Monday, March 19, 2012

Single moms just need steak


No Q&A this week, although I suppose this post does answer the questions I often get about whether I'm sure that going grain free was necessary. My body is punishing me for a weekend of bad eating...and maybe some drinking, too. I was home in NJ and the naughtiness started with a sloppy joe - the kind whose praises I have sung on this blog before. And before I even took a sip of alcohol, my body rebelled. But I ignored and proceeded to have a burger (with bun) for dinner, loads of margaritas and Irish car bombs (it was St. Patty's Day, be nice), and late night pizza slices. And I might have had a bagel the next morning but I refuse to confirm or deny. My gut has been in a painful twist ever since, but seems to have relaxed a bit after a couple leafy salads and tonight's dinner of steak and veggies. I'm almost grateful for this experience because it has confirmed that going grain-free was the right choice for my digestive health.

As if my stomach wasn't tied up in enough knots, I'm spending my first full week alone with Charlie while the husband attends a conference at Brown. I was pretty nervous about how I'd manage to feed cats, feed baby, do dishes, pack bags for tomorrow (mine and his), and hopefully make some dinner for myself. I tried to pick easy meals for this week that would allow me to cook meat and veg in one pan together, either under the broiler or on the stove top. And here I am, with a sleeping baby, clean dishes, packed bags, and a tasty steak in my belly. I'm now convinced that single moms just need steak to be happy and centered.*

While at Whole Foods to pick up a NY Strip (on sale last week..woot!), I noticed a bunch of different kinds of WF brand marinades and sauces on top of the meat counter. The one that caught my eye was rosemary and mint. I looked at the ingredients and noticed they included sugar, so I figured I would go home and figure out a way to make my own that was sugar free. On my way out of WF, I added a bunch of rosemary, a bunch of mint, and a couple lemons to my cart. The WF sauce was probably meant for lamb and my version would be incredibly tasty on a nice lamb chop for sure, but tonight it went on the strip steak. I'm usually a steak purist - no sauce necessary - but this addition was light and crisp, so that the deliciousness of the steak could still shine through.

This week's menu:
Monday - Steak
Tuesday - Pork stir-fry with CSA pea shoots and lemongrass
Wednesday - Chicken with feta, olives, and spinach w/black salsify and kale gratin
Thursday - CSA beer brat with cabbage slaw
Friday - Whatever allows me to put my feet up after a week alone with my adorable munchkin

Steak with Rosemary and Mint

1 NY strip steak (or any other cut you prefer)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 sprig of rosemary
2 tbsp of mint, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil
Coarse salt and pepper

- Turn the broiler on high or warm up the grill
- Spray both sides of the steak with cooking spray (I use a Misto with olive oil)
- Salt and pepper both sides of the steak
- Remove rosemary leaves from sprig and place them in a food processor with the garlic, mint, lemon juice and a splash of olive oil. Pulse until well-chopped, but do not let it get completely smooth.
- Take half of the mixture and spread it across one side of steak, pressing it into the meat. Flip the steak and do the same to the other side.
- Broil or grill for 5 minutes on each side, or longer if the steak is especially thick. Mine was about 1.75 inches thick, so I cooked for almost 8 minutes per side.
- Pull off the heat and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.


*I am, of course, joking. Single moms need steak AND wine...and shots.

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday.

1 comment:

  1. ooh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Ok, i'll give steak one more chance...

    ReplyDelete