Burger for One

Burgers are so tasty and versatile. You can top them with anything or nothing and they will probably be great. If you want a unique burger, go try out Zombie Burger in Des Moines. It's very popular and for a good reason. They have great service and crazy, fun food. However if you like a lively atmosphere, forget it;) My favorite is the Undead Elvis which includes...are you ready?...cheese, fried egg, bacon, peanut butter, fried bananas, and mayo. Oh goodness. It's just so good! I was leary at first too but everything really goes together perfectly on it. I do get it without the mayo to avoid the chemical, preservative heavy part. 

Today though, I just picked what I had in the fridge to top mine. I'm moving Monday and trying to clean out the fridge so I have less to transport.  

Luke 11 gives a dialogue between Jesus and the disciples about prayer. Jesus gives them a structure for how to pray and then talks about being persistent in it. 

The opportunity to talk to God is a huge blessing that I don't take advantage of enough. Persistent, eternal focused prayer is what I want to make a consistent practice.

My enemy the mandolin.

So, I really wanted to have an entry yesterday and thought "oh, I have lots of carrots and I've seen people make carrot chips. Can't be too hard to make, I'll do that". Right, so carrot chips are not simple.

My first snag was cutting my thumb. I love and hate my mandolin. It comes with this guard/holder thing. It's meant to be used but I wanted to cut the carrots in a way that the guard would make harder, so I went without. I cut my knuckle on it about a month ago so I knew I needed to be careful. No matter how careful I aim to be, I just can't win. No blood on the mandolin though!

 My second struggle was to get them the same thickness which gave me half burnt, half chewy carrot strips. So after 2 tries, I gave up. Maybe I'll try again later, they aren't supposed to be this hard to make.

         

You just can't fail with burgers! Ground angus beef from my best friend/roommate's parents makes them even better.

Roasted vegetables are just wonderful!

I love cheese and used both Munster and white cheddar on this guy. You taste the pepper and tomato first and the cheese last. I was happy with it as a quickly composed lunch!

Burger and toppings:

Ground beef 

 one red pepper

small portion of a sweet onion

one small tomato

Cheese of choice

Hamburger bun

Preheat oven to 400°. Slice and seed the pepper. Lightly coat with olive oil and place skin up. Slice the tomato (I used roma) and place on the same sheet tray with a little olive oil. Let roast for about 15 minutes.

Saute a bit of sliced onion in a skillet with a touch of oil. Remove from pan when soft and a little brown. Use the same pan to cook the burger patty. I seasoned the patty with pepper and garlic powder. Take the roasted veggies out of the oven and slice a chunk of the pepper for your burger. Toast the bun under the broiler for 3+ minutes. Keep an eye on it as it will toast quickly.

Build your burger with all your ingredients and cheese choice. Enjoy!

Coffee Love 3 Ways - Cold Brew (plus creamer)

And finally, iced coffee. It's getting more and more summer-like outside here in Iowa. Warm, humid, and stormy. This should be a refreshing morning or afternoon beverage for you as I've also included a coconut-almond creamer recipe! 

I'm in the middle of reading about King Jehosaphat. He followed God as his father did but for some reason, teamed up with King Ahab to secure continued success. Ahab became a poor influence as he didn't worship God. Jehosaphat listens to rebuke from Jehu later and depends on God for success again. As I look ahead, it seems that Jeho (surely his friends shortened his name, right?), was easily influenced by the people around him. 

I have wonderful people in my life, but I do have to be careful to keep God's truth as my standard and not popular opinion.

Coarse, medium roast grounds!

Cold brew is really simple but you have to be patient and let it steep long enough. I ground up about 10+ Tablespoons of coffee and put them in a large tupperware container.

Wet all grounds with cold water. About 8 cups of water in there. Put the lid on and let it steep overnight or around 8 hours. 

My messy workstation. 

Now to strain the grounds out. I use a metal strainer thing...clearly I don't know what it's called. My strainer is good but doesn't keep everything back which is why I grind larger, coarse grounds. It's a messy job. If you keep a clean counter while pouring this, kudos to you! 

Store in a pitcher or jar and refrigerate.

Now for the bonus creamer, because I don't know many coffee drinkers who drink straight iced coffee. Even those of us who only take their mug black seem to like a little milk or cream in their iced coffee.  

