The First Market and Newfangled Hamburgers

It was a fantastic first farmers' market on Saturday in Joseph. What a great festival! From the petting zoo with goats from Sally B. Farms, lambs and the world's cutest calf from Arrowhead Ranch to the Kettle Corn and the Prairie Creek Girls' music, it was a mighty good time for everyone.

Of course, there were the vendors selling the county's finest produce and beef. I had a great time using all the greens, herbs and other early spring goodies I could find to accompany two exotic hamburgers I made in front of the crowd: a Greek-style and a Thai-style. It was a demo I called Burgers Without the Bun.

My grill took a long time to warm up, but you couldn't say the same thing about the crowd. People came to shop the market crowd, visit with friends and live it up on a lovely Saturday morning. It was the best market ever.

Greek-style Grassfed Hamburgers I served these with a lemon-yogurt sauce along with grilled asparagus and fresh spinach with a lemon-olive oil vinaigrette.

Burgers:

1/2 pound ground beef

1 garlic clove, minced

pinch crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon tomato paste

1/4 cup crumbed feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives

1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Sauce:

1/2 cup plain yogurt,

1 small garlic clove, minced

pinch sea salt

zest of 1 lemon (about 2 teaspoons)

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Break up the ground beef and add the garlic, red pepper, tomato paste, feta, olives, parsley, salt and pepper.Gently work the ingredients into the ground beef with a spatula. Pinch off a tablespoon or so and grill, broil or fry it and taste to make sure it's just the way you like it. Adjust the seasonings to suit your taste. Shape the ground beef mixture into patties.

To make the sauce, stir together the yogurt, garlic, salt, lemon and chives until well blended. Let sit for 15 minutes to let the flavors develop. Serve with the cooked hamburgers.

Thai-Style Grassfed Hamburgers

I served these with grilled bok choy, mustard greens and sliced salad turnips with a sesame-ginger vinaigrette.

1/2 pound ground beef

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger

1/2 teaspoon chili sauce or more to taste

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Break up the ground beef and add the fish sauce, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, chili sauce, sesame oil and cilantro. Gently work the ingredients into the ground beef with a spatula. Pinch off a tablespoon or so and grill, broil or fry it and taste to make sure it's just the way you like it. Adjust the seasonings to suit your taste. Shape the ground beef mixture into patties.