Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Spinach Burger and the Swallowtail


In my post Mushroom Stew and New Beginings I had mentioned that we had found a pupa on my curry leaves plant.

When we returned from church yesterday here's what we found.....
an empty shell.....

......and the most gorgeous Common Mormon Swallowtail in the nesting box. (Note the corners of the wings had not yet stretched out.)

We were held spell-bound as we watched this beauty stretch out and get its footing.

Amazing how a butterfly naturally takes to a flower!

The more we watched it Joel couldn't bear the thought of parting with it. I finally convinced him that a butterfly was meant to fly free. I remember an old adage-"If you love someone, set him free....."
All stretched out and ready for take off.....

Spinach Burgers
I have been working out many options for my son who is a picky eater. Recently he was fixated on cheese sandwhiches for his snack box. When I asked him if he would take a cutlet, he said "Put a cutlet and a cheese slice and bread on the top" I was happy to hear that! The next time I plan to add some coleslaw to it. Let's see how it goes.

Ingredients-
2tbs spinach puree
3 potatoes
1large onion
5 flakes of garlic
1tsp ginger paste
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup wholemeal breadcrumbs
1/2cup chopped fresh mint
1/2tsp garam masala
1/2tsp chilli powder
freshly ground pepper
salt to taste
Preparation-
  • Boil potatoes, when cool to handle peel and mash.
  • Mince onion and garlic and saute.
  • Combine all the ingredients well.
  • Roll into burger sized patties, flatten, and roll in bread crumbs.
  • Fry till crisp
  • Slice a wholemeal burger bun in the middle, place a spinach cutlet, top with cheese slice.
  • Cover with the top of the bun
  • Serve hot.

17 comments:

  1. Wow, look at those gorgeous butterfly, am sure it must have brought so much happiness to your house. Now, this is what I call healthy way of eating burger, I've bookmarked this to my favorite.

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  2. This is brilliant! I love it. Will use it for my meatless challenge.

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  3. Awesome story and great recipe. Thanks for sharing both!!

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  4. Hey Shirley, thks for sharing this interesting post!
    Found your post @ FoodBuzz & realized we share the same name! Luxury Indulgence

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  5. This is genius! What a great way to sneak some spinach into him.

    So cool about the butterfly. My mom is a preschool teacher and always does a unit with her kids where they buy tons of caterpillars and watch them turn into butterflies, then they let them free. It's great.

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  6. That's a really great and healthy burger. A really great option. That swallowtail is awesome. Is it my turn now to be set free?

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  7. Now this looks like a great way to get the "kids" to eat their vegetables. Actually, I have always enjoyed nature burgers and such from several mixes found at Whole Foods, but this spinach variety may just trump them all!

    Regards,
    CCR
    =:~)

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  8. wow, I never have seen this or would have thought of this but it looks great!

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  9. Hi Shirley!
    Thanks so much for coming by to visit my blog and signing up. I happily have signed up to follow you as well. So far it looks really interesting! I look forward to reading more. :)

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  10. Loved this post on the Flutterby. Did you know that Butterfly was originally called Flutterby!!!!!!

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  11. Shirley, what a yummie hamburger...like the idea of using spinach, looks absolutely fantastic!
    And the butterfly is gorgeous, thank you for sharing the pictures, really enjoyed it!

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  12. Thank you so much! Am glad all of you loved the burger. All thanks to Joel for the inspiration.

    Joanne- That is a cool way to teach kids the butterfly life cycle! Am sure they love it.

    Sybli- Flutterby ha? So cute!!

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  13. Oooo... Shirley, this is an awesome burger! Oh wow, never came across this kind of vegetarian burger! Well done.

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  14. wow what a healthy burger...tahnks shirley

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  15. This is a wonderful idea. I have been cooking with spinach a lot and keep looking for new ideas. Since, we have cut back on meat, this is a marvelous idea to sub for the beef burger.

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