Eye of Round Roast with Mushroom Gravy, Herby Goat Burgers, Tofu Shawarma & More!

Before we left town for some holiday celebrations with family, here’s what we were making!

Eye of Round Roast with Mushroom Gravy & Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

An eye of round roast is an incredibly delicious, affordable and super easy way to enjoy beef.

I have marinated these before roasting before, but you don’t even need it. This time I just defrosted, seasoned with salt and pepper and roasted at a high heat (450 degrees). You can plan for about 8 minutes per pound. Some recipes have you roast at an even higher heat and then turn off the oven and let rest, for an additional 2 or more hours.

I’ve tried that method, too, and also find the extra time unnecessary. You do need to allow at least 20 minutes for resting so you don’t lose all the juices when you slice it, though.

I often do a horseradish creme fraiche to go with it, but this time I went for a mushroom gravy with sherry and beef broth.

We also did goat cheese mashed potatoes, steamed broccolini and sprouting cauliflower and a salad with strawberries, goat cheese, pistachios and a balsamic dressing. It was all lovely together. And then last of the leftovers made great sandwiches for our trip!

Herby Goat Burgers

We finally got more ground goat in stock and these herby burgers were first on the cooking docket!

I seasoned them with coriander, cumin, Green goddess seasoning, paprika, chili flakes and thyme, plus fresh rosemary, parsley and garlic. I also had some chèvre to use up so worked that into the patties, as well.

They came out absolutely perfect — goat really takes bold seasoning well.

Homemade Bitchin’ Sauce & Sweet Potato Fries

And we ate them slathered with homemade Bitchin Sauce, with sweet potatoes fries and caesar salad on the side.

Whole Foods stopped carrying this almond dip called Bitchin Sauce, so I have been making my own.

It’s almonds, water, lemon juice, oil (I use avocado), a little soy sauce and seasonings. This time I replaced about a third of the almonds with cashews for extra creaminess and it really came out well. I also added some roasted red pepper to the puree, which accounts for the orange hue!

Grant has been wanting to perfect his French fry game, but this time I encouraged him to try sweet potatoes since we had some to use up.

They took some babysitting and patience since the oil loses temp when you add the cold fries, but they came out great — crispy and just barely caramelized.

Tofu Veggie Shawarma Bowls with Turmeric Farro

I am very into variety and often don’t make the same things twice, but this is my third iteration of this tofu shawarma bowl and it just so happens, I made it around the same time in December 2023!

First I ripped up the tofu, tossed it in avocado oil and seasoned it with coriander, cumin, garlic, fenugreek, paprika, turmeric and sea salt, plus a little cornstarch and nutritional yeast to help it get a bit of a coating. I roasted it on a big baking sheet, with room to add veggies later.

Then I added kale and sprouting cauliflower and roasted for another 10 minutes or so and finally added lion’s mane mushrooms.

I also cooked some long-soaked farro with turmeric and served it all up with a dilly tahini sauce, fermented radishes and goat feta. It’s such a bright, veggie-loaded dish that is great for meal prep.

French Toast with Strawberry Hibiscus Sauce

Leftover Bellegarde bread usually just gets sliced and stored in my freezer for toast, but when my freezer is well stocked, it’s time for French Toast.

I use a pretty straightforward French Toast recipe with eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and I like to add almond extract, too.

The sauce was the fun part though. I still have plenty of frozen strawberries from last season to use up and I also had the last of the roselle hibiscus petals of the year from Cicada Calling Farm. I had a little apple cider, too, so I used that as the liquid, added a little extra sugar, plus cinnamon. I cooked it until it reduces into a thick, jammy sauce and it went so well with the French Toast flavors.

I definitely more protein in the mornings, though, so we had some of our little sausages on the side, too.