Turkey Burgers and a Marathon

I just finished a marathon...26 miles. Now, it took 4 days, but I'm finished!..Okay, the truth is Dan and I have been walking at Crown Hill. We had been doing six miles every night and today we did eight, which brought us to our marathon status. Someday I will run a real marathon, my goal has always been to do it before I turn 50. I have SEVERAL years before that happens, so the goal is absolutely attainable, it's just a matter of doing it. Now on to the turkey burgers. I had been obsessing about turkey burgers for about a week. Don't ask me why, it was just something that popped into my head one day and wouldn't leave until I made some. So, Friday after our 6 miles I made turkey burgers. I can't really give you a recipe for these particular turkey burgers because it was one of those throw this and this and this and voila it's a turkey burger. But, here's what I did.

I mixed ground turkey with diced fresh mushrooms. The mushroom will help to keep the turkey burgers a little moister. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, season salt, garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne. Cook them on the grill until they are done.

I sauteed yellow pepper and red pepper strips with sliced red onions until they were tender, then tossed in some balsamic vinegar.

Finally, I took some cabbage, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, salt, pepper and tossed it together in a bowl.

The picture is Dan's burger, to which he added some dijon, jalapenos and light mayo. They really were delicious.

It's all about the blueberry...

Life is so busy right now, but it's summer, so I'm happy to be on the move. I spent the week here in Colorado...Colorado Springs and Pueblo. I worked in Denver yesterday and last night Dan and I went to see "Rent" at the Buell Theater. It was very good. The guys who originated the roles on Broadway and also starred in the movie had returned to the touring production. This morning, I decided I needed to use up the blueberries that had been in my fridge all week. I personally love the combination of lemon and blueberries, so I toyed with the idea of some kind of lemon blueberry cookie, but I tend to not have a lot of luck with cookies here at a higher altitude. What I decided was to return to the old stand by...a cupcake. I mixed up some batter then after they were out of the oven went to walk with Dan at Crown Hill. (This way I have worked off the cupcake before I ever eat it.... )I think we did roughly 6 miles. As we walked I considered the idea of adding a citrusy syrup to the cupcakes...the recipe is what evolved after I got back home and finished up the cupcakes. They make me think of summer and I'm so happy it's here.

Lemon-Blueberry Cupcakes

1 stick butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

2 eggs

1/3 cup sour cream

juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter, sugar, lemon zest and eggs until light and fluffy. Add the sour cream and lemon juice. (Mixture may look curdled at this point, but will smooth out when you add the dry ingredients). Add the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in the blueberries.

Divide the batter into 12 paper lined muffin cups. Bake for 20-23 minutes. Let cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Brush tops of each cupcake with the following mixture;

2 Tablespoons Barcardi Limon

3 Tablespoons simple syrup

Let cool completely. Meanwhile make frosting.

Lemon Frosting

1 stick butter, softened

zest and juice of 1 lemon

3 cups confectioner's sugar

Beat all ingredients with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Frost cooled cupcakes and garnish with more fresh blueberries.