Food

When the weather turns warm, I find myself craving the smell and taste of a great homemade burger off the grill. So what makes a great burger? There are a few simple rules. But if you remember just one of them, it should be that less really is more. Which is to say, the less you add to your ground beef, the less you handle the meat when mixing it, and the less you flip it while grilling, the better burger you get in the end.

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It’s the beginning of farmers market season in the Inland Northwest. One thing I look forward to each year is the early season fresh English peas. Not to be confused with snow peas, with very thin edible pods and tiny undeveloped seeds, or crisp crunchy snap peas, English peas must be shucked. Their sweet, plump seeds are encased in large, tough pods that must be removed before eating. Typically available here the end of May, English peas prefer the cooler growing temperatures of late spring and early summer. They’re here for only a few short weeks before the heat of summer arrives, so be on the lookout for them.

Barbecue chicken is one of my favorite summertime dishes. I like every part of it – the tomato-based sauce (the spicier the better), the crispy skin, even the bones. And taste aside, it’s also relatively healthy, at least as compared to such sundry first cousins as grilled and/or smoked ribs, brisket or pulled pork. It’s chicken, after all, and it wears that lean protein halo. Unfortunately, when it’s prepared with its skin and bones, and slathered with a sugary sauce, barbecue chicken is very nearly as caloric as its brethren. Know why chicken skin is so delicious? It’s high in fat.

At heart, a quesadilla is pretty much a Mexican grilled cheese. Take a tortilla, stuff it with something savory, add some cheese, fold it in half and toast it. It’s also pretty delicious. I love any dish that includes melted cheese, and it’s that much better when Mexican ingredients are added to the mix. But as much as I enjoy the standard recipe for this widely loved treat, I was pretty sure I could dream up a lighter version.

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Mom always said to eat your vegetables, so this Mother’s Day serve her breakfast in bed inspired by a walk through the garden. We began with the idea of egg-in-a-hat – sometimes called egg-in-a-basket or a Popeye – in which an egg is cracked into a hole cut in the center of a slice of bread. The whole thing is pan-fried, usually just until the white is set and the yolk remains liquid. The idea is that as you eat it, the yolk breaks and soaks the toast with a warm, creamy sauce.

Time for a confession. As a child, I never once celebrated Mother’s Day. My parents thought the holiday was nothing more than a cheesy excuse to sell greeting cards, and who was I to argue? But after I became a mother myself? Oh. My. God.

Quiche has a reputation as a complicated dish. And I’m not sure why. Home cooks worry about the crust. They angst over the fillings. Do they have the right mix of meats or veggies? Which type of cheese? And how much is too much? And then there is striking the balance of egg and dairy, never mind determining the best way to season the mixture.