Food is Food

Fifteen years ago, my knowledge of Greek food consisted of hummus and gyros (which I only ate when the bars closed).  Thank god it has expanded since then, because it might be one of my favorite cuisines.  One day, mark my words, I will go to Greece and eat my way through the country.  Until then, I will continue to explore the wonderful Greek restaurants this country has to offer, like Petros in California and Avra and Limani in New York.  My favorite things to order are Grilled Octopus, Moussaka, lamb anything and always, ALWAYS, Shrimp Saganaki, which is a simple, flavorful dish consisting of shrimp cooked in a tomato feta sauce.    

I've been dying to try it at home and I finally did.  It was extremely easy to make and I loved it.  Make sure you buy some crusty bread or soft pita to sop up this sauce.  I followed the recipe here (and ditched the greek liquor because I didn't feel like buying an entire bottle).  This is a wonderful transitional meal for the change of seasons... comforting but not TOO heavy.  Make it.  Opa!  

We eat a lot of burgers in our house, especially in the summer.  Turkey burgers (here & here), chicken burgers (here & here & here), veggie burgers (here & here), fish burgers (here) or your classic and DELICIOUS beef burger.  And while I see nothing wrong with topping these burgers with cheese, bacon or onions and mushrooms (sautéed in butter, obviously), I thought I'd change it up a bit and search for healthier and more unique alternatives.

Instead of lettuce, try chopped bok choy sautéed in garlic.  Instead of pickles, try lightly sautéed yellow squash or zucchini.  It's almost impossible for me to eat a burger without tomatoes and avocado, so I had to include those.  But other ideas: roasted red peppers, pickled carrots or crispy kale.  And instead of basic ketchup and mustard, I tried out two different greek yogurt toppings: one with a dash of sriracha and the other with lime juice and lime zest.  Also, the vessel?  One half of a toasted English muffin instead of a bun.  Not exactly easy to eat, but delicious nonetheless.   

Doesn't that look pretty?  All assembled and ready to eat, yes?!  Well SECONDS after this photo was shot, this happened...

The glamorous life of a food blogger... always in a rush to photograph your food and then EAT it.  Oh, and don't worry, I put it all back on my plate and did just that.  Judge away!