                                             

                            

Four ingredients. That's all. 

Measure, blend, and pour.

Mason jars make for such cute storage!

Keep in the fridge and shake before using. 

Coconut-Almond Creamer:

1 cup coconut cream

1 cup almond milk 

(I used unsweetened but you can use sweetened or vanilla)

1.5 teaspoons almond extract

2 tiny scoops of stevia extract

Blend all ingredients in a blender or processor. These measurements did fill up my jar in the picture above with a little extra! You can change it up as you like. Might want to make it lighter with coconut milk rather than cream. You can add some cocoa powder for an Almond Joy style creamer! 

Farmer's Market Salad

Am I a morning person? Yes, or at least I've become one. I don't sleep in on Saturdays because I love the Downtown Des Moines Farmer's Market. The morning is such a pleasant time because it's fresh and cool outside. I love the community of a farmer's market and seeing what each vendor has to offer. Everyone is friendly and the dogs are so cute! I usually have a small grocery list in mind when I go but I have to be flexible according to what is in season. There have been plenty of greens lately so I grabbed a bag from Cleverly Farms. They are so pretty, I knew they could only be used in a salad!

Colossians 3:8-9

"But now you must also put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices."

Here is more to put off...yay. It gets daunting to think about all the things I'm supposed to put off, but I have to remember that I can rely on the Holy Spirit. God's grace and forgiveness are endless so I'm not without hope. 

Before I can worry about my words though, I have to make sure my thoughts can't be described by these terms.

I was having some close-up camera issues. Sorry for the lack of focus here.

But, you can still see the beautiful colors of the lettuces. I love salad with color. I'm never impressed with a restaurant whose salads are simply romaine or even worse, iceberg only.  Blah. Dark greens = more nutrients!

I often try to whip up a good dressing to avoid the additives of store bought dressings but I'm not as successful as I'd like. I'm a big fan of this one! A simple, clean honey mustard dressing. 

Field greens, shredded carrot, and sugar snap peas and the salad is complete.

Quick and tasty. Served with salmon and fresh strawberries and peaches (also from the farmers market). I'll have to include the salmon recipe another time. It was new to me so I had to test it out first. I was happy with it.

Salad and Dressing:

lettuce(s) of choice 

one carrot shredded

one cup of sugar snap peas (ends removed)

3 Tablespoons natural dijon mustard (check ingredients)

2 Tablespoons honey

1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Mix dressing ingredients well in a bowl. May need to adjust measurements depending on how many you are serving. Taste as you go so you can adjust your ratios.

Celebrate your healthy eating choice!

Coffee Love 3 Ways - French Press

I think it's funny that my blog title, the percolator, is not actually one of the ways I make coffee. I know some who still use that method, I've just never tried it, nor do I have the old-fashioned coffee making machine. I think of it as a general term for all coffee brewing systems. There are many and every coffee brewer has their favorite. Hopefully, I've caught someone's interest by featuring their favorite brew method today, the french press.

As I take my precious time reading through the Bible in a year, I read smaller portions of the New Testament along with my Old Testament reading. Which makes sense. Do you remember how many books are in the Old Testament and New Testament? Yes, 39 and 27. So I've read Genesis-2 Chronicles, Job-Song of Solomon, and Matthew-Luke.

Luke 8 includes the parable of the sower which represents the Gospel being spread and how people respond to it differently. There is no way for me to know how others will respond to hearing God's word. I'm pretty wimpy when it comes talking about Christ. I have to trust God to use His word and not avoid bringing Him into my conversations. I'm super grateful God turned me into good ground to accept the Gospel!

French Press.

This method is not for those who can't take strong coffee. I have yet to make a weak french press. I've (sadly) had a weak pourover and weak auto drip, but never a tea-like press. This is simply because of the way the french press works. 

I start with a coarse ground coffee because I don't want the coffee sediment (or sludge-like grounds) to pour into my mug. Larger grounds are easier for the filter to hold back. 

Some presses have a measuring line on the glass which is super handy! I have one without (shown in pics) but my best friend has one with so I like to use hers for accuracy. Yay for being roommates with your best friend! 

