The magic of a cheeseburger.
Tonight I made a special treat for Bennie and his brother: homemade hamburgers from scratch (first time I’ve ever done it, and surprisingly quick and easy to do so), seasoned up with yummy spices, and grilled to perfection on the BBQ.
To make it even more tasty, I added some (Daiya) faux-cheese on the patty when it was close to being done and toasted some GFCFSF burger buns I found at a recent excursion to Whole Foods (from a bakery in Davis whose name I can’t recall at the moment.)
Slam them all together and I presented Bennie with a whopper of a cheeseburger (no pun intended) – and he was in heaven! The poor kid has gotten used to eating plain ol’ patties, with no seasoning, cheese or buns wrapped around it… but tonight, he gorged himself on a huge, fresh, tasty, seasoned cheeseburger WITH bun. His eyes said it all (see the attached pic!)
The smile on my face during dinner was permanent — it’s the little things, but it felt great to let Bennie have something that most people take for granted… but to the best of my recollection, he had never before enjoyed: a cheeseburger.
I spoke (posted) too soon – he has a rash on his inner elbows. Must be the buns, as the hamburgers and Daiya cheese had nothing potentially allergenic in them. Dammit! I’ll have to contact the Davis bakery to ask for a more detailed ingredient list… *sigh*
So turns out it may not be the bun after all – he had a few mushrooms, which we added a bit of chicken broth to (which is not GF), but such a tiny amount… And he did touch a wrapper from his brother’s almond milk ice cream bar (which has soy lecithin in it) — so frustrating and maddening. I’ve emailed the bakery in Davis (Natural Food Works) to make sure there’s so surprise soy in their buns… but doesn’t look like there is any….
OR perhaps cooking his burger alongside (although separated from) the 3 regular cheeseburgers on the BBQ somehow deposited milk (from the melting cheese) onto his burger… Dammit, this is maddening.