Homemade bread and burgers

Jeff and I have been really getting into the cook from scratch spirit. We took a long hard look at our finances and bellies and decided that cooking at home was the way to go. I decided as a New Years resolution for 2011 (better late then never) that I wanted to learn how to cook more items from scratch; bread, pasta, noodles etc. My first attempt at bread was okay but not great. I don't think I let it cook long enough and the result was a doughy, yeast tasting center. Don't get me wrong, I love doughy centers but the yeasty taste was a little weird. Oh well, try again! I tried again and was successful! I made six buns that were soft, crunchy and looked like actual bread! The recipe I used can be found here.

I digress...so we were trying to figure out what to have for dinner on the drive home from the gym."Well we have ground beef"...and the conversation took off from there. It seemed that all of our leftover odds and ends could all come together in a meal: homemade buns toasted with coconut butter, burgers (Jeff seasoned and added an egg white), turkey bacon, an egg yolk for me (left over from the egg white) and simple salad with lemon juice and olive oil. One slight mistake, HOLY LEMON JUICE. Someone (ahem..me) drained an entire lemon on the plate. Tart! Anyways to sum it all up, we were so stinking proud of ourselves for creating a meal that I am sure people make everyday. Hello!? Bread has been a around a while, I need to get with the program.

City, O' City - Vegitarian

Take a look at that picture.... Burger and fries, standard bar fare. Would you believe me if I said that this was all vegetarian? For those of you that think vegetarian food is boring, look no further...City, O' City in Denver is where it's at! That is the 'Maximus burger' ($10 with the fries) quinoa and pinto bean burger, lettuce, tomato, onion, special sauce, cheddar jack, sweet potato kaiser. The texture is so spot on that it is scary. The taste is not quite like beef, but I prefer the taste of this quinoa and pinto bean burger more anyway. Bonus: packed with protein. The 'Ranch' on the side was even vegan...which gets me thinking, what the heck is it made out of?!

Jeff ordered the Gaza Grinder ($9.50) hummus, greek salad, french fries, feta, sriracha aioli, flat bread and the soup of the day which was coconut curry.

What a beautiful little soup!

Here is a look at the inside of my burger. You also get a great view of the toasted sweet potato bun (YUM!)

The food here is awesome! They have a large variety of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free food including 'chicken' wings, 'meat' lovers pizza, wraps, sandwiches. One of the best things on the menu (not pictured) the fried PB&J on banana bread (quite possibly the best sandwich I have ever tasted).

The great thing about this place is everything is at a minimum vegetarian. It is really nice for my vegetarian friend, Kori, to be able to go into a restaurant and order ANYTHING off of the menu.

And the drinks....great selection of beers and a variety of 'not your average' cocktails. My favorite is a Ginger-Lime cocktail.

Dinner with Dad: Avocado and Caramelized Onion Burgers

My Mom is out of town, so I thought it might be a good idea to go feed my dad and sister so they didn't have to starve to death. Or actually they would have had popcorn and PBJ sandwiches...but still, not a great dinner. I tried to very nonchalantly sneak healthy food into their diet. They eat good when my Mom is home but on their own...they are hopeless. There was some resistance...but I held firm! And the best part? This meal is Candida safe! Grass-fed, organic, Colorado ground beef with caramelized onions and avocado with 'healthy' fries and garlic organic green beans. What a tongue twister!

So here are the wonderful caramelized onions that topped the grass-fed burger. They may have gotten a little crispy...but no complaints here.

The complete burger. Grass-fed, organic, local Colorado ground beef topped with an avocado and caramelized onions. And since I can't eat buns right now and my dad and sister don't like them anyway; the burger was served sans the bun. My dad said the beef tasted normal, but my sister was not as happy. She noticed a difference in the flavor and couldn't finish hers. I will say that grass-fed isn't as sweet as corn-fed beef and that may account for a taste difference. I tried to get her to push past the new taste and think about how much healthier the beef was.

It seems that you can't eat a burger without some kind of potato; these are 'heathy' fries though. First of all, I used little red potatoes that are approved for the Candida diet. Second, I coated them in egg instead of oil. Third, I baked them instead of frying them. Add a little salt, pepper and garlic and oh gosh...heaven! Leave the skins on for the nutrients.

 

Burgers?

Yes that is right! I had a Candida safe ‘burger and French fries’ dinner.

Candida safe: Spelt Bread (grilled with butter and garlic), Grass-fed ground beef, goat cheese, red potatoes mashed with rosemary and garlic.

And this meal, I will say it…looks like crap! How to improve the overall taste/presentation/healthy benefactors? How about lettuce, tomato, onion…heck! I could even throw an egg on top to really tickle my burger cravings. More adventures in Candida safe burgers to come!