If you're making it without the measurements, you can measure in a similar way to making it in your auto coffee pot. I like it strong so I go with one tablespoon per cup. Yep, one per cup:)

I let my water boil and pour it over right away.

Love the crema up top!

Make sure all the grounds are wet and then let it steep for 3-5 minutes, depending on how strong you prefer it. 

Also, I like to clarify the difference between strong and bold. This is a pet peeve of mine so bear with me. 

The strength of your coffee has nothing to do with the roast! You can make the weakest coffee on the planet with a dark roast. The strength comes with your water to coffee ratio. More coffee grounds = stronger coffee. 

Now, bold coffee flavor can come with a dark roast. Darker roasts have a bold flavor but you are tasting the roast more than the bean. If you have a light roast, you are tasting the bean more. I love a medium or med/light because I want both worlds in my cup:)

Make sense? Just trying to guide you as you taste and shop for coffee so you can be an educated coffee drinker.

Stepping off soapbox...

Once the grounds have steeped long enough, slowly press the filter down and pour into your mug of choice! Yep, I even provided visuals for this part!

Love this mug!

Still munching on my granola muffins!

Beware, the beverage you are about to enjoy is very hot!

Coffee Love 3 Ways - Pour Over

Coffee and I have a great relationship. We meet every morning, some afternoons, even catch an evening or two. I brew it with my Mr. Coffee auto-drip faithfully through the school year but now I have time to make it however I feel like. I will take three different entries to explain them. Thought about doing it all in one but not everyone would be glued to the screen I as I am when I see a coffee entry.

 I love having a quiet, sunny apartment in the mornings to read. I have my breakfast and then finish my coffee as I read. Today was 2 Chronicles 15 and 16. Asa is King of Judah in these chapters. He listened to the prophet Azariah and followed God and led his people to as well but tearing down idols and renovating the alter for the Lord. They committed to seek God with all their heart and mind. They had peace because of that choice. They enjoyed it for 35 years until Asa became proud and didn't depend on God in a time of war. 

I wonder if he became too comfortable with his peaceful nation and didn't see a need to depend on God. Then he was too proud to confess and repent which cost him his health and life just a few years later. 

I hate my own pride and how silly it is. It can be so difficult to own up to my mistakes and accept correction. Relationships would be much simpler and more peaceful if we were quick to show humility and forgiveness.

I'm picky about getting good coffee. I'm not talking about Starbucks or Caribou. Those have been roasted about a month before I get to buy them. I want the fresh stuff! Small batches. Local roasters. That's where the good stuff is!

There really aren't very many places in Des Moines to get it which is sad. I get mine from Corazon Coffee Roasters in Valley Junction. Scott is the owner and roaster. He does a great job and gets a good variety of organic, fair-trade, single origin beans. He is also great to chat with when you stop in his shop.

Grinding coffee comes first. I buy whole bean for a couple of reasons. The coffee is always better if it comes from a fresh grind. I also grind it differently depending on how I'm going to brew it.

I'll start with the pour-over method. This process allows you to really taste the flavor of the bean. It needs to have a fine ground coffee. Not as fine as espresso but smaller than an auto drip grind. This is because the water will filter through fairly quickly and the finer the grounds are, the stronger the coffee will be. 

This is my Hario pour-over. Many people use the popular Chemex which is a great option. I was given this one and I love it. I put in about 3 tablespoons of coffee and slowly pour boiling water in a circular motion to wet all the grounds. The coffee passes though a cheesecloth and into the base of the Hario.

My beautifully coffee-stained Hario.

Love watching the crema and bubbles. 

I pour the water over 3-4 times. Just depends on how much coffee you are wanting to make. If I'm having a group of friends over, I don't go this route because this little guy only makes about 2 mugs. 

This is really a simple method once you learn it and gives you such a nice flavor from your coffee! I love a medium or medium/light roast. Ethiopian Sidamo is my top choice from Corazon. Scott had a wonderful Ecuadorian bean for a few weeks. I'll miss that one. 

Thanks for reading! If you want a taste, come on over sometime and I'll brew a pour-over for you:)

Coconut Curry Chicken Stir-Fry

I haven't always been a fan of curry or coconut but I guess in my aging my taste buds have grown up too. It's been a good change. I love twice the veggies I did in high school, which opens up so many more dishes for me to love and cook!

