An Oregonian Discovery: Mushroom Burgers with Barley by Lukas Volger

ON THE MENU: Mushroom-barley veggie burger with thyme. Green salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and parsley. All accompanied with a glass of Charles Shaw red wine. Finished off with vanilla yogurt, topped with peaches, mangos, and almond granola.  

LOGISTICS: Jonathan, Ashley's dad, gave her the "food day" section of the Oregonian, point out an article which provided an alternative for the basic meat burger, and also spot-lighted a cook book called "Veggie Burgers Every Which Way", by Lukas Volger. This was especially interesting for us because Ashley and Ali's diets for the most part exclude meat. The recipe for one of Lukas Volger's burgers goes as follows:

1 medium yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 -inch pieces

1 fresh portabello mushroom

10 fresh shiitake mushrooms

12 fresh cremini mushrooms

3 tablespoons of olive oil (divided)

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 cup cooked barley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Find the full article here.

This recipe appeared on the front page of the June 29th FoodDay section. After test-driving the recipe we found some ways to fine tune it to make a better overall burger. First, we would have made the barley a day ahead of time, to cut the cooking time in half (the recipe suggests this as an option). FYI we cooked the barley in veggie broth (not water). Second, instead of mashing the potatoes by hand with a fork, we would have liked using a Kitchen Aide to make the potatoes more creamy, which probably would have held the burger together better (we had many mishaps with the burgers crumbling... be gentle with them, they're your friends).

When making these burgers, it was important to saute the portabello mushrooms first, because they take longer to cook. Lastly, our preparation and cooking times were much longer than expected. The finished product was accompanied by avocado, cheddar cheese, butter lettuce, tomato, onion, and stone-ground mustard. Yum! The burgers were so good, we will definitely be making them in the future!!

Yes, in this picture it shows 7 burgers; we suggest only making 5 burgers (to make a more hefty meal).

TABLE TALK:

- Our newly purchased Cosmo magazine, induced many interesting discussions and laughs.

- Ali's soccer game that interrupted her feasting.

- Adyn's near-death experience with Jonathan's car.

- Paella tomorrow!

- Ashley's exciting find at Seams to Fit, a designer consignment shop off 23rd (cute black dress, which she can finally check off of the Rush List for Alpha Phi!!)

- California Gurls by Katy Perry vs. New York City Gurls by YouTube user... (possible Oregon Gurls coming soon... San Fran road trip activity?)

Adyn is ALIVE and smiling :) 

(this is the correct way of spelling his name for any nay-sayers)