If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know I tend to be somewhat of a purist when it comes to food. In general, I just find that it is worth the effort needed to prepare and combine the best and the freshest ingredients to make great food.

That being said, when the weather starts to warm up, I must admit, I tend to relax my standards and take more shortcuts so I have more time to enjoy the kids being home, the sun, the garden, life.

Now, this doesn’t always come easily to me, this serving of prepared &/or packaged food, in these cases my daughter led the way. She has become quite a composer in the kitchen and I love watching her creations transpire. These are actually her culinary notions, but I’d say they are keepers.

Should we start with dessert first?

The other day my “little one” and her friend decided to make jello and they came up with the most beautiful dish of jiggles.

I think this would be a perfect presentation for the last day of school, a birthday or any day.

They made a tray of lime jello, and a tray of blue raspberry jello. They used a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out the hearts in the blue jello {don’t they look like giant sapphires??} and placed them on top of the lime jello.

Limey, true~blue and lovey~dovey, a fun and frivolous dish any kid would love.

Okay, now that we’ve had dessert, let’s move onto the burgers. I LOVE a great burger. I don’t splurge on them very often, so when I do I really want it to be good. One of my most memorable burgers was served a restaurant called Pendleton’s in Washington, D.C. I worked on the hill for a few years after college and Pendleton’s was a favorite stop on Friday nights. They played great “beach music” {Motown}, there was plenty of swing dancing and the best burgers in town. This burger was layered with deliciousness, but more importantly the actual burger was wonderfully flavorful, tender and tasty.

When I make burgers at home, I always have that Pendelton burger in mind. I always add an egg to the ground beef, because I think it makes the burger fluffier and more tender. Then I add random amounts of chopped garlic, onions, A-1 steak sauce &/or Worcestershire Sauce, maybe some salt and pepper. I’ve come up with some good versions, and some better versions, but it never tastes quite like that burger I remember from those humid, Congressional evenings.

So, I tried it. The first time, I followed the recommended proportions and added one quarter of an ounce of mix to a pound of ground beef plus a 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. “Not enough” my daughter and I agreed.

Tonight, I poured in the full packet, 1 ounce of mix to a pound of beef, I also mixed in a raw egg. And, bingo, it was the delicious taste I remember {though I may add more Ranch mix next time}. I don’t know if Pendelton’s is still alive, but I do believe we’ve discovered the secret to their memorable burgers.

Hope you have a chance to try this on a warm summer evening soon… and let the beach music rip!!