Low Carb Burger and Fries

Ok. Its not actual fries - but one can dream. It's asparagus spears  — and they were still pretty tasty.

Using lettuce to wrap the double-cheese turkey burger — that's the real low carb thing about this meal.

No bun!

I really like throwing away the bread. The burger is what it's all about for me, so this gets rid of the gluten-loaded pillow that keeps your hands from getting messy and replaces it with a paper thin crunchy leaf. Not a bad trade-off in my book.

Here's what I cooked:
— 4 turkey burgers with a slice of munster cheese for each
— 1/2 bundle of asparagus, split length-wise and tossed in a tablespoon or so of Worcestershire sauce

The burgers were cooked over medium high heat in a little olive oil with salt and pepper to taste, about 5 minutes per side. The asparagus followed in the same pan for 3 to 4 minutes, tossed a couple of times and seasoned with salt and pepper — burgers rested while asparagus cooked.

I ate 2 of the burgers wrapped in big lettuce leaves with chipotle mayo as garnish and all of the asparagus for the meal. I have to admit — it was tasty. A nicely seasoned turkey patty with creamy cheese and smoky chipotle mayo really hit the spot. Although I would love to have had real french fries, the al dente asparagus tossed with Worcestershire had a crunchy, salty and slightly sweet taste that I really liked — but I have always liked asparagus when it's fresh from the produce isle and perfectly cooked.

I'm doing this again for sure.

The experiments continue! I'm not on a strict no-carb diet, I'm just watching them as part of an effort to adjust my diet and life-style to live more healthy.

Eat well, cook often ...

The Bites Awaken

There has been an awakening. I have felt it.

For the last year, I have been enjoying the great music and food culture that Austin provides. It's an amazing place for a life-long musician to live and experience. The capitol of Texas has a creative energy very similar to New York City and its driving force is music. That said, music has become the creative outlet that the food blog once channeled for me.

I still cook like a fool and have been enjoying the year-round grilling climate that comes with residing in Central Texas.

Recently, I received the ok to work exclusively from home creating information graphics for the properties of Gatehouse Media, the job that brought me to Austin. So I am now working from home just like I was in 2014 when food writing was my soul focus.

I like it.

Recently, an old college friend, Kevin Burkett, asked if my food column was available. I told him to pick a few samples from past post here at Behind the Bites and use them in the Pharos-Tribune, the daily paper in Logansport, Ind.

Kevin is the Editor of the Pharos-Tribune.

Long story short, my recipes are now a weekly feature in the paper.

I'll bet this will lead to more post here. No guarantees but ...

There has been an awakening.

Below you'll find one of the songs that I have written since moving to Austin. I created this by myself using Apple garage band with a condenser mic to record my vocals and midi keyboard to create the instrumental parts.

Eat well, cook often ...

Nacho Cheesy Rice

I enjoy making dishes like this for work during the week. It stores well and reheats nicely in the microwave, but most importantly, it really is a tasty dish. I can eat it like a dip with tortilla chips or garnish with chili flavored corn chips for texture. The rice helps make this stretch to 3 or 4 servings and only a pound of ground beef is used.

I like to make a cheese sauce in dishes like this because it stays in a more liquid or gravy-like form after it cools. Its much easier to reheat and return to the creamy texture when eating as a left over. Just throwing shredded cheese in a dish like this is great if you're eating it hot, but it clumps back together once it cools. The sauce route is much better if left overs are part of the plan - which is the case for almost everything I make.

Eat well, cook often ...

Nacho Cheesy Rice
1 lb ground beef
2 Tbs unsalted butter
2 jalapenos, seeded, diced
1/2 onion, dice (1C)
1 Tbs chile powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp Mexican oregano
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 Tbs flour
2 C milk
2 C pepper jack cheese, shredded
2C cooked rice
Chili flavored corn chips for garnish

In a large pan or pot brown ground beef over medium heat. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove to paper-towel lined plate with a slotted spoon. Add butter to drippings in pan, once melted saute onion and jalepeno until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add spices and garlic, cook until fragrant, a minute or two. Return ground beef to pan, stir into mixture. Add flour, mix in to absorb liquid, stir and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in milk. Bring to simmer and let thicken slightly. Add cheese 2 tbs at a time, stir constantly and let melt completely, then add more cheese. Repeat until cheese is gone. Stir in Rice. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, then serve. Garnish with chili corn chips.