Day 29 of 30- Gyros!

Tomorrow is already the last day of the challenge.  I remember thinking on the 3rd of 4th day, "OMGGGGGG THIS IS GOING TO BE THE LONGEST 30 DAYS OF MY LIFE" and agonizing over the foods I wouldn't be able to eat.  I stressed about my meals and what I'd make and if I'd feel full and if I'd feel gross after eating so much meat.  There was a turning point some time after the 10 day mark.  I'm not sure what happened.  Maybe my cooking got better.  Maybe i stopped thinking about things I couldn't eat and started thinking about things I WANTED to make and try!  I think that might have been it.  Recently, I rediscovered EVEN MORE delicious sounding recipes and it made me consider making it a WHOLE 31! or 32.... or 33....... and then I decided, no.  I'll just keep to what works for me and reintroduce and see how that goes.  I know I definitely won't be going back to my previous ways of eating.  I'll be more aware of the foods I put in my body, and I think I have become better at creating in the kitchen, on my feet, on the go, with limited ingredients.  With so many things you can't eat, there's so much you can do to make what you CAN eat infinitely better. 

I love food, and all the flavors of it.  and this challenge really has helped me realize that food in it's most beautiful and unadulterated state can and is amazingly delicious.

My most recent kitchen endeavor has been to make gyros.  I had leftover ground lamb and beef from the shepherd's pie, and I didn't really know what to do with it.  The magical thought of gyros crossed my mind and I immediately banished those thoughts from my mind because I was somehow under the impression that they were IMPOSSIBLE to make!!  But, I looked it up and found that it was actually really reasonable.  on a whim, at 11pm last night, i decided to make it. 

Gyros

Ingredients

Ground lamb (1/2 lb)
Ground beef (1/2 lb)
2 cloves garlic chopped
garlic powder
crushed rosemary
thyme
salt
pepper

1.  Preheat the oven to 350F. 
2.  Knead the meat and warm it up a little, adding the chopped garlic.  (it helps if you break it up into smaller pieces of meat and knead them separately before mashing them all together)
3.  Add the garlic powder, crushed rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper and continue kneading until the spices are mixed in well (I didn't measure these, but I would approximate 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp rosemary and 1/2 tsp thyme.  Next time I make it, i'm definitely doubling the spices and adding more salt.).
4.  Take the ball of meat and throw it firmly on the counter top/cutting board for about 10 minutes.  Somehow, doing this helps create the proper texture.  They say it makes the fats break down?  I don't know, but it worked.
5.  After tossing the meat, pat into a tight ball and flatten slightly to compress into a miniature dense loaf.  Some people may want to take a rolling pin and press it further.  Mine wasn't too big so i just kept it the way it was.  you don't want it to be thicker than about 2-3 in deep. 
6.  Bake in a baking dish (I used a greased 9x11 loaf pan) for ~1hr

Test the meat with a meat thermometer to make sure the inside gets to at least 160F to make sure that the meat is thoroughly cooked and safe.  After you take it out of the oven, let it rest for about 10 minutes or so before slicing into fine strips.

Wooooo out of the oven!

It smelled SO fantastic out of the oven. There was a delicious dark coat and the juices spilled out of the loaf, it seemed wasteful to throw it away.  I snuck a few tastes of the gyros and it was so yummy.  Zorbas in my mouth FTW.  Gyro dinner was a couple slices of gyro, sardines in olive oil, olives, and shredded raw brussels sprouts salad with lemon garlic aioli.  Delicious.  Dessert was coconut date bars from the co-op.  again, delicious :-) 

Tomorrow is the 30th day.  WHAT DO I DO!?!?!?!/

I know that on Saturday morning, I will eat a standard breakfast.  and subsequently enjoy a glass of wine and a frango chocoalte.  That's about as far ahead as I have planned.  and i can't wait :-)

til next time, eat well and be well!