I continued reading in 2 Chronicles today about King Rehoboam and his reign following his father, Solomon. Right away I noticed that Rehoboam didn't learn from his father very well. Wisdom was lacking. Israel had requested that he lighten up on the demanding workload Solomon had given them. Rehoboam asked a few elders and a few friends he had grown up with what he should do. The elders said to show mercy and his friends said the opposite. He was smart to get different opinions but he chose to listen to his friends and show no mercy. This caused Israel to rebel and divide. 

Even when we don't want to, it usually makes sense to listen to those with more life experience. Older believers have gone through more and tend to be more mature than the young. I am grateful I have fellow believers to go to for wisdom who know more than I. 

Oh, there is good stuff in there. Sugar snap peas, red pepper, and broccoli. Healthy, crunchy goodness. 

Stir-fry is an easy option for a fast supper and a great way to get a serving or two of veggies. I don't often use recipes for stir fry unless I need guidance on the sauce. I made this one up with inspiration from http://sweetcsdesigns.com/one-pot-paleo-chicken-curry-stir-fry/

This gal has a really nice blog and is great to follow on Pinterest! 

The coconut idea was also from Pinterest browsing. I wanted to try out coconut cream. I'd used coconut milk before and figured this would as well. 

I'm so glad I learned to like coconut. It's a good fat that your body can process better than vegetable oil or canola oil. It is a great option for cooking at high temperatures because it is a medium-chain fatty acid (longer chains take more energy to break down). Vegetable oils turn rancid at above-medium heat which is a decomposition of fat and makes it hazardous to the body. There are many helpful facts about oils and sugar from Maximized Living. It's a super informative book that will clue you in to what you are really eating.

Anyway, here is the beautiful coconut cream. It's thick and rich just like the can says! Crazy! I was licking it off my fingers...which is why I don't cook for crowds:) 

I used one whole chicken breast and seasoned it before cooking. I also don't like to overcook my veggies. They should still be green when done and be slightly tender. This keeps the flavor and nutrients. You can modify what you add and how much of which spices. Make it spicy if you like, try it with red curry...whatever suits you!

Makeshift Recipe:

1 whole chicken breast

one head of broccoli

2 cups sugar snap peas (remove ends)

one red pepper (or other color)

2 Tablespoons coconut oil

1/4 cup coconut cream

curry

turmeric

paprika

ginger

Cut chicken into cubes and season with mixture of spices according to taste (more curry than the others). Heat one tablespoon of coconut oil in a skillet and cook chicken. Don't cook chicken completely as it will cook further once the veggies are added. Remove chicken and add another tablespoon of coconut oil. Saute vegetables for a couple of minutes or until they turn a deep green. Add the chicken back to the pan and scoop in the coconut cream. Keep the skillet at a medium/low heat to keep from scorching the cream. Add more spices as needed. If you need a starch, serve with rice or a better grain would be quinoa!

Cucumber Limeade

Hello, most refreshing, cool, tart, healthy, summer beverage. 

This is most likely my favorite coffeeless, summer drink. I was first introduced to it at New World Cafe in downtown Des Moines. New World is a vegan cafe that is only about 2 years old. I'm not vegan but I do love this place. They have an amazing 

A(vocado) L(ettuce) T(omato) sandwich with a mushroom patty and homemade mustard.

And their cucumber limeade is made just for you, nothing premade! It's ridiculously fresh. Go check it out. You can manage one meal without animal product, trust me.

now for the usual second paragraph insert of my Bible reading.

I am still working on memorizing Colossians 3. I'm up to verse 7! I'll add 5-7, as a previous post has verses 1-4. 

"Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God comes on the disobedient, and you once walked in these things when you were living in them." 

There are more things from our worldly nature listed later that we are also to put off. 

This is a constant job and fairly frustrating to work on. Putting to death the old man or worldly nature is not possible without the Holy Spirit, but thankfully He is faithful to help us. He wants to see us shove these things off and put on the attributes that are like His. 

Sorry if the Bible reading seems random. It's mostly for my own accountability. Hopefully I find ways to make it flow a little better with the rest of the post. But I refuse to do cheesy, fake transitions, so there it is:)

The more yellow and light green, the more juice!

