Why the Stars & Stripes this week?

Well, after a week that’s seen packs of wild animals resembling lions roaming the streets around Auckland’s Viaduct, and the breaking of Burgergate, and people shaking the moths out of bright red socks and Champagne sales soaring … it’s all gone a bit bonkers. 4^th July is approaching, and that’s the time Americans like to chow down on burgers and fries, and as we’ve just robbed them of their biggest drinking vessel, and endured the brief and laughable Burgergate (What? Sous vide burger patties???), it just all came together with a hiss and a roar. (I’m having way too much fun with all these puns!)

Yes, well, if you don’t live in New Zealand you won’t be aware that the Nanny State is alive and well here. That means that some well-meaning ill-informed drongos decide what is safe to eat and what is not. Burgers cooked to medium-rare were to be outlawed. Oh the uproar! Great. That’s one of the best things about Kiwis: we don’t take stupidity lying down. Medium-rare burgers are back on the menu! Yep, Burgergate was all over in a matter of days (‘Oh no, we didn’t mean in proper restaurants, just takeaway chains’ – you can see the golden arches bowing to such pressure NOT). There are already strict controls on meat processing all along the chain in this country, and when interviewed on Radio NZ an industry spokesperson couldn’t tell the interviewer whether anyone had actually ever got sick from eating mince that had gone off.
Here’s a great burger recipe from the Shared Kitchen archives. Best Burgers These are made with real meat, chopped fine then whizzed briefly in a food processor, in other words, you are making your own mince or ground meat. It does produce a superior patty, and handy to have a recipe for it in case Burgergate does come back.  Learn about mince here.
Ilaria is serving up some quick flatbreads this week.  Flatters Flatbreads A kind of ‘raid the fridge’ topping. But she got me thinking because she made a broccoli crumb and scattered it raw on the flatbreads. Whaaaa? That’s not going to taste good, I thought. Wrong. Quite delicious. She has a nice little chat about life which she includes with her recipes. Ever read her stuff? It’s different to mine, as is her cooking. And I love them both. Ilaria’s Kitchenette
Tamarillos are top of the chart this week – loaded with Vitamin C and other antioxidants, and in full swing at the moment. Do you know the origin of the name tamarillo? See here.
I’ve included recipes for Cinnamon Baked Tamarillos, and savoury uses too. They make a mean salsa. Tamarillo Salsa
Have a great week, celebrate winning America’s Cup (or losing it!), watch the All Blacks smash the Lions (hopefully) and rejoice or weep, but most importantly, cook and eat some good food. Homemade burgers and fries in front of the telly on a chilly night is not a bad prospect.
Cheerio
Julie