Marinated Tempeh Burgers

In just a few weeks I will be leaving for Indonesia. I am unbelievably excited, and nervous too. Just a couple of days ago I found out that I have a host family in Yogyakarta (pronounced jōg-jə-kär-tə, and sometimes shortened to Jogja) making me all the more excited. I feel nostalgic, too, for something I haven't even left yet; I haven't even left and I'm already beginning to feel the weight of how much I'll miss everyone. 

With just a few more weeks in the states, it seems like I should be doing crazy things - but really, things have been pretty normal. Though I've been trying to learn some Bahasa Indonesia and I have just recently started to contemplate how one goes about packing for a year abroad, for the most part things are the same as usual.

I stumbled upon this recipe a little while ago when we were in the middle of a hot spell - the perfect time to have burgers (so maybe it wasn't the best time to be turning on the oven, but it was definitely worth it). Incidentally, these delicious vegetarian burgers combine a traditional food made in Indonesia - tempeh - with something as quintessentially American as a good ol' burger. 

Now, how cool is that?

And it couldn't be a better combination. The tempeh is delicious marinated, it's moist, and it doesn't crumble apart like many homemade veggie burgers do.

I think they are best covered in melted cheddar, with crisp boston lettuce, ripe tomato, and maybe some avocado, too, next time. But however you like your burger - with mayonnaise or mustard, ketchup or sauerkraut, peanut butter or strawberry rhubarb jam - there's no denying these tempeh burgers are good.

Le Croque-Madame

We recently began a unit on restaurant conversation in French class. As if the tantalizing promise of summer wasn't enough of a distraction, I now find myself daydreaming about eating warm croissants and breaking off pieces of fresh baguettes when I should be conjugating prendre in the past tense. One worksheet we were given for this unit had step by step illustrations of a recipe for a croque-monsieur.

The croque-monsieur, a french classic, is simply a grilled ham and cheese sandwich topped with melted cheese. On the handout each step was accompanied by a simple cartoon, beginning with two thick slices of bread, spreading on soft butter, topping with grated cheese, and finishing with the toasted sandwich - melted cheese falling slowly down the sides - being removed from the oven. Both my interest in french food and my hunger (French being my last class of the day) elevated this simple sandwich to gourmet status in my mind.

Upon further research I discovered the croque-madame - the monsieur's wife I suppose - an intriguing variation topped with an egg, sunny side up, and  cheesy, white sauce.

It ended up being that cheesy sauce mornay that gave me the most trouble. While cooking the sauce I got caught up in the thickening process, watching  as it became thicker and thicker, and lost sight of the consistency I wanted. I ended up letting it cook for too long leaving me with a sauce that was almost too thick to pour. Luckily there was some heavy cream left, so after a slight panic I was able to thin the sauce.

The finished sandwich was flavorful, incredibly rich, and of the must-be-eaten-with-a-knife-and-fork variety. It was very indulgent... and very French.