, when you should not let them feed themselves, and what it is they shouldn't be feeding themselves.  While it makes it a difficult subject matter to research, I do find the amount of dissension reassuring.  You can find an expert who will agree with you no matter what your philosophy.  And maybe there is no perfect way to start solids that works for every child.

Even though Rainier isn't that interested in real food yet, we sit down and try various foods each day.  I want him to get familiar with the different tastes and textures, and enjoy sitting at the table and sharing a meal with mama and papa.  I tried baby-led weaning, which as far as I understand it involves putting baby size bits of food in front of the baby and letting them feed themselves.  The idea is the kids eat when they are ready, and can choose to eat what they want.  (I haven't read the book.)  This approach hasn't worked for us so far, as Rainier grabs most of the food and throws it on the floor or smashes it into the table.  After this happened a few times, it began to feel wasteful.  I'm not opposed to using this approach in the future - but right now it's not working for us.

So that's where we are at for now.  If anybody has any advice or suggestions, or just wants to share how you started feeding solid food to your baby, I would love to hear it.

Rainier and his cousin Rowan.

My dining partner.

Penny Candy, Perfumes and the Past

I stepped into the past last weekend on a visit to the Vermont Country Store in Weston, Vermont. This store was established in 1946 by the Orton Family. Who says a family cannot run a business together? Here is one success story that is sure to change that myth. Vrest Orton was the son of a Vermont shopkeeper but had a passion for writing. He moved to New York City to become a successful writer. Eventually, he returned to Vermont in the early 1930's to start his own printing company, The Countryman's Press, in Weston. 

He never wanted to be a businessman but life has its twists and Vrest fell in love with MIldred Wilcox, a graduate student of the Rutland Business School. I would have very much liked to have met this loving and powerfully directed couple because they knew by combining their skills they could create a legacy for their family. Vrest brought his unique style of words and design to both the store and the catalog and Mildred added the organization and focus. 

What made their business grow and grow however was their huge hearts and dedication to maintain a warm and friendly environment with quality products.  Mildred even began serving lunches to her customers, being a fine cook of natural and wholegrain foods. Today the family still runs the store and catalog business while continuing the excellent service. If you think a product (they carry everything from A to Z) went extinct, just check out The Vermont Country Store and they will be sure to have it. You will be 100% satisfied. Guaranteed!

What I found most appealing in the store was the perfume department ( every scent had a story behind it) and the Scale Museum. Below I will give a two minute tour. 

Enjoy,

Jude

       

                                                     How can I rest?

                                How can I be content
                                when there is still
                                that odor in the world?     by Louise Gluck

JoAnne knew every perfume and its story.

Princess Diana's favorite perfume was the Bluebell - sweet fresh and filled with the scent of English Bluebell flowers.

Highland Lilac - Who ever knew there was a Lilac Capital of the World - Well there is and it is in Rochester, New York. This perfume is the winner of National Awards and Gold Medals, It is also considered a national treasure being the favorite of five first ladies. The romantic fragrance of lilac permeates the White House. 

Evening in Paris - What more can be said about this scent except that it was first created in 1928  and  is still enjoyed today in 2013.  Why its longevity? Take a peek at its ingredients that read like a full orchestra. The top notes are fruity fresh, featured with bergamot, apricot and peach, green notes and violet. The floral heart is composed of rose Damascena, jasmine, heliotrope, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley and orris. The base includes amber, musk, sandalwood and vanilla.

Fred Hayman knew what he was doing when he designed Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and he knew what he was doing when he designed this fragrance. Haunting is the word that comes to mind after I sprayed a tester on my wrist. 273 by Fred Hayman is a romantic and feminine fragrance, blending jasmine, gardenia and ylang-ylang finished with a touch of vanilla.

ma griffe - Somewhere over the Rainbow. Launched in 1946, a Judy Garland favorite. 

Only two words can describe this lovely scent, Audrey Hepburn.

Wind song stays on your mind. 

    

Enjoy the museum. I must say though the scales were far more impressive in person.

The Making of Maple Syrup

       The other day we had a delivery truck come to pick up seven pallets of syrup. That is six thousand and nine hundred pounds of pure maple syrup to be delivered to a customer on the other side of the country. But that is not what this blog is about. It is about the young man driving the truck. He pulled up in his mammoth transporter which in itself seems way too large for our back country road but he maneuvers it with the ease of a professional. 

       As I approached the parked truck, he jumps out of the cab, shakes my hand as he tells me his name is Thomas, and then races into the sugar shack excited as a schoolboy. My husband was inside boiling sap in the evaporator. I followed Thomas with the paperwork for the pickup but knew it was futile to try and have him sign anything until he got a tour of the sugarhouse. He must have said one hundred times the word "WOW", at least eighty of the word "AMAZING" and after he tasted a sample, he said minimum five hundred times, "It's so good". 

      Thomas's life changed that day as he held onto the quarts of syrup I gave him, just as if I handed him a newborn baby to hold. His enthusiasm in seeing the process first hand made me realize that many people still do not know how maple syrup is produced. That is why I am sharing a photojournalist's approach to the making of maple syrup. Oh and I have to say, Thomas did tell me that one hundred percent pure maple syrup is far better than the stuff he gets at _________. You can fill in the restaurant. You can also check out these two great recipes. Maple Toffee and pancakes

 Maple Story in Pictures

That's us. John Thew made this sign. Can you see me waving in the doorway?

This is what it looks like outside when we start tapping and collecting sap.

not like this

The days of all buckets are gone

replaced with tubing for a more productive pace of collecting sap.

We start with tapping a spout into a tree.

Then we create a zigzag of tubing through the sugarbush

This tubing carries the sap to the sugarhouse 

or to collecting tanks.

Time to boil

A vacuum system draws sap from trees.

A pump sends the sap to a reverse osmosis machine to remove water from sap.

This creates a concentration of sap that becomes more efficient to boil.

The sap is gravity fed into this colossal evaporator called an intense o fire.

See why it is called that. It is HUGE and HOT.

Here is Meg checking the boil or maybe getting a steam facial.

The sweet smell of boiling sap is indescribable. It is addicting.

Rock, scissors, paper...who gets to stoke the fire.

Guess Wint won. 

He really stuffs it full.

Really FULL. Remember Wint, you have to close the door:)

Wonder who left the gloves on the HOT fire. 

This is the fine bubble in the front pan when the sap is almost syrup.

That's me looking at the temperature on our fancy computer system .

That's Wint not trusting our new system and testing the old fashioned way.

The hydrometer should read seven degrees above the boiling point of water for any given day. Usually 219.

There she pours!!!!!! Honest, that is all syrup.

When steam gets in your eyes.

The finishing process begins with filtering the syrup after we draw it off the evaporator.

This looks pretty but like many pretty faces, it takes a lot of work to keep it looking this good.

The different grades of syrup we produce, From Grade A light to Grade B dark, the most flavorful and popular.

We always take a picture at the 1000 gallon mark. Winter makes us..

Not done yet. It is clean up time Did I say YUCK out loud?

This process takes a long time, mainly because I am a bit OC when it comes to CLEAN.

That's it for another year. How sweet it was.

The happy family. A family that boils together, toils together. 

Noah worked just as hard but he was away the day of the family picture. I wish I knew how to superimpose.


ENJOY THE REST OF PICTURES..