Christmas Steak

And just like that, Christmas is upon us! This isn't Christmas dinner, but it's close.

Boneless rib steak:
Montreal Steak Spice
Chopped cilantro
Olive Oil

Mushrooms:
Garlic
Paprika
Cumin
S&P

Salad:
Baby Kale
Chick Peas
Pomegranate
Avocado

Dressing:
Tahini
Grainy Mustard
Maple Syrup
Lime juice

Everything was delicious. The steak was eaten with a wedge of lime for a nice citrus note. And, the vitamin C from the lime helps your body absorb the iron better from the red meat. Just FYI.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones. 

The Love, Joy and Peace of Christ be upon your household. 

And may every good and perfect gift find its way to you in the New Year!

Summer Apple Salad

Whenever I think of apples in salad, I usually remember the creamy potato fruit salads my grandma would make. But now I've got a beet salad to change up the taste and color of an apple-y salad, and today, a fresh citrus seasoned apple salad. It's got barley mixed in so I feel it could replace the carb option in a meal.

Sliced Apple
Shredded carrots
Sliced celery and its leaves
Barley
(I may have one more vegetable ingredient but I can't remember for the life of me.)

Dressing is my go to:
Grainy Mustard
Lemon juice
Olive Oil
Stevia drops (sugarless sweetener)...instead of honey

Also pictured, a nice med rare stake and some grilled broccoli.

Green Steak and Ham

A MEAT post!!! Finally! ...but no ham in this...I was just thinking about Dr Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham book.

My husband told me about a cilantro mint chutney that his coworker shared with him once. It's simply:
A bunch of fresh mint
A bunch of fresh cilantro
Thai chilies (as many or as little as you like....I would recommend at LEAST one)
A spoon of sugar

And then blend it to a saucy consistency.
We only have the Magic Bullet...and had trouble with the leaves sticking to the walls and not coming down. So we added about 1/3 cup of olive oil. It ended up being a thick paste. Keeps for a couple weeks in the fridge.

What's great about it, is that it can be used to marinate ANY meat. In this case, I used it on steak. I thinned out several spoons of the paste with some grapeseed oil since it was going into the BBQ. In hindsight, I should've only used grapeseed oil since olive oil burns in high tempuratures....like in the BBQ. Here I've got some rib steak marinating in the green goodness:




And after grilling to a beautiful medium rare, I took more chutney, added some lemon juice and minced garlic to make a chimichuri sauce for the steak. SO GOOD.



The sides are a quick Asian pickles and grilled cauliflour.

Pickles:
Cucumbers
Couple spoons of white vinegar (you're supposed to use rice vinegar)
Spoon of sugar
Minced garlic
Spoon or two of soy sauce
few drops of sesame oil

Grilled cauliflour was tossed in grapeseed oil, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese.

I Heart Beef Heart

Beef heart is one of those surprising cuts of meat that doesn't get very much fanfare...especially not compared to the prime rib roast...but totally one that is worthy of checking out!

It's WAY cheaper than a steak of the same weight. The cut pictured below cost me $3. It's also quite lean. If liver could taste like this, I'd eat way more of it. The texture is firm...with a bit of...crunch? to it. Not sure how to describe. Anyone else tried it before and can comment??

Just trim off the silverskin or whatever that lining is around the heart. If the heart isn't sliced to steak size already, you can do that for a more even cooking surface area. Season it like you would a steak (Montreal steak spice!). And then cook it to a medium/med. rare for the best texture and tenderness. It's quite chewy if fully cooked because there's no fat marbled in it. I love the flavor and texture.



Totally try this out!! =)

Blueberry Corn Salad

I think this is my new favorite summer salad...I'll take a picture the next time I make it.

BBQ'd corn niblets (after cutting the niblets off the cob, save it for sweetening soup stock!)
Blueberries
Arugula
Spinach
BBQ'd meat (steak, ribs, chicken, whatever)

(I would've loved some shredded mint or basil tossed in as well...but my basil plant is still tiny in its pot.)

Drizzle with this citrus-y lime vinaigrette goodness:
Lime juice
Olive Oil
Mustard
Sugar
Vinegar
Salt

The citrus dressing cuts through the rich smokey fats of the BBQ'd meat. The blueberries add a tangy sweetness. It's all very yummy.