Up until about six months ago, the thought of buying any groceries without a list left me in a bit of a panic. I hate being wasteful (whether financially, in throwing out rotten food, or in time – spending hours in the shops thinking about what I was going to cook). I preferred to go into the grocery store with a list and get out as quickly as possible.

This past summer, these tendencies started to change – at least when it came to produce. I was now more concerned about eating the best, freshest, produce when it was at its cheapest and most delicious (isn’t it funny how those two go hand in hand)? I’ve also matured as a cook, and am more confident in both my skills and my creativity. So I started going to the market to pick up the best looking produce, return home, make a weekly meal list, and then pick up any remaining ingredients. Admittedly, that process takes more time, but the quality of the food (and the cost of our grocery bill) more than makes up for it.

So, we’ve carried that new tradition with us down to Buenos Aires, since it is the middle of summer here. This past Saturday, I was in Iguazu Falls with my mom so I sent the hubs to the market. Upon my return, I was blown away to see the quality (and the quantity) that he had purchased. Next week I’m going to show you the size of the broccoli he bought. (I need to first finish making my way through all said broccoli…)

Anyway, I digress… when I was looking through the fridge yesterday I noticed we had leftover tomatoes, cilantro, and yellow onion. And what do tomatoes, cilantro and yellow onion make? Only the world’s best (and most simple) salsa.

Making tacos would be the “obvious” answer to go with our salsa. But, not so easy in BA, where tortillas, hard taco shells, and spicy spices are hard to come by. So instead, I decided to make salsa burgers. And boy were these babies delicious.

We used burger sized pitas from the arab grocery store next door in place of buns, delicious fresh burgers from the butcher down the street, my homemade salsa (recipe below), lettuce, slices of fried zucchini (what can I say, it’s summer squash season), and a healthy dollop of Franks (courtesy of my mom). So simple. So easy. So good. These would have been even better with avocado spread on the pita, but alas, our avocado didn’t last the week.

The hubs asked me where I got the idea for the burgers. I told him my head. And then realized that was, in fact, true. So, all this to say, sometimes the best meals come without a plan.