Whole lot of random

I saw someone eating a banana a few days ago, which, while may not seem like anything significant, in this case, to me at least, had something in it that was unusual enough to worth noting. Sorry for the messy sentence, but hey, nothing like twisting words on a Sunday afternoon. Anyway, this dude removed the entire banana from the peel, proceeded to throw the whole peel away, and then hold the naked fruit in his hand and eat it. Who the hell does that? Have we forgotten that the peel of a banana is the natural "wrapper" of this fruit, the only barrier preventing the plight of sticky fingers? Le sigh. People be weird.

I start off random, so let me continue on the random train and tell you what's been going on...at least here, on this site. As I'm sure you've noticed, I haven't posted much lately, mostly because I haven't had much time or inspiration to cook or bake in the past few weeks. Hey, there are other cryptic and vague reasons behind my torpor, I'm sure, but let's leave it at that for now. I'm not on a kitchen hiatus or anything - I have been in the kitchen, but it's mostly been to make a lot of the classics that have appeared on this blog before. Some peanut rice milk boiled away on the stove this morning, another batch of kimchi went into the jar (this time with some dried shrimps instead of some squid), some pickling happened somewhere. For sure, been eating a lot of sandwiches, lots of noodles, so on and so forth, but these things and none of the other aforementioned things seem particularly worth reiterating...well, maybe the pickling event, but we'll have to first wait and see how those turn out in a week or so. Moving on though, while I have made some new things that I hope to post about in the future, and while I do have some ideas rolling around in my head for other things to try, well, all these recipes and ideas are just are not ready to see the light of the internet. 

Soon, though, oh patients readers, soon (excuses, excuses, you say). 

Here's a recipe that I know works, so I'll leave you with this today before I head off to work. It may seem a little random, but no fear, this "burger" is delicious and different. The seafood (salmon and shrimp) burger is salty, savory, and full of basil-flavor, and the whole thing sits inside a crispy little pocket. As a condiment, the pepper relish brings the nice contrast of sweet and tart, but if you don't feel like making a whole pepper relish, a sweet or spicy mustard will do just fine. On top of all that, these are super easy to prepare. Just assemble and bake! Catch ya later, folks.

Wrapped Salmon and Shrimp Pesto Burgers

makes 4 medium burgers

1 large salmon fillet, skin removed and cut into chunks

1 C peeled shrimp, roughly chopped

3/4 C pesto, might I recommend the Pistachio-Walnut Herb Pesto

1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes

salt and pepper

12 spring roll wrappers

1 tablespoon melted butter

**Serve with Sweet Pepper Relish

In a food processor, pulse the salmon and shrimp together until both are roughly combined and you have something akin to "ground" meat in texture. Place the ground salmon/shrimp into a medium bowl and salt and pepper to taste. You'll have to adjust your salt depending on the saltiness of your pesto choice. Finally, mix in the pesto, or pistachio-walnut herb pesto, and red chili flakes until all is completely incorporated. Place in the fridge and let cool for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

When ready to bake, divide this salmon/shrimp mixture into four equal parts and roll each part into a ball, then press each ball down lightly to form a thick patty. Place each patty onto a spring roll wrapper and wrap the whole thing up. Then flip the wrapped patty upside down, placing it seam side up onto another spring roll wrapper, and rap it all up again. Repeat this process one more time - essentially, you will need to use a total of 3 spring roll wrappers per patty to give the burger some structure, and also to keep the pesto trapped inside and now all soaking through the wrapper.

Place the wrapped patties seam side down on a baking sheet (or on piece of parchment paper). Brush the tops of each patty with melted butter (optional). Bake the patties 25 minutes, flipping halfway through so that you get browning on both sides. After the time is up, remove and let cool, then serve with a side of Sweet Pepper Relish.