One of the best things to come from your favorite chef watching their diet is the creation of fun recipes that meet the needs of a diet driven consumer, while still delivering amazing taste. I have and continue to learn that what I consume affects everything from my mood to overall well-being. A few everyday changes that have helped me are: more proteins, power greens and vegetables. While it’s hard as a chef to find time to eat right all the time our already busy days I’ve found that a smoothie is a great and quick way to eat healthy.

Below is a recipe I love which utilizes some local spinach. As always with our recipes, use them a baseline and tweak to meet your needs. I love toasted hemp seeds in my smoothies as well as some chia.

My new Mountain bike is waiting for more time on the trail and it’s going to be a great summer. Happy blending my friends.

Green Monster Smoothie

Serves 1ea – 20 oz Smoothie

PREP METHOD:                      PREP TIME: 5 Minutes                       BLENDING TIME: Desired Consistency        

1. Place the ingredients in order into your blender. (Vita Mix works GREAT)             
2. Cover the blender pitcher.
3. Pulse to start the blending.
4. Turn on high and blend until desired consistency.
5. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy.

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1 lb. Colorado lamb, ground
1 1/2 cups Bulgur wheat
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 tbsp. mint, dried and crushed
1 tbsp. chervil, dried
1 medium onion, grated

Soak Bulgur wheat in hot water for 10 minutes, drain well and squeeze out excess water. In a large stainless bowl combine wheat, lamb and seasonings and knead together. Add grated onion and mix well. Portion into four 4 oz. burgers and grill to desired temperature. Serve with hummus and pita bread.

Enjoy with a Colorado wine. I’d recommend a glass of Élevé (a blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Viognier), from Snowy Peaks Winery in Estes Park, Colorado.

The post Easter Colorado Lamb Burger appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

As you will find with our recipes, we highly encourage messing around. Use our recipes as a template to spark some culinary craziness. Switch out ingredients, adjust as needed and have fun. Cooking is a love and passion of ours and we hope it will become the same for you.

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With Colorado boasting over 300 days of sunshine a year and great mid winter ambient temperature its no wonder our grill habits don’t go dormant during these colder months. As a result of all those grilling days I get asked one question very often: what do I prefer to grill on? I wish it were a simple answer, but each grill choice provides its own unique eating experience.  So, I’ll try and break it down for you based one what end result you desire. That said, we are a bit grill crazy at my house. Our cooking arsenal includes a Weber Genesis, Big Green Egg and Louisiana Smoker. You’ll understand why all three in a minute.

Grill Type – Gas (Weber, Kenmore or Char Broil)

• Heat range – 300 – 600 degrees.
• Heat type – direct or infrared.
• Heat source – propane or natural gas.
• Pros – fast pre-heat time, tried and true, faster food onto the table, can add accessories if you want to smoke or roast.
• Cons – harder to smoke on, limited size for larger items (turkey).
• Flavor profile – will have some grill flavor due to juices integrating into the flavorizer bars.
• Overall – this is a great choice for the griller who wants to turn on the grill, cook their food and eat.  If you want to expand your grilling they make accessories to aid in smoking, etc.

Grill Type – Lump Charcoal (Big Green Egg or Kamado Joe)

• Heat range – 200 – 750 degrees.
• Heat type – direct, indirect or slow roast.
• Heat source – lump charcoal.
• Pros – well rounded cooking tool, very versatile to: cook, bake, roast, grill, smoke.
• Cons – small learning curve on how to light your fire and airflow settings to maintain temp.
• Flavor profile – most rustic grill flavor from the charcoal and add some wood chips for killer smoke rings.
• Overall – this is the perfect choice for the griller who wants to control every bit of their experience from temp to taste.  With this cooking tool you can go from low and slow to pizza oven hot.

Grill Type – Wood Pellet (Louisiana Smoker or Traeger)

• Heat range – 200 – 350 degrees.
• Heat type – indirect.
• Heat source – flavor added wood pellets.
• Pros – set it and forget it style of cooking or smoking.
• Cons – while some models don’t get hot enough to sear a thick steak, they’re working to change that to ensure this grill is a one stop shop.
• Flavor profile – killer smoke flavor bordering on too much smoke if you don’t prefer heavy smoke.
• Overall – this is an excellent choice for that griller who wants to get into smoking, very easy to work with.

So whats a chef to do? We chose one of each. Why? Because there are times we need a fast grilled meal, there are times we want to dial it in and have a great overall experience, and then those times when we don’t have the time and want the easier set it and forget it.  It helps to have some temperature tools on hand as well… Until next time when we talk grill tools, stay hungry my friends.

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