What’s football and beer without steak? I’ll tell you what it is, it’s about as useful as a pair of sunglasses are on a guy with one ear. As healthy as I am I do love me a good steak and if ever there was a day I’m going off the deep end food wise, it’s definitely on Super Bowl Sunday. Flank steak is one of my favorites, especially on the grill. Add this marinade to the mix and it’s the business! Superb by itself, in tacos or even great on salads if you want to keep it super clean and tasty. (Not bagged salads though am I right?)

(Adapted from Eating Well Magazine.)

RECIPE:
Serves 4-6

2 lbs grass fed/organic flank steak

Marinade:
1 x 15 oz can chopped tomatoes (fresh would be better though you might want to wait until they’re in season)
2 tbsp fresh oregano
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tsp chili flakes
1 shallot – peeled, roughly chopped
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves – peeled
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Place all the marinade ingredients in a blender and blitz for 30 seconds. Place the steak in a casserole dish and cover with marinade. Turn meat over to make sure all sides are coated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Marinate for between 4 and 24 hours.

TIP: Remove from fridge 1 hour before grilling to let return to room temperature. The reason being is that if you grill cold meat straight from the fridge by the time the heat penetrates the center of the steak the outside will be dry and over-cooked.

Preheat large skillet or outdoor bbq on high heat. Season marinated flank with S&P on both sides and sear on grill for 6-7 minutes on both sides for medium rare.

Very important: Let meat rest for 10 minutes on a tray after cooking. This is really the key to having juicy succulent meat. By doing this it gives the meat time to let all the juices redistribute back into the meat and not all over your cutting board.

Marinate. Grill. Eat. Drink. Couldn’t be easier!

Super Bowl Sunday….Done!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

The Missus found this brilliant green bean recipe a couple of months ago in our Eating Well Magazine. Since we had the side determined we just had to sort out the protein to go with it. Wild Alaskan salmon was fresh so I decided since whole grain mustard was in the beans, I’d make a glaze out of that for the salmon. Done!

Luckily fresh green beans are available year round here, but they are best in early winter, early summer, and early autumn. Some say the peak season is May to October. It being October and early autumn I’d say it’s a perfect time to scoop ‘em up. They are a good source of vitamin A and an excellent source of vitamin C, and 3/4 of a cup of is only 25 calories. Paired with heart-healthy wild salmon and you’ve got yourself one nutritious dinner! Another plus is that both recipes are super quick to prepare. Delicious, nutritious and quick? How good is that?

RECIPE:

SALMON:
Serves 2

2 x 4-5 oz Wild Alaskan Salmon

1 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tbsp agave
1/4 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp dried chili flakes
1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp Thai basil (optional) – fine chop

GREEN BEANS:
Serves 2 (with leftovers)

1 lb green beans, trimmed
4 tsp chopped fresh dill
1 tbsp minced shallot
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp whole grain mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 420F.
Spray foiled oven tray with olive oil spray.
Place the salmon skin side down (if you have the skin on) on the foiled oven tray. Add all the salmon glaze ingredients together in a bowl and mix well. Pour on top of salmon. Pop in the oven for 15 minutes approx or until internal temp 160F.
TIP: The easiest way to see if your fish is cooked through is to pierce the center, very carefully, with a small knife to the center of the fish. Remove and touch your lip with the end of the knife. If it feels hot, you’re good.

TO COOK THE BEANS:

Bring an inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan fitted with a steamer basket. Add green beans, cover and cook until tender-crisp, 4-5 mins approx. Remove from heat. Whisk dill, shallot, oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the (still warm) green beans and toss to coat. Cover. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving to blend flavors.

So tasty!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

In case you’re thinking I made a typo in the title, you saw correctly with pluot (PLEW-OT). I came across these at the farmers’ market and was instantly intrigued. Pluots are a cross between plums and apricots and they are brilliantly juicy and sweet. There are about 20 different varieties of pluots (who knew!) and as I watched the kids scarfing down the samples I thought, that’s a seal of approval if I ever saw one! SOLD! Turns out they’re not only delicious but they’re believed to be a great source of vitamin C, vitamin A and fiber, just like their ‘parents’.

