Veggie Burger An Option

With Memorial Day weekend upon us and the traditional start of grilling season here, it seems fitting to ask an age-old question that all loyal Americans must face:

At barbecues and picnics, do you choose hamburgers or hot dogs?

Fourteenth & Grand beauty salon employees offered their opinions.

“Neither, we’re vegetarians,” says Venica Tschoepe, a Deer Park resident. Tschoepe, her husband, Mark, and their two children, Tanae and Brayten, bring vegetarian burgers and hot dogs to picnics.

“Most of my friends are vegetarian anyway,” says Tschoepe, who likes the hamburger-style Gardenburgers and the Worthington brand soy hot dogs.

“I love hamburgers; I eat them all the time,” says Chia Xiong, who tops hers with lettuce, mayonnaise and ketchup. Engaged to be married June 19, Xiong says her fiance, Andy Griffin, is a steak kind of person and also likes hamburgers.

Heidi Geis makes no bones about her choice.

“Hamburgers! Hot dogs have so much fat, and you really don’t know what you’re getting in a hot dog,” says Geis, who likes lettuce, pickles, barbecue sauce, tomato and onion on her burgers.

“I like beef,” says Jackie Neubauer. “I like everything, the works, on hamburgers. Hot dogs are iffy.”

“Probably the hot dog, if it’s charred,” says Kasey Graham. “I like charcoal.”

You can probably guess Jody Berger’s answer: “I like hamburgers. Berger is my last name.”

“Definitely hamburgers,” agrees Rhea Campbell. “Turkey hot dogs aren’t so bad, but I’m a little leery about regular hot dogs.”

If you can’t decide which you prefer, then you can opt to have both - or, like Tschoepe, have a veggie burger. Here’s to a barbecue weekend.

Veggie Burgers With Cucumber Sauce

From “Fast-Scratch Vegetarian” (Land O’Lakes, 1999).

Cucumber sauce:

1/2 cup low-fat or nonfat sour cream

1/4 cup shredded cucumber

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon salt

Sandwiches:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 (12.8-ounce) package prepared vegetable burgers

4 lettuce leaves

4 slices tomato

2 (8-inch) pita breads, cut in half and warmed, OR 4 hamburger buns

Combine all sauce ingredients in small bowl and mix. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Grill burgers or heat oil in a 10-inch skillet and cook burgers until lightly browned, 5-8 minutes, turning once. To assemble, place lettuce and tomato slices inside each pita bread (or hamburger bun) and add 1 burger and 2 tablespoons sauce.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 237 calories, 5 grams fat (19 percent fat calories), 37 grams carbohydrate, 10 grams protein, no cholesterol, 4 grams dietary fiber, 371 milligrams sodium.