Mar 11
London broil was on sale for $3.99/lb at "Whole Foods" the other day, so I decided to buy a pound of meat and split it in two half-pound packages. I couldn't decide how to cook the meat and scoured the Net for recipes that were quick and easy to make and found this recipe. The "Tangy Lime Grilled Top Round Steak" should've been a dead give away for me, but I decided to give it a try anyway.
I only marinated a half-pound of meat and cut the recipe in half, although I made a slight tweak. I used 1 Tbsp of brown sugar and added 2 Tbsp of
muscovado sugar.
Instead of using a conventional gas oven, I used the toaster oven to broil my meat. It was out of sheer laziness that I used the toaster oven. If you've seen my mom's oven, you'll know why (she stores most of her baking pans in there and I found it too cumbersome to empty it just to broil a half pound slab of meat). I cooked the meat for about six minutes and it cooked it to medium, instead of my preferred medium-rare.
After the meat cooked, I decided to give it a try and... Yup! It sure was tangy. A little too tangy for my liking so I sprinkled lots of salt (and Herbes de Provence and pepper) on it, which helped. For my sides, I added baked frozen tater tots from WF and a spring salad with miso dressing. Because of the tanginess of the meat, I was able to enjoy the left over viognier from the other night. I continued to drink it through dessert, with my two year old Cabot white cheddar cheese.
Mar 11
I still have some of my baguette left over from the other night's dinner. I had a hankering for a PB&J sammy this morning and without any wheat bread available, I made do with what was available:
Baguette + Organic Peanut Butter + Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves = Awesome goodness!
I would have called it a "sweet French bruschetta," but the French aren't particularly fond of peanut butter, like the Americans. They think peanuts are to be snacked upon while imbibing... Otherwise known as pulutan in Tagalog.
Mar 10
Scrambled eggs and hashbrowns with sea salt. Coffee and a baguette on the side.
Sent from my G1. Please excuse typos and brevity.
Mar 9
I was too lazy to cook anything last night, so I decided to have cheese and wine for dinner... The French would call it dessert.
2008 Justin Viognier, lactose free cheddar, brie, and brie with truffles, along with a French baguette (everything but the wine were purchased from "Whole Paycheck.")
Sent from my G1. Please excuse typos and brevity.
Feb 17
After a workout, there's nothing like drinking a peanut butter and chocolate smoothie!
I love peanut butter and chocolate. This smoothie allows me to get the best of both worlds without feeling guilty (I never actually feel guilty about what I eat... I might feel horrible or stuffed, but never guilty).
Ingredients:
2 scoops chocolate whey protein
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tbsp peanut butter
Handful of ice cubes
Optional ingredients that I like to add:
1 banana (because I also love chocolate and bananas)
2 tsp flax seeds (for fiber and omega-3s)
Throw all the ingredients in a blender and blend. It takes less than five minutes. Without the banana and flax seeds, you consume just under 400 calories. It's good enough to replace a meal, like breakfast, if you work out in the morning.
Sent from my G1. Please excuse typos and brevity.
Feb 16
My last post raved about my love for grass fed beef... However, corn and grass can still make a good match: buttered corn + corn fed beef = good dinner. =P
Sent from my G1. Please excuse typos and brevity.
Feb 15
I decided that I couldn't wait too long for the rematch, so I went back to the kitchen and cooked a couple more slivers sans seasoning.
Corn fed on the left. Grass fed on the right.
Winner all around: Grass Fed Beef
Have you ever tried raw milk? I was reading about raw milk several months ago and decided to try it. Raw milk is not homogenized and comes from grass fed cows and you can really taste the
grassiness in the milk. It tastes nothing like wheat grass, but the flavor is distinct, unlike the milk you typically find in your local Safeway/Vons/Pavilions.
Grass fed beef is similar to raw milk - you can taste the grass in the meat when you compare it to corn fed beef, but it's not quite as grassy as raw milk. The flavor is "lighter" and less intense than its corn fed counterpart and the smell of the meat is also different.
Corn fed beef doesn't taste horrible (I've eaten my fair share of steaks that were corn fed), but given the option, I'll most likely opt for grass fed beef in the future.
This new discovery prompted me to look for steakhouses in the Bay Area that serve grass fed beef and I was happy to discover that
ACME Chop House (Their rib eye rocks! Bring a date or a friend because it's 40 oz of rib eye goodness.) and
Lark Creek Steak both serve grass fed beef.
Feb 14
Grass fed beef on the left. Corn fed beef on the right.
I've been told (and have also read) that grass fed beef is better (for you) than corn fed beef. I had some corn fed beef at home and while I was at "Whole Paycheck" the other day it dawned on me that they only sold grass fed beef. I decided to do a little experiment.
I took small slivers of both types of meat (round sirloin), lightly seasoned it with salt and pepper, and threw it on the grill.
Conclusions:
1. I need to try this experiment again (later) without seasoning the meat to see how they differ in taste.
2. The texture of the grass fed beef was smoother and the meat was also more tender.
3. Although the meat came from the same part of the cow, the grass fed beef was leaner.
The corn fed beef is good for cooking tapa, bistek, and similar types of dishes; however, I think the grass fed beef is perfect for a good ol' steak, medium rare. Why ruin a perfect piece of steak with sauce and such?
Feb 6
Been out of commision all week. My sister bought me this thermal pot so I can make tea without having to nuke a mug of water every 30 minutes. Didn't realize my dad disposed of my tea kettle until I was looking for it the first time I got sick last November.
Sent from my G1. Please excuse typos and brevity.
Feb 1
A wheel of Brie
4 Tbsp Apricot Jam (I'm lucky because my old boss has several fruit trees. She gives me several jars of jam a year and whenever I get the apricot or plum jam, I use some of it for Baked Brie.)
10 sheets of phyllo dough
1/4 cup of melted butter
Make sure to wrap the phyllo dough in a wet (paper) towel, so it doesn't fall apart when not in use.
Take a sheet of the phyllo dough and put it on a plate brush some butter on the dough. Place the wheel of cheese on the dough. Add the jam on top of the cheese and wrap the cheese in phyllo dough. Make sure to brush melted butter on the dough before wrapping the cheese and when "sealing" the wrapper. Flip the wrapped cheese over, jam side down, the next time you wrap the cheese, and keep alternating until you use all the phyllo dough.
Bake the Brie in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown.
