A Healing Kitchen

The barbecue season is upon us. When pungent fumes envelope the neighborhood, although I may want a clothespin on my nose, I still crave a nice steak or burger on my plate. There was a time when the sight of a char broiled steak inflamed my senses and stirred the salivary glands, but now I just find the taste bitter. I stopped smoking thirty years ago and since contracting celiac disease and MCS am very sensitive to smokey odors. Fire regulations prohibit balcony barbecues here and, in any case, the Barbie broiling treatment obscures the flavor of the meat. The answer for this sometimes carnivore has been a square ridged skillet for stovetop grilling. Mine is by Henckels and has seen several years of good service and yielded many good servings. Bacon comes out nicely and looks fancy with the ruffled markings from the ridges. Start bacon in a cold pan and don't let the pan get too hot. Two things I want but have not bought are a wooden cube clock that displays the time in digital red LED when you clap your hands….and a bacon brick to keep the strips flat and neat. (They cost about the same and I although attracted by the novelty of both, have survived without either!) I want to do a strip of bacon in the grill pan because I need it and the pan for a recipe I could make very day in the week without getting bored. That would be my Specific Carbohydrate Diet friendly, studded "Bison Burger." Media mogul, Ted Turner owns and operates a ranch with the largest bison herd in the world. Bison is sweeter than beef.The meat is becoming an extremely popular choice, according to our savvy butcher at the Whole Foods nearby where coarsely ground bison is now available and is not costly. If I am invited to an outdoor gathering, the two carry-ons of choice would be a gas mask and a thermal bag with a couple of home cooked bison burgers inside. Here's how to make Studded Bison Burgers: For each one 1 strip sugar free bacon 1/4 pound coarsely ground bison 1/4 minced sweet onion 1 clove minced garlic 1 teaspoon capers 1 tablespoon ground blanched almond flour 1/2 teaspoon Orphee Dijon mustard a few drops of honey Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Dried rosemary and basil to taste 1 large, finely minced mushroom Partially cook the bacon starting it in a cold grill pan. Combine remaining ingredients and shape into a thick patty. Wrap bacon around the patty and secure with a pre-soaked toothpick. Grill on medium low heal for seven minutes on each side Cool slightly before serving. Yes, of course, if you insist, by all means go can go right ahead and barbecue the bison burgers.