Did you have a sweet Easter weekend? I sure hope so! We did. There was lots of food, an egg hunt, baskets full of bunnies and fluffy stuffed critters, and time with the family. But today we're back at it, and I'm glad you decided to come for dinner!
For some reason the majority of my photos for tonight's meal were blurry, so I spared you those. I think you already knew I'm not known for my stunning photography. And the cake, well, I think the name says it all. But, as they say, the show must go on, so here we go!
For some reason the majority of my photos for tonight's meal were blurry, so I spared you those. I think you already knew I'm not known for my stunning photography. And the cake, well, I think the name says it all. But, as they say, the show must go on, so here we go!
If you missed Friday's post, I hope you'll check it out so that you can find out about two new contributors for this final week of Now Gigi Serves Dinner! If you're in the Atlanta area, you will definitely want to get to know Return to Eden and Pure Knead! I know I'm glad they're both in my life!
Return to Eden storefront, Atlanta, GA
Pure Knead Hoagie Roll - a classy little roll, don't you think?
And in my dinners, too!
I promised you that this week I'd be sharing some fantastic commercially available RAW foods courtesy of Return to Eden, so with each dinner this week, I will incorporate at least one raw food item into our menu. You'll be seeing some Pure Knead breads, as well. I know you'll understand why once you taste them!
You already know from this post that I'm not transitioning into being a Raw Foodist; however, I am interested in this way of eating. I believe there's a lot to learn from all types of diets, and I love exploring new culinary quests, and raw foods are no different. If you do follow a raw foods diet, feel free to correct me when I stumble here, as I'm sure I will. I'd love to learn from you and all positive, constructive critique is welcome (you can even send me a recipe or two, if you'd like - I may even try it and blog about it!).
With that said, let's take a peek at tonight's menu:
Minty Lamb Burgers on Pure Knead Multigrain Hamburger Roll with organic red leaf lettuce, yellow heirloom tomato slices, sweet Vidalia onion slices, and organic 365 Everyday Value Baby Dill Pickles (Pickles, veggies, and New Zealand lamb all courtesy of Whole Foods Market~Alpharetta Harry's; and you know where that fabulous bread came from!)
RAW All Natural Rhythm Chips~ Crispy Kale in Bombay Curry
Neopolitan "Better Done than Perfect" Layer Cake (GF Brown Rice Flour & GF Whole Grain Flour Blend courtesy of King Arthur Flours)
I promised you that this week I'd be sharing some fantastic commercially available RAW foods courtesy of Return to Eden, so with each dinner this week, I will incorporate at least one raw food item into our menu. You'll be seeing some Pure Knead breads, as well. I know you'll understand why once you taste them!
You already know from this post that I'm not transitioning into being a Raw Foodist; however, I am interested in this way of eating. I believe there's a lot to learn from all types of diets, and I love exploring new culinary quests, and raw foods are no different. If you do follow a raw foods diet, feel free to correct me when I stumble here, as I'm sure I will. I'd love to learn from you and all positive, constructive critique is welcome (you can even send me a recipe or two, if you'd like - I may even try it and blog about it!).
With that said, let's take a peek at tonight's menu:
Minty Lamb Burgers on Pure Knead Multigrain Hamburger Roll with organic red leaf lettuce, yellow heirloom tomato slices, sweet Vidalia onion slices, and organic 365 Everyday Value Baby Dill Pickles (Pickles, veggies, and New Zealand lamb all courtesy of Whole Foods Market~Alpharetta Harry's; and you know where that fabulous bread came from!)
RAW All Natural Rhythm Chips~ Crispy Kale in Bombay Curry
Neopolitan "Better Done than Perfect" Layer Cake (GF Brown Rice Flour & GF Whole Grain Flour Blend courtesy of King Arthur Flours)
Pure Knead Multigrain Hamburger Roll
Any great burger begins with the perfect bun. Lucky for me I live nearby Pure Knead, the Atlanta bakery that makes the perfect bun -in white or multigrain.
