A whiff of summer....

Hey MA,

I have put French lentils and artichokes on my grocery list and intend to make that salad tomorrow night. Sounds perfect!

Yeah, we still think about how cool it would be to come back to farmers' markets up and down the East Coast from Aug-Oct and have big bushels of New Mexican chiles roasting. I think we could create a cult following in no time! Strangely once you start eating them I find it very hard to stop. Last night, for example, I decided to make bean burgers. Pre-trip I would've just topped w/ the normal burger toppings, but last night I thawed one of our bags of frozen Big Jim green chiles, chopped them up and had a green chile black bean burger. And, as we did in New Mexico, we dined outside. It was the first time of the season to eat al fresca and we savored every minute. Hung a hummingbird feeder this week, too. Summer is in the air...

Here's my bean burger recipe, courtesy of Mark Bittman (with a few changes, of course!)

Bean Burgers

2 cups cooked black beans
1 medium onion
1 cup rolled oats
1 T chili powder (I used fennel last night)
1 egg
S&P

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until chunky. Try not to puree. If it's too wet, add more oats. If it's too dry add some olive oil. Let mixture sit for a about 10 minutes.

With wet hands shape into patties and let rest again. (Burger mixture or shaped burgers can be made up to a day ahead if kept in the fridge.)

In a large skillet add olive oil to coat the bottom. When hot, add patties. Cook undisturbed on medium for 5 minutes, turn carefully and cook on opposite side another 5 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings-ish (I had enough left over after making 4 burgers to make one giant one that Doug took in his lunch today).