Vietnamese Beef Salad

One of my favorites! I love beef, and salad and the strong flavors in this dish. Of course, as usual, I did not follow the recipe, I will explain what I did and provide links to the actual recipe from Williams Sonoma.


Remember, Cooking is an art- do what feels right and what excites you.


First I got a 100% grass fed flank steak and had the butcher run it through the tenderizer once to make it very tender. The tenderizer will punch tons of minute holes in the meat and make it more tender and able to hold flavors better. I then sliced it super thin, across the grain into long strips.

I assembled the marinade ingredients, you can see most of them here. I have sesame oil, fish sauce, garlic, lemongrass, Thai red chile paste, lime juice, brown sugar. If you are concerned with sugar feel free to substitute your favorite sweetener instead.  Also, if you have never cooked with fish sauce, this is not an ingredient that can be left out, it makes the dish, you must use it! Don't worry- you can get it at Safeway or any chain grocer...look in the Asian or International section.

I mixed it all together. Be sure to smash up the hard bits of the brown sugar and stir it together well. If your lemon grass is big and tough, smack it with the flat side of a knife to release the flavors, manhandle it!

I added the meat and turned it to coat then put it in the refrigerator overnight, this is some strong flavored stuff! 

So after I let it marinade all night, I heated a cast iron skillet really hot, then coated it in olive oil and "stir fried" the beef very quickly. I then made a salad based on this recipe from Williams-Sonoma, but I left out the rice noodles and the butter lettuce. I used my favorite Super Greens, and added the other ingredients. The mint and cilantro are not optional, you must use them. I grow mint in my garden and the flavor it adds to salads is out of this world!


I did not serve it with the dipping sauce (recipe here), I actually just tossed the salad with the sauce as the dressing. It's sweet and sticky, a little goes a long way.


Also, I tripled the garlic in the meat marinade.....


You can always check me out on Pinterest, my recipes are posted there in case you lose them! 

Thought you might like to see how I look from behind these days!

LOL!

Sundays Food

I decided that I might as well start in on my new "diet" now, I mean why wait until Monday? To me, that's like a New Year's resolution, (which I don't believe in), if you have to wait an entire year to make a commitment to yourself, it probably won't stick. If I decide to do something I do it right away.


I had my usual meal replacement shake when I woke up before heading off to the gym. I didn't set the alarm and woke at 5:20, I took my time getting ready.


I trained Back and Biceps and then headed home and had my protein shake with a small banana blended in, then coffee.


Off to the Farmer's Market to stock up on goodies.


Next I had 100% grass fed ground beef mixed with sautéed chard and kale and a pasture raised fried egg on top  (see above). Yum!


Kale steaming

Chard in a little olive oil and red pepper flakes, I sauté it then add the steamed kale to it.

Cook the ground beef

Mix in the greens

Then top with an egg.

Then all morning cooking and I had more beef and vegetables. I had a grass fed flank steak from Prather Ranch that I bought at the Farmer's Market so David sliced it really thin for me. I sautéed it with steamed broccoli.

Next I will have rotisserie chicken and more vegetables. We bought a small chicken from Prather Ranch, these little beauties do not taste like the ones you buy in the grocery store.  I brined it all day in a recipe that Chez Panisse restaurant uses, and I use it for my chickens and my Thanksgiving day turkey. It makes the chicken taste even more sublime.


Here it is brining away!

The chicken gets tied and threaded through the long metal rod and will slowly turn on the wood fire rotisserie for about an hour and a half, it will be moist and falling off the bone.

The vegetables will be grilled first on a super hot fire then served at room temperature.

The boys will also have an orzo salad with goat cheese and tomatoes.


Here are the cooked vegetables

And my dinner, I added some ripe, creamy avocado too.

Grilled Radicchio

I love foods with vibrant flavors. Bitter, spicy, sweet and salty, I love it all and bland food just doesn't impress me at all.

A vegetable I love is radicchio, it is a leaf chicory. It usually comes in small, compact heads and is a deep, dark red color with white center veins.

I like to separate the leaves, leave them whole and put them in a large basket. They will be wilted on a hot grill. I have also done this under the broiler if I am not grilling (actually I never grill- isn't that a man thing? David does it!)

In a large bowl I make the vinaigrette. For two heads of radicchio I use 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and lots of black pepper. It is not science, use what pleases you. This is a very lightly dressed dish, you would probably like the vinaigrette doubled....I don't care for overly dressed foods.

I can highly recommend Frog Hollow Farm organic olive oil. The fresh, fruity flavor is out of this world! We buy it at the Campbell Farmer's Market but they sell at several other markets too.

Put the bowl by the BBQ and grill the leaves, turning if you like (but not necessary) and when they are wilted plop them in the vinaigrette, turning occasionally. 

The radicchio can be served room temperature or it can be heated again. I serve it as a side dish with any meat or fish that does not have a sauce on it.