Now that I had them what was I going to do with them? I saw this interesting recipe in an old Eating Well Magazine that used a peach salsa and thought why not try it with pluots and plums and while I’m at it how ’bout some cherries? After all, this week’s theme for Summer Fest is Fruit from Trees. I thought the brilliant red colors would not only look lovely together but taste amazing so I gave it a go. My work family loooved it and really, how could you not? Just look at all that goodness!

Good for the body, good for the kids (they’ll think this is fried!) and good tasting! Can’t beat that with a stick!

RECIPE:
SERVES 4

1 lb Organic or grass fed turkey breast, cut lengthwise into 4 x 4oz portions
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 large egg whites
1 1/4 cup Ener-G gluten free breadcrumbs or regular crumbs if preferred.
1 cup finely chopped pecans (Pulse in food processor for rough chop or by hand)
1 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven 400F.

With a meat mallet or a rolling pin, pound the turkey between sheets of plastic wrap to 1/4″  thickness.

CLASSIC BREADING TECHNIQUE:
This is a classic three step process for meat and fish: flour, egg, breadcrumbs. TIP: When you dip the turkey in the flour (both sides) you must make sure you shake off any excess flour (it has to be very fine dusting) then dip in the beaten egg white and finally the breadcrumbs which in this case is our Pecan crust.

Grab your three bowls and an oven tray–
#1: Combine flour, paprika, chili powder, S&P and lemon zest together in medium bowl or dish.
#2: Beat egg whites together slightly and add to a second dish.
#3: Mix breadcrumbs and pecans together in another dish.
#4: Oven tray ready

The simplest way is to set up an assembly line with the flour, egg ,breadcrumbs and a foiled oven tray at the end. You’ll work from left to right.
Dredge the turkey in the flour on both sides, shaking off the excess flour into the flour bowl. Next dip the turkey in the egg whites and coat both sides. Let the excess egg drain off over the egg dish. Finally lay the turkey in the breadcrumb dish and pat down so the coating sticks to both sides. Lay on oven tray. Once all turkey is coated, refrigerate ’til needed. This step can be done a couple hours ahead of time if needed.

CHERRY PLUM SAUCE

RECIPE:

1 cup fresh cherries – halved, pitted
1/2 cup fresh plums – small dice
1/2 cup fresh pluots – small dice
1 tbsp fresh ginger – grated
1 cup water
1 tbsp Agave nectar

DIRECTIONS:
Pop your cherries in a small saucepan along with the water, ginger and Agave. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer and continue cooking for 5-6 minutes. When done remove from heat and fold in diced plums & pluots. Stir and let stand.

Meanwhile as cherries are cooking, preheat large non-stick saute pan. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and once heated place 2 turkey cutlets in the pan to brown. Cook 2-3 minutes each side until golden.  Once browned, remove to a foiled oven tray. Using a kitchen towel wipe out pan and add 2 more tbsp olive oil. Repeat browning process.

Once all turkey has been browned pop in preheated oven for 4 minutes to finish cooking.

Serve with warmed or room temp fruit compote. Mmmmmm Delicioso!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

I know this recipe might sound like a strange concept. I, too, was skeptical about trying this one out but to my delight it was extremely tasty. I got the idea from EatingWell.com as I was doing some research about pumpkins. Pumpkins are those things we tend to hack up and carve vs. eating (unless we’re talking pie, where the pumpkin found fame).  I haven’t worked a whole lot with pumpkin so I decided to try my hand at trying and creating recipes because if you’re like my house, you’ll have some un-carved pumpkins left over from Halloween.

Though I followed most of the recipe from the website I did make some modifications noted via asterisk below. That’s the beauty about cooking, you can always make a recipe your own.

RECIPE:

Extra-virgin olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped red or green bell pepper * I used red
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn * I used frozen
2 cloves garlic, minced * I used one
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
Fresh Tomato Salsa (recipe to follow)
1/2 cup canned unseasoned pumpkin puree * I used FRESH pumpkin puree (see recipe on previous post) and I also added 1/4 cup extra at the end to moisten up the mixture
1/2 cup shredded Jack or Cheddar cheese * I didn’t use any cheese (it was great without it)
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ * I used raw as that’s the only kind I had in the kitchen
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs * I used the Italian breadcrumbs
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
8-inch flour tortillas * I used whole wheat
shredded lettuce
* I also added some canned black beans, drained – maybe a 1/4 cup and some minced jalapeno for kick

DIRECTIONS:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in large non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Read the rest of this entry »