Burgers vs Salads

Here we are, smack in the middle of the March Salad Challenge: Team Tummies Aren't Trashcans (YAY TEAM!) and the Boyfriend has decided he would like to start "experimenting" with grilling burgers. Make no mistake, I'm not entirely disheartened by this news. Contrary to what you may think, I actually enjoy a really good, juicy burger straight off the grill. It is one of my favorites. I only eat about three a year. It makes total sense to me. If I let myself enjoy them with abandon I would eat them 3-4 days a week, and about half that time they would only be half-way decent. So, I wait and search for the perfect place and time and then I have a really good one, and I don't feel guilty.

So I'm gonna get excited about this New Culinary Adventure.* Why not?

So here is my question? What actually constitutes a "burger"? Is it always beef between a bun? Just type in "burger" in www.epicurious.com, and you get an onslaught of recipes featuring black beans, salmon, chicken, turkey, lamb.... Is that also a "burger"?

To be honest, I'm completely ambivalent about this. I really don't care, as long as it is good. The Boyfriend (surprise) most definitely has opinion** about this.He is a purist. He thinks it should ONLY BE BEEF (just ask him about his thoughts on chili and asymmetrical dresses).

So what do you think? Do you ever get a hankering for a turkey burger? Or do you  pale in shock of such Burger Blasphemy? What about toppings and bun choice? Is your ketchup fancy? Let me know! I'm curious and in search for the perfect Burger Recipe!

* For real, I love it when the BF wants to grill. He's really good at it. Anything else he does in the kitchen, and it's like watching a little girl play with mommy's makeup. Don't tell him I said that.

**Do you know who else has an opinion? Jimmy Buffet:

Two Movies, Two Soups and a Stack of Laundry

So I have had the best weekend ever. Part of my weekend involved watching two Very Funny Movies that I have never heard of: Your Sister's Sister and Lola Versus. I won't bother with a synopsis, that's why IMDB exists. But basically, they are rom-coms that did not suck. You should watch them.

Your Sister's Sister has Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt and Mark Duplass (who I have never heard of before, but now I want to watch every movie he's in). They are all awesome. Netflix it.

Lola Versus has some chick named Greta Gerwig and was written by a very funny lady named Zoe Lister Jones. It is kinda hipster-ish, but not painful like Girls. Netflix this one, too.

Okay, then I made Two Soups!!!
The first one is a Portuguese Spinach and Sausage soup. Well, it's my riff on Portuguese Spinach and Sausage soup. The traditional recipe includes Chorizo and Potatoes, I subbed hickory smoked sausage and brown rice.

Doesn't that look delicious****!?!?! Funny thing about this soup: For some reason, I spent a good chunk of Friday morning googling recipes for Spinach soup. The Boyfriend came home that night and said, "You know, I helped a lady pick out wine for a Portuguese spinach and Sausage soup today ". Whammo. That's the Universe telling me to make soup. Here's the recipe I found as my inspiration for Caldo Verde.


And I made a lovely Cream of Spinach soup (I had a mother lode of spinach at home).
Here's the basic recipe: I sauteed one onion and two cloves of garlic in olive oil until translucent. I then added a ton of spinach, about 1 cup of dry white wine, salt, pepper, and 1 container of chicken stock. I let simmer until spinach wilted and then I blended it with my immersion blender. I then added a bay leaf and milk and about 1 cup of sour cream, and then let simmer for another hour on low. And because he can sense when I try to make a low-fat/reduced calorie/Weight Watchers version of something, I added some butter for the Boyfriend.

And the pile of laundry, you ask? I'll tell you a secret. I really enjoy doing laundry. My favorite part is ironing. I love love LOVE to iron. So, on Saturday, while my soups were simmering and my movies were playing I binged on a basket full of the Boyfriend's shirts. It was heavenly.***

***Please do not tell him that I love to iron his shirts. He thinks I am doing him a huge favor and that it is somehow a terrible wifely chore. I'm gonna milk that for as long as I can.

****This is how I feel about all soups.