a few things...

William finished art camp yesterday with a gallery showing of his art work. He had a great time and now I have some fun art to hang in the sun room. He also did art work at VBS but I've decided against hanging the edible goldfish glued on a page of construction paper with cake icing. Gotta remember to get rid of that one during naptime today. Just don't tell on me....

Here's a recipe worth passing along. My friend Anderson tore it out of her Real Simple magazine and sent it to me because she knows how much I love feta cheese. I buy it in the huginormous block at Sam's and then scramble to find recipes for it before it goes bad (which it never does). This was a wonderful lite summer meal and I say the more feta you add to the salad, the better.

Spiced Mini Burgers with Couscous Salad

1 10-ounce box couscous
1 pound ground beef
Kosher salt and pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 scallions, trimmed and sliced
4 Roma (plum) tomatoes, quartered
1 seedless cucumber, sliced into half-moons
3 tablespoons tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 8-ounce container hummus (optional) (note: I say this shouldn't be optional because it made the meal!)

Place the couscous in a medium bowl and pour 1 1/2 cups hot tap water over the top. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork. (or just follow the directions on the box).

Form the beef into 12 small 1/2-inch-thick patties. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the cumin, and oregano. (note: I took Anderson's advice and added the spices into the beef before forming patties, then sprinkled some more on each side before cooking).

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the patties and cook to desired doneness, 4 minutes per side for medium.

Combine the couscous, scallions, tomatoes, cucumber, lemon juice, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the remaining oil in a large bowl. (I then added feta...lots and lots of feta!)

Divide among individual plates. Serve with the burgers and hummus, if desired.

Yield: Makes 4 servings


~ One more thing ~ say a little prayer for our littlest guy. He has a staph infection on his leg and has been running fever the past couple of days. He's on heavy antibiotics and it's all just making him miserable.