Salmon Burgers With Avocado Yogurt Sauce, Yogurt Banana Blueberry Bread, and Field Trips

On the plate:  Salmon burgers with avocado yogurt sauce and yogurt banana blueberry bread

Soundtrack to cook to:  Ben Folds Five album titled Ben Folds Five.  *sigh*  Every time I hear this album, it takes me back to the summer of 2001 - that was an awesome summer filled with waiting on tables at a family restaurant, taking summer classes (due to necessity - I dug myself into a HUGE hole my freshman year and spent the remaining years of my college career digging myself out), hanging out at the Waterfront apartments, Rossville, Laporte, and other various places around Indiana.  A perfect summer soundtrack!  Plus, Joseph and I are huge Ben Folds fans and this was my first album that I ever got.

I absolutely love the summer and have totally enjoyed getting out of the house and taking Alexander on little field trips.  We have had a lot of fun over the past few weeks seeing what the Boston area has to offer.

We went out to dinner at a local restaurant and Alexander
insisted on wearing his sunglasses to the restaurant
and wore them during the meal.  He's just cool like that. 

On top of that, I've been totally into summer food.  Light and tangy dishes full of fresh vegetables and yummy treats filled with fruits are things that I've been craving lately.  I came across this recipe recently and it sounded pretty delicious - plus, we had just gotten a huge piece of salmon and I needed to do something with it. :)

Cut up half of a red pepper and slice up an avocado

Mash the avocado with a potato masher.  Then mix in 1/4 cup sour cream
and 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (I used this instead of mayonnaise), vinegar,
milk, and salt and pepper.  Mix them together well and refrigerate.

Grind the red pepper and salmon in a food processor until the pieces
are coarsely chopped.  Then, put the mixture into a bowl and combine
with bread crumbs, salt and pepper, and an egg.
*If I were to do this over again, I would have put some onion,
sliced green onion, and maybe a little jalapeno.  I feel like it needed
a little bit more flavor in the burger.

Form the salmon mixture into patties and cook them in a pan
for 3-4 minutes on each side.

I loved the nice and crusty texture from cooking the patties on
a hot pan.

Finished product!  I served this alongside some green beans and couscous.
I tried to do the low calorie version and not eat it as a burger, which was a mistake.
When I heated up the leftovers the next day, I definitely ate it as a burger.
For some silly reason, it really tasted better between two pieces of bread.

 I loved the idea of making the salmon burger, but even when topped with
the sauce, it still needed a little something.  My suggestion is to possibly
top the burger with some pickled red onions or pickled jalapenos.
I feel like it needed a little bit more acid and a strong flavor as well
to jazz up what was somewhat of a bland burger.

I needed to walk Oscar one afternoon and Alexander absolutely

did not want to come.  Thus, I bribed him by allowing him to

splash around in the nearby puddles if he would come out with me.

It worked like a charm!

I was trying to make a quick breakfast treat for Joseph to grab on the run in the mornings, since he's in a new rotation, has to leave early in the mornings, and doesn't have time for a nice breakfast.  I fell upon this other recipe from pinterest that was pretty healthy, incorporated fruit, and had yogurt in it as well.

Incorporate the dry ingredients together with a whisk.

With a mixer, beat the bananas on high and then incorporate the
eggs and vanilla.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet and stir well.  Then, fold in
the blueberries delicately into the mixture, so as not to mash the
blueberries while stirring.

I had my little helper alongside me observing and handing me
various tools.  He loves to help in the kitchen. :)

Before baking...

...and after baking.  I love how the blueberries burst in the oven
and ooze their yummy juice out and all over the muffies.  This mix
makes 1 loaf pan or 12 muffies.
*These are not incredibly sweet muffies, but were still nice
accompanied with a good cup of coffee on the run.  They are
incredibly moist, so make sure that you put them in a sealed container
and refrigerate once they've cooled to room temperature.

Joseph has been on Q4 call (which means that he has to stay overnight at the hospital every 4th night).  The days that he is on call, he doesn't have to leave for work until 11 am, but then stays overnight at the hospital, and comes back home at around 11 am the following day.  Needless to say, we've been missing our quality Daddy time and take what we can get.  

I decided that I was going to take Alexander to Frog Pond in Boston Common to splash around.  Since Joseph had just gotten off call, he decided to surprise us and met us at Frog Pond to hang out for a little bit before he had to go to a lecture.

Joseph and Alexander enjoying lunch together at the Frog Pond Cafe.

It was a perfectly sunny day and wasn't too hot.

Alexander splashing around in Frog Pond.  He
absolutely loved running around in the water.

"Hi-ya!"

This picture cracks me up because it looks like
he's dancing and getting down with his bad self. :)

He was feeling adventurous enough to approach the fountain.

"Hooray water!!"

Our little smiley guy :)

Playing in Frog Pond

Splashing around :)

This little guy LOVES to sing all of the time.

After Frog Pond, we bid Joseph adieu, and this pregnant mama was craving a milkshake.  On the way home, Alexander and I stopped by Tasty Burger and got a small fry and mint chocolate chip milkshake (that we shared).  On this sunny day, it was the perfect treat that hit the spot! :)

Alexander, waiting patiently, for his fries and milkshake.

"Smiiiiii!"  (Alexander's version of "smile)

This little guy knows how to work his eyebrows...too funny.

"Like milkshake mommy?  Yes!!"  (That's
what Alexander has been doing for the past
few months is that he asks us if we like something
that he likes in order to encourage us to ask him so
that he can answer enthusiastically.)

He was really digging his milkshake.

Look at the absolute focus and concentration.

Our little field trips are starting to get much more fun, as Alexander can do so much more than he was able to do last year.  I took him to the Museum of Science and decided that I would take him to a little 3D movie about dinosaurs (whereas last year, I wouldn't have even considered it).  He absolutely LOVED it!!  It was so much fun to watch him be so enthusiastic about the movie - it's amazing what a difference a year makes.  He's progressed so much.  

Little man, posing with his 3D glasses that he insisted
on wearing even before the movie started.

Sipping some water and petting a bear - no big deal.  :)

Our little guy being silly.

We've been so fortunate this year to have been able to meet some great friends in our condo association that have children that are Alexander's age.  It's been a lot of fun meeting up at our local park and having our weekly playdates.  

Here's Arhan and Alexander, holding hands
as they were walking back from the park to our
respective homes.  Aren't they absolutely adorable?
Arhan's mother, Roshni, is in the background -
playdates are also a great time for mothers to chit chat
as well.  LOL!

That's all for now.  I'm sorry that it's been so long, but I'm working on catching up (yet again).  I've cooked lots of yummy things since this post and cannot wait to share them with y'all!  Until next time...

Love and kisses,

Nikki