Beet & Carrot Salad with a New Turkey Burger

Fall is definitely here.  Do you know what that means?  It's time for another OFF.  This one is going to be tough: beets.  With the exception of this recipe, I have no experience with beets.  Correction, I have plenty of experience eating delicious beet dishes like beet gnocchi and mom's pickled beets and no experience cooking with them.  This video  makes me want to create a beet cake, however I don't know if I could create something that looks that good.  I could make a fun mess though.   

I decided I should start out simple, no cooking, boiling, or whatever it is you might do with a beet.  I needed a side for the new turkey burger I was trying out.  I have to take a detour here to talk about these burgers.  Something was just not right.  Maybe I need to use a paper towel to get some of the moisture out, maybe it was the fact that I cooked them on the grill, maybe it was just that I didn't really measure stuff (but  I don't think I was far off).  No matter what the case, they were really mushy and kept wanting to fall apart.  They tasted much better than I thought they would looking at them, but they were not as good as the first turkey burger trial.  If I make these again, I will add bread crumbs or something.  

Don't forget the sweet  potato fries!

Back to the beets.  Since I needed a side for these burgers, I decided to give this Shredded Beet & Carrot Salad  from my Great Food Fast cookbook a try.  It was so much spicier than that thought it was going to be!  Again, I didn't really measure the spices that closely, but I still think it would have been hot.  There was something about it that I didn't quite like, but I still thought it was good.  Maybe it was the cumin smell that was too strong for me, I just can't figure out what it is.  Someone suggested adding something sweet in like raisins.  I don't like raisins in things, but maybe some apple?  Give it a try and let me know what you thing. 

Shredded Beet & Carrot Salad

6 servings

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• Coarse Salt
• 1 lb raw beets, peeled
• 2 carrots, peeled
• 2 tbsp dried parsley

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, oil, honey, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne and 3/4 tsp salt. 
2. Shred beets and carrots into a medium bowl.  
3. Add the juice mixture to the beets and carrots. Sprinkle with parsley. 

Enjoy! 

Adventures in the Land of Ground Turkey

So I'm pretty sure if my dad were to read this, he would disown me.  Or never let me in the kitchen at home again for fear of what I might trick him into eating.  In all fairness, I've never really had much desire to try ground turkey anything, especially when ground beef already does such a good job.  (If you follow me at all, you've see all the delicious post and pictures of my latest grilling adventures.)  Regardless of my love of a good beef burger,  I decided it was time to see what all the talk was about.


I came across a few recipes Turkey Burgers while I was flipping through my recipe binder and cookbooks.  I settled on this one found in Great Food Fast.  I felt that my first adventure in the land of ground turkey needed to be mixed with other ingredients and flavors for fear of being grossed out.  I was concerned I wouldn't cook them long enough or over cook them, I was cooking a few things on the grill at once, but about 5 minutes on each side was perfect on my grill at medium high.  I don't really know what I was expecting, but they turned out really good.  I switched the cheese because I am not a fan of Gruyere and I mixed up some avocado spread.  I will definitely be trying out more recipes in the near future involving ground turkey.  

Grilled sweet potato fries, grilled zucchini halves and a turkey burger with avocado spread

Ingredients (for 2 burgers)

• 3/4 to 2/3 lb ground turkey
• 1/4 finely grated Swiss cheese
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/8 dried bread crumbs 
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard (I finally bought some!) 
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat grill to high.  In a medium bowl, use your hand to gently combine ground turkey with the cheese, scallions, breadcrumbs, mustard, and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Form into two 1-inch thick patties. 
2. Grill patties for 5 to 10 minutes on a side until cooked through and serve on lightly grilled buns. 

To make the Avocado Spread smash one avocado, one minced garlic clove, and the juice of one lemon (or about 2 tbsp) with a bit of salt and pepper.  Spread it over your turkey burger and enjoy!