My glass has now been long empty. I polish it off fast and write slow...

I figured this couldn't be too hard to replicate so I kinda guessed on the process. I looked up other recipes on Pinterest to see how many limes and cucumbers to use and went from there. 

Like my Iowa towel backdrop!? colors were great!

For this tall glass, I used one good size cucumber and 1 1/2 limes. I had one good lime and one difficult guy so juicing took a while. I pureed them with about a 1/2 cup of water and a tiny scoop of Stevia extract to cut some of the sourness.

Any suggestions for how to recycle lime-flavored cucumber pulp?

This part takes some patience. Straining the mush and waiting for all the good juice to come through is a bit slow. A cheesecloth would work well but I don't have one so a metal strainer did the job. 
And that's it other than clean up. Yes, I did clean up my counter Mom!
Plop in an ice cube and enjoy:)

   Recipe:

1 peeled cucumber

juice of 1-2 limes

1/2 cup water

add sweetener of choice according to taste

Peel the cucumber and cut it small enough to blend well in a blender or food processor. 

(I use a Ninja) juice the limes and add it to the processor. Pour in a 1/2 cup of water and blend until smooth. Pour into a strainer and strain juice into a glass or pitcher. Add honey, stevia, or even sugar to cut back some of the sourness. 

Granola Muffins!

Breakfast if my favorite meal. Its the best part of the day. I get to wake up and eat. What more could a girl want?! ok, so I can think of a few things, a puppy to cuddle, beach front views, a rich husband... I'll have to be content with food and coffee for now.

I also do my Bible reading in the morning with my coffee and breakfast. I'm still working through the Bible in a year. I'm behind of course but still working on it. I have been reading from 2 Chronicles and it includes a record of Solomon and his work to build the temple. He was wise and rich. God granted his request for wisdom when Solomon could have asked for riches or great power. Through receiving this great wisdom, he did receive massive wealth and had great power. 

You probably know the sad end of his story. He lost focus. He turned to pleasure because he saw his earthly life as empty, knowing it would all pass away. His wealth wouldn't follow him in death and possessions won't follow me either. I see that as a positive; my lack of wealth will be left behind! 

My focus ought to be on the eternal and using my time and possessions to glorify God. I don't want to waste my time here. 

So the food. 

I have made these granola bars multiple times and I love them!  They are healthy and easy to make. I have changed the recipe enough that I consider them my own. There are loads of granola bar recipes floating out in the food blog world so if you don't like these keep looking, there is a recipe for you.

Yes, I had to have one with a latte once they came out of the oven. I got to have breakfast twice today!

All the ingredients fit in one bowl, which I love. Less mess.

Showing a little love for Trader Joe's as about half of these items are from there. The original recipe calls for ground flax but I didn't have any so I went with chia seeds. They add your fiber and omega-3! 

Oats, rice crispies, and coconut flakes. sorry for the false advertising, but there are 2 1/2 cups of oats. this just looked pretty.

All the dry ingredients together. There are different add-ins that you can choose from to suit your taste. I choose almonds, pecans and dark chocolate chips for this batch because it's what I had on hand. I love throwing in dried fruits because they add a flavor contrast. 

Now the wet stuff, or glue, of the granola bar. Honey, natural peanut butter, vanilla, and an egg. Sweetness and protein! wonderful stuff

This is where I did things a little differently than normal and I love the change.

I would normally put them in a 9x9 pan and bake them for 18-20 min. They are nice and thick that way but tend to fall apart and you'll end up using a fork.

This way allowed me to make a few more as I usually only get 9 bars. These brown all around and are much easier to hold on to. I'd still advise a place to catch the crumbles. 

If only I was Mary Poppins. I'd jump in the picture and have breakfast here.

and there you have it, granola muffins!

Recipe:

2 1/2 cups quick rolled oats

1/2 cup Rice Krispies

1/4 cup coconut (shredded or flakes)

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped nuts of choice

1 Tablespoon chia seeds

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly coat muffin tin with oil (I use coconut). In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix until well combined. Fill muffin tin and press down. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool in tin to hold shape.

Have fun with your own substitutes!