The Food Corner

by Paul Cormier, Salamanders of Kemptville

The origin of the Hamburger has been in dispute for quite some time. However, the name itself is probably an indication of its true origin. In the 19th century, minced beef and onion patties were served on a plate rather than bread, took their name from beef raised in the countryside around Hamburg and became Hamburger Steaks. Since they were often served with bread or as a sandwich, one can infer that placing the patty inside a bun was a natural evolution, particularly in the US. Meanwhile, of course, the Hamburger has become a staple dish all over the world. Now, you can surely get a ¼ inch by 4 inch piece of something that is called a Hamburger but tastes a lot like cardboard at certain fast food joints; or, you can have a real, honest to goodness HAMBURGER. This recipe is how our family treats the Classic Hamburger.

Classic Hamburg

Ingredients

2 pounds of medium ground beef (up to 25% fat) at room temperature

2 pounds of ground pork (it comes in at about 15% fat) at room temperature

½ cup of sweet onions, finely chopped

½ cup of steel ground oatmeal

2 eggs

¼ cup of your favourite sauce, e.g. Catsup, BBQ sauce, Korean BBQ marinade

3 tablespoons of crushed garlic

A couple of dashes each of Worcestershire and Tabasco Sauce

Preparation

·Spray a cookie sheet with Canola oil

·Thoroughly hand mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl

·Hand fashion thick patties of ¼ pound of the mixture and place on the cookie sheet

·Place your cookie sheet in the freezer, let freeze, remove the patties and store in a freezer bag

·When ready to cook, take out however many patties you need and defrost

·You can then either: broil or bake them in the oven, fry them or BBQ them

Serving

Now comes the fun part. "Dressing a Hamburg" is a work of art. First you need a good bun, such as Grahame's. Some people like to toast the bun; my preference is to leave it alone or warm it slightly in the microwave. You place your cooked patty on the bun. Then, you can dress with a slice of onion or tomato, slather with Bacon Jam (recipe of 13 September 2021), homemade or green relish, mustard (I prefer a grainy one from Mrs. McGarrigle's) or anything else that suits your taste buds. Some folks have to have Catsup on their Burg, others not. The Classic Hamburger allows for a lot of tastes. At Salamanders, we even serve a Hamburger Soup from time to time!

The Hamburger isn't just a summer treat, it's great family fare all year round. We can only manage to eat one per person at our table; big appetites will require two. So enjoy and please provide me with your take on the Classic Hamburg at pcormier@ranaprocess.com.

Tid Bit Musings

by Elva Patterson Rutters RSSW

What does equality mean to you? Is it a blanket term or are there related conditions? Defining and supporting equality requires clarification and understanding of the connotations. Crying "equality" with no reference to ability is threatening our growth as a society.

As a society, we like to claim equality in terms of employment, color, sexuality, spirituality, and opportunities. In reality we need to address whether an individual has the qualifications and experience to attain equality. To simply accept one based on color, sex, or whatever the defining characteristic is, could jeopardize someone's well-being. For example, a person being accepted as a firefighter without the physical strength and insight is of danger to the colleagues and the fire's occupants. When we speak of equality, we must not discriminate based on particular characteristics just because of those characteristics.

As we educate ourselves and others, it is crucial to bring into awareness the responsibilities and training of the individual. It is true,"you can be whatever you want to be" IF you put in the training and education, along with experience. Experience is gained through doing, and that can/will include making mistakes. We hopefully learn from our mistakes. Equality will be achieved through your attitude and aptitude!

39. A used automobile tire