Summer seems to be the perfect time to endulge in a little condiment action. With all those picnics and bbqs it seems that mustards, ketchups, salsas and relishes abound. A squirt here and a plop there. Once tomato season rears it’s head, I plan on trying my hand at a tomato ketchup and I’m definitely interested in trying out the deliciously simple english brown mustard posted at bread & honey.
Last week I grilled up some hamburgers for dinner and instead of slapping on some cheese or mayonnaise, I whipped up a super simple guacamole for our burgers. Just a mashed avocado, a generous squeeze of lime juice, chili powder, hot sauce and a bit of chipotle powder. Yum! Fresh delicious and way better than the $16 hamburgers we ate recently at a local restaurant.
For burgers, I like them simple. Not a lot of complex flavours or anything that is highly seasoned as I like to taste the meat. For the burgers, I just added some salt, pepper and dash of Worcestershire sauce. Using a spoon to mix about the meat (you don’t want to over mix), I then quickly formed them into patties and grilled them on the bbq. After toasting the buns, I added a big smear of the guacamole, along with diced onions, a tomato slice, and some mustard. It was burger perfection!
This past weekend, I went strawberry picking at a local u-pick farm. While the farm we went to wasn’t organic, they do use controlled pest management and only spray as a last resort. The berries were amazing and I managed to pick just over 17 pounds worth. When I got home with my haul, I wanted to make something immediately but didn’t want to have to turn on the oven since it was so hot outside. So I tried my hand at a strawberry salsa to top some cod that I would be barbecuing later on. I had some leftover slices of tomatoes and diced onions from the burgers the night before, so I added that into the salsa. It was pretty simple to whip up and it had that refreshing mix of sweet and hot flavours that I love. It was super fresh and the berries were super red and colourful.
strawberry salsa
1 c diced strawberries
1/2 diced tomato
1/2 diced red onion
1 finely diced jalapeno
juice & zest of 1 lime
a handful of fresh chives, chopped
a handful of fresh parsley & cilantro, chopped
salt & pepperCombine all ingredients in a small bowl. Toss lightly and serve over fish or chicken.
I wish I could go strawberry picking – it’s too rainy and cold here! :0( that salsa sounds divine.
I love fruity salsas. I’ve never thought to use strawberries. Your salsa sounds incredible. The perfect marriage between sweet and salty.
Your burgers look so good. What are you going to do with 17 pounds of berries?! I bought 3 pounds and am feeling a bit time constrained. I guess you freeze a bunch.
Where did you have a $16 burger? I went to Mr. Pickwick’s on Denman and they had a $28 fish and chips meal. TWENTY EIGHT DOLLARS.
I’ve made an awesome mango salsa to put on a burger before, but never considered strawberries! Thanks for the idea! It looks delicious.
Where do you go u-picking in Vancouver?
The burger looks delish!
too bad about your cold, rainy weather, veggiegirl!
lydia, i did freeze most of the berries. but we’ve been munching on the ones we didn’t freeze all week! $28 fish & chips? insane!!
thanks cookinpanda. it worked out rather nicely, i think!
kate, mango salsa is pretty awesome and i think this one comes pretty close!
punga, i went u-picking in richmond at http://www.emmaleafarms.com/
mm it all sounds AWESOME!!!
hey guess what? I’m going to a ‘pick it yourself’ farm tomorrow for strawberries…yum yum! I like the strawberry salsa you made it sounds very delicious. Guacamole is also one of my fav’s but since the cost of one avocado is about $1.20 – I can’t have guac as often as I would like.
I am very intrigued with your strawberry salsa…. I will have to give it a try.
I am so glad that the strawberry salsa was not on the guacamole hamburger! Both looked good… separately!!!
i just made this salsa with cod and it was sooo delicious! i love your site, thanks for all the yummy inspiration!
I’ve never tried a fruit salsa but this looks like a great one to start with!
thanks so much for posting–i had never thought of strawberry salsa before and this caught my eye b/c of my love for anything and everything made with berries. i also went to a u-pick farm recently for berries, which was fun.
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hag, give it a go!
thanks jenn!
bijoux, you are your expensive avocados! try chinatown for shopping…so much cheaper. enjoy the u-pick!
dynagrrl, yeah, i don’t think the strawberry salsa would go with the burger…but you never know! i’ll try anything once!
edgecakes, glad you liked it!
fibre, it’s a goody!
bellcurves, i hear you on the berries! enjoy 🙂
That salsa sounds great! A different condiment can really uplift an ordinary burger to something much better!