1 pound lamb or lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons dried dill
1 tablespoon dried mint
salt and pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Roll mixture into approximately 1 1/2" round balls.
3. Press meat balls between 2 sheets of saran wrap with the palm of your hand to approximately 1/4" thickness.
4. Either grill burgers or fry in a greased skillet until juices run clear. Check one to make sure it is cooked through to the center.
5. Serve on a toasted bun with a cucumber based dressing and havarti or typical hamburger toppings.

Makes 6 servings

4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cups water
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh dill
salt and pepper

1. Boil salted water in a pot and add sliced carrots.
2. Cook carrots until fork tender.
3. Drain carrots and set aside.
4. Heat oil and garlic in a skillet.
5. Add cooked carrots and thawed peas to pan.
6. Toss carrots and peas in garlic oil until coated.
7. Season with dill, salt and pepper.

Makes 4 servings

4 cups romaine lettuce
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper

1. Rinse lettuce under cold water and pat dry with paper towel.
2. Cut lettuce into 1" chunks. Set aside in bowl.
3. In a separate bowl combine the rest of the ingredients, reserving 2 tablespoons of parmesan. Mix well.
4. Add dressing to lettuce.
5. Garnish salad with a pinch of parmesan once plated.

Makes 6 servings

I thought I was being incredibly clever by naming these burgers Pepper Mint Patties. The seasoning is pepper and mint. This is basically my lamb meatball recipe co-opted as a burger. The recipe could probably benefit from some bread crumbs to retain moisture, but when I first made the meatballs I was under a low-carb mindset and the Atkins puritan in me prevented such blasphemy.

I think they're perfectly delicious the way they are. If you've never tried mint with meat before (I admit, it seems like a strange combination) I definitely recommend it. These burgers also go quite well with the Tzatziki Salad I prepared a couple of days ago.

Peas and Carrots are a classic combination, but it's nice to do a little bit extra to your veggies to make them more palatable from time to time. A little bit of dill, garlic and olive oil can turn even the frozen variety from a ho-hum side dish to an active contributor to the dinner, I think.

To my surprise this homemade Caesar Salad dressing actually tastes like Caesar. It packs quite a calorie one-two punch, but that could be easily managed with a few substitutions, such as light mayonnaise. Using the mayo at all sort of defeats the purpose of making it from scratch, but I'm not that ambitious.

Unfortunately a large part of this dinner went to waste because Shannon watched Hostel this afternoon and refused to eat anything involving meat, the color red or that could be described as "finger" food.