Tonight, we decided New Zealand lamb (blended with finely minced mint and chives) would be a perfect fit for this exceptional multigrain bun...along with a few toppings.
What's wrong with this picture?
It's got no rhythm...
which brings us to our RAW food for tonight...
Raw Rhythm Chips ~ Crispy Kale chips in Bombay Curry
Now, I have to be honest with you. I've wanted to try Rhythm Chips for quite a while, but these things sell out quick!
Lucky for me, Return to Eden keeps their shelves well-stocked and just happened to have a few bags left. I have been waiting to try these all weekend, but I knew you'd want some, too, so I waited.
Not so lucky for me, they contain cashews, and that's just not cool when you have a nut allergy.
Lucky for me, I'm a stickler for label reading (you should be, too!!), so I caught it in time (thankfully!). In all my excitement of finally getting my hands on a bag of these crispy green yummies, I never thought to check the label prior to opening the bag.
And I'm not going to tell you that it wasn't a major let-down, because it was. I love kale! Remember those kale-sadillas we had recently? But I suppose I'm over it (not really), and I can make my own kale chips (don't really want to). I wonder if those nice people at Rhythm Superfoods would consider omitting the nuts...just for me...yeah, I know. Never mind.
Lucky for me, Return to Eden keeps their shelves well-stocked and just happened to have a few bags left. I have been waiting to try these all weekend, but I knew you'd want some, too, so I waited.
Not so lucky for me, they contain cashews, and that's just not cool when you have a nut allergy.
Lucky for me, I'm a stickler for label reading (you should be, too!!), so I caught it in time (thankfully!). In all my excitement of finally getting my hands on a bag of these crispy green yummies, I never thought to check the label prior to opening the bag.
And I'm not going to tell you that it wasn't a major let-down, because it was. I love kale! Remember those kale-sadillas we had recently? But I suppose I'm over it (not really), and I can make my own kale chips (don't really want to). I wonder if those nice people at Rhythm Superfoods would consider omitting the nuts...just for me...yeah, I know. Never mind.
But cashews or not, I had to tell you about this awesome raw foods find. And don't think those Rhythm Chips went to waste! The rest of the family greedily gobbled them up. The teen smiled while she ate them, staring dreamily off into space...until she saw me glaring at her, then she said, "Oh, mom...they're not that ..." but she could never quite say "good". The truth is, they were that good. I know this because the biggest non raw foodist of them all, Mr. GF Gigi, said they were. What he really said was, "these are better than potato chips any day!". They really weren't helping matters for me. But I'm glad they enjoyed them. I guess.
Alternatively, you could make this a more Greek-inspired meal and serve up these Greek Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with the burgers. Easy & delish!
Alternatively, you could make this a more Greek-inspired meal and serve up these Greek Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with the burgers. Easy & delish!
Look how gorgeous and green! Rhythm Chips...mmmmmm!
But at least I had the burger. And I could eat the dessert. I just can't show you the pictures of the ingredients, the process, or anything else except for the following.
Chocolate layer cake with raspberry filling
I made a vegan chocolate cake with Mila chia "egg" and filled it with raspberry cream. I was originally thinking neopolitan, as that is the Teen's favorite flavor combo, but we had raspberries, so I went with that. It's still pink, so it gives you the illusion of neopolitan. Actually, now I'm thinking I should have just told you that it's strawberry. Oh, well. I topped the cake with an old fashioned vanilla sugar frosting that is much like candy. I'm not really sure why I did that; it just happened.
The cake was delicious, moist, and light. The burger was the best part of the meal, and I still want kale chips.
But tomorrow, I get chocolate. Delicious gluten-free chocolate, and I can't wait to tell you all about it!
We'll also have another raw food to talk about tomorrow, so stay tuned in for that!
And if you're in the Atlanta area, don't forget to visit Return to Eden and Pure Knead (remember the bread is available at R2Eden). Tell them I sent you! You can check them out on Facebook & Twitter as well.
Remember to visit all my awesome contributors who provided the yummies for this meal on the Contributors page!
Glad you made it over tonight...see you tomorrow!
RSS Feed
