It’s sunny and warm, outside… perfect weather for throwing burgers on the grill. And the perfect excuse to use up some of the produce in the ‘fridge.

Our weekly produce run is reasonably organised – for us. We have our list of staples we always get, and then we roam around and grab things that look good. It’s pretty much the way we grocery shop, period. We don’t write out menus for the week – I have no idea on Sunday what I’m going to want to eat on Thursday – and, as long as there are the basics in the house, I can pretty much cook what I want.

The downside, of course, is running out of something or overbuying. The upside is we get to be creative.

Like tonight…

There was spinach and arugula in the ‘fridge that needed using. We have a goodly amount of salad greens, so these two were destined to be cooked. And a boatload of mini sweet peppers. There are probably 2 dozen in a bag and we can only eat them so fast. Store-bought tomatoes are almost starting to taste almost acceptable, so there’s several of them on the counter ripening at any given moment.

The perfect accompaniments for a burger!

I first sautéed the arugula and spinach in a pat of butter and a drizzle of olive oil. salt, pepper, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar finished it off.

That was the first thing on the plate.

Next was a grilled burger – nothing special. Salt and pepper.

On top of the burger went sautéed mini peppers mixed with fried hot peppers. Again, just a pinch of salt and pepper. Spicy sweet.

Along the side was a tomato salad. Chopped tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and a drizzle of strawberry balsamic vinegar. And a pinch of S&P.

Crumbled cotija cheese finished it off.

It was really satisfying. Lots of different tastes and textures – with just the right amount of heat from the peppers.

I can’t wait to do something like this with our own tomatoes and peppers!

C’mon, summer!