Drunken Burgers at MEATmarket

Now I should start by saying the burgers were not drunken last night, @Sushi_Junki and I were!

What started out innocently enough at Cellar Door, a typical Friday really, a few (too many) margaritas, a bottle of champagne and some nuts, saw us stumbling out onto the street i desperate need of carbs, fried food and silliness. 

 @Sushi_Junki swore she had a better place than Byron Burger in mind, so we stumbled up to Covent Garden, and into MEATheaven at MEATmarket. I placed myself in SJ's more than capable hands and let her order. 
Quickly our dinner was in front of us - Dead Hippy Burgers (2 beef patties, lettuce, cheese, pickles, minced onions and Dead Hippy Sauce*). The burgers were divine. Perfectly cooked medium rare beef oozing with flavour, soft but stable buns (nothing worse than a bun that falls apart in your hands!), pickles that were crisp and tangy. Only thing I would want to add is beetroot - but that is the Aussie in me where all burgers have to have a few slices of vinegared beetroot to slide and drip down your arms. I would like to thank my stunt woman SJ for modelling the burger so gracefully!

The sides that adorned our tray were the most amazing crispy fries (which we gently bathed in a combo of tomato sauce and mustard - so glad we were in agreement on that combo), jalapenos poppaz stuffed with cheese, dipped in breadcrumbs with a sour cream and chive dipping sauce blew my mind and mouth. Just the right amount of heat to have you coming back for more if only there was room!

To drink we had Hard Shakes. Bourbon and maple syrup thickshakes that reminded me of what my first sip of a Maccas thickshake was like when I was a young 'un, but these were oh so much better! They also have a rum and vanilla version that I may have to go back and try just for comparison. 

Now after so much booze already, did we REALLY need Hard Shakes? HELL YES WE DID! We needed them so much we ended up having one with our burgers, then another for desert. This was probably a bad idea, but you never know a bad idea until it bites you on the ass the next morning and you have to bat it down with sweet tea and Nurofen.

I will definitely be back, next time with the Hussyband and probably The Nieces in tow. Meanwhile I will sit hit, nursing my tea and just be joyful that my hangover isn't worse than it is!

*Note: No hippies were killed in the making of the sauce, or so I was assured at the time.

MEATmarket
The Deck
Jubilee Market Hall
Tavistock Street
Covent Garden
London | WC2E 8BE
Twitter: @MEATmarketUK

Minced Pork with Green Beans

Back on my health kick, but have decided that it will be healthy dieting rather than extreme dieting a la VLC diet (Hussyband wont let me do it again anyway - I keep getting cold I cant shake, and bruises take FOREVER to heal when you are consuming less than 600 calories a day!)

Considering I love Asian flavors  and never want anything sweet after I have had them, I am aiming at more of an asian-style diet. Most of the time anyway! This little gem is from 'Everyday Harumi - Simple Japanese Food for Family and Friends'  by Harumi Kurihara (£14.00 on Amazon.co.uk).

500g green beans, sliced on the diagonal into 4cm piecces
40g leek, white part only
15g ginger, freshly grated
3 large garlic cloves, minced
Vegetable oil (I used a vegetable oil spray and just gave a few spritzes)
400g pork, lean minced
30-45ml soy sauce (I used salt reduced)
Chilies, dried or freshly sliced, to taste
Sesame oil, just a drizzle to taste

1. Blanch the beans in boiling water, drain and set aside.
2. Stirfry the leek, ginger and garlic in a wok or frypan over high heat with a few spritzes of vegetable oil (or a quick splash). Cook stirring for about a minute then add the pork stirring to break the meat up.
3. Add the green beans, soy and chilies to taste and continue to stirfry until the beans are heated through. 
4. Add a little sesame oil to taste, and serve with rice and a bowl.

This recipe serves 4 people.

We also had a bowl of miso with this, and I didn't have any rice. The calorie content per serve for this is: Calories: 226, Carbs: 12, Fat: 10, Protein: 23 and Calcium: 5. Nutritional info was calculated using www.myfitnesspal.com.

Hussyband hoovers this up, and I like the bite I get without the fat content. Hint: eating it with chopsticks makes it feel like you are having a lot more to eat than using a fork!