As it so happens, yesterday was my CSA’s first farm pickup: lettuce, spinach, radishes, garlic shoots, and a healthy bag of basil were waiting in my kitchen. Finding creative ways to eat these plant goodies over the summer will be a priority.

The decision for Thursday night: pesto-topped burgers. Why pesto? Basil and garlic are major ingredients of pesto, and I have a surplus of each. Luckily, I only needed to buy pine nuts and ground beef.

I stopped by my food co-op and snagged a pound of ground beef from pasture-raised Scottish highland cattle. Apparently they didn’t have pine nuts so I grabbed a reasonable quantity of hazelnuts and checked out.

Prepping the pesto was remarkably simple:

• Rinse some basil leaves.
• Prep 3 cloves of garlic.
• Cut up a little bit of block Parmesan cheese.
• Toss in some pine nuts or hazelnuts.
• Blend together in a food processor or blender.
• Add olive oil to create a little bit of a mixture and continue blending.

From there, burger set up proceeded as normal.

After the burgers were finished, they were placed on lightly-toasted ciabatta (from a local bakery) and topped with the homemade pesto.

Because there was plenty of spinach and lettuce available from the CSA, salads were a logical choice for side dish.

And though it may not have been the perfect move, I paired this with a bottle of Bel Lago NV Red Table Wine. All-in-all an incredibly satisfying meal.

Local-ness

• Bread: Local
• Beef: Regional
• Garlic: Very local
• Basil: Very local
• Wine: Regional
• Hazel nuts: ???
• Lettuce: Very local
• Spinach: Very local
• Cheese: Regional

These tasty burgers are incredibly easy to make. Pick up some good ground beef (or buffalo), preferably from a local farm and from pasture-raised animals.

Mix the ground beef with some diced garlic and onion. Maybe some Worcestershire sauce as well (but make sure it’s natural before you do).

Grill the patties to your preferred taste, and top with sauteed vegetables, like mushroom and onion.

You don’t necessarily need buns. Quality bread works just as well; I usually buy mine from a shop called Breadsmith.

Breaking out of a food rut without breaking the bank does not need to be challenging. Last night, breaking out of my food rut was as simple as swapping buffalo for ground beef.

That’s right—buffalo! An animal that many younger folks (like myself) have only encountered while playing The Oregon Trail.  Buffalo meat is considered to be healthier than what we get from cows (even pasture-raised cows), and buffalo can be a bit more expensive (as well as hard to find).

Last night, buffalo burgers were on the menu; and they were a fantastic distraction from ground beef. So good, in fact, that buffalo burgers may permanently replace ground beef burgers im my recipes.

Ingredients I used:

• Ground buffalo meat.
• Red onion (organic).
• Mushroom (organic, fresh).
• Garlic (organic).
• Worcestershire sauce (all-natural).
• Muenster cheese (organic).
• White cheddar cheese (organic).

Preparation

• Thaw the ground buffalo and mix with diced red onion and diced garlic clove. You do not need much onion/garlic for this.
• Mix in one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.
• Form the buffalo mixture into burger patties and begin grilling.
• Slice some more red onion and mushroom, grill over a little bit of olive oil with a dash of brown sugar.
• When buffalo burgers are nearly done, add small slices of muenster and cheddar cheese to top.
• Lightly toast the buns.
• Put it all together.

Oh my, that looks good.