Today I took my left over radicchio and mixed it with left over sautéed broccoli rabe, another bitter Italian green, similar to a bitter broccoli. 

I warmed them both together and was going to put a couple fried eggs on top, so the yolks would break onto the greens, but we were out of eggs and will not be going to the Farmer's Market until Sunday, so I settled for scrambled egg whites.

Mixed it all together and added a bit of black pepper and it was wonderful. The egg yolk would put it over the top, definitely try it that way. This is a healthy, low carb, flavorful dish to enjoy anytime. 

I have also made this with ground beef instead of egg and find it especially satisfying for breakfast. 

10:00 a.m. Meal

I eat this meal at 10:00 am, and I consider it my lunch. I suppose it is my favorite meal of the day!  That’s most likely because it is the biggest meal of the day and I love to eat!

10:00 a.m. is 4 ounces starch, 4 ounces lean protein, 1 cup vegetable. For my protein I usually have turkey breast (or tenderloin), or chicken breast, and on occasion I have beef. I really enjoy beef, very, very much! Yes, this is diet food.

The cut I have here is an eye of round roast, and I have the butcher slice it in ½ inch thick slices. I then sear them in a very hot cast iron pan for one to two minutes a side and then add salt and pepper and they are done. 

Eye of Round may not be the tastiest, or the most tender, but it is the leanest. Yes indeed, I don't care what you all think- it is! The Mayo Clinic discusses the leanest cuts here and Eye of Round is number !!

Actually it's not bad and David has been known to sneak my beef too. It cooks super fast and when you are hungry- that's important.

I like yams, sweet potatoes, brown rice, or Soo Foo for my starch. The rice I really like is a short grain brown rice I buy in bulk at Whole Foods called Brown Kashirkari Rice. 

Then one cup of green vegetable, usually it's broccoli but might be asparagus, green beans, zucchini, cauliflower, or Brussels Sprouts, but it's something steamed.

I like to pour fat free balsamic vinaigrette over it (homemade), it sounds odd but the mustard and balsamic are tasty on the rice. 

Today (Friday) was a state holiday so my schedule was a little off and I had this at 9:30 a.m, but I can eat this at any time of day!

I hit the gym at 5:00 a.m. (opening) and did calves, abs and stairmill. I also had time so I threw in some jump rope and plyo step ups, then off to the grocery store. I had to eat before training, I never miss a meal. I think the number one reason why most women don't develop the physique they dream of is underfeeding. They starve themselves, or try to get lean on lettuce and carrot sticks.

I ate at 9:30 instead of 10 because I was training with Roy at 11:00, I need to eat an hour before lifting and I had to get to a new Farmers Market first. Eating a half hour early isn't going to mess my body up, and I just adjust all meals afterward accordingly.

This is my second and last meal with starches, so I savor it. 

As I was lifting later, and talking with Roy in between sets, he is making notes on his clipboard (he always makes notes, I should look one day to see what he writes). I told him I finished my reps strong because I had beef again for lunch! He scribbles on his clipboard. I figured he wrote that down.

Nope. Later he told me he wrote down "after long rest talking for 5 minutes, Kristy was able to complete all reps in set."

smartass.

Beef and Mushroom Casserole

I like to read Clean Eating magazine, and recently purchased their magazine "Classic Comfort Foods". One recipe jumped out at me called "creamy mushroom casserole" because it had beef and mushrooms, my two favorites. It is like a clean beef stroganoff. With no disrespect to Clean Eating, often their recipes are far from what I would call "clean". I think I am much more selective than they are, especially when some of their dishes have well over 40 grams of carbs in them.


I decided to make their casserole, but modified it big time. Theirs has milk and rice in it, and lots of cheese. I left out the rice and milk and drastically reduced the cheese, it's not needed. The porcini soaking water replaced the milk and is important for a rich taste.


2 1/2 pounds flank steak run through the tenderizer once, then cut into 1 inch thick slices
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cups mixed sliced mushrooms (brown, oyster, shitake)
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup hot water then strained and rinsed, reserve water for dish
3 tbsps whole wheat flour
pepper, salt
2 slices Lacey Swiss cheese (in the deli section, it is 5x5 inch block of low calorie Swiss, or any low cal Swiss will do)
1 tsp Umami Taste #5 paste (optional)


I love mushrooms, especially porcini. First soak the porcini in one cup of hot water until soft, then strain and save the water. Chop the porcini. If you will not be using porcini you can use beef broth instead of the porcini water.


Heat a skillet over medium high heat and quickly saute the beef slices until browned, 3 to 5 minutes, set aside.

Wipe out the skillet, heat it on medium high and add 2 tsps olive oil, onion, all the mushrooms and garlic and saute, stirring occasionally about 10 minutes until onions are translucent. 

Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms, stir. Slowly add the porcini water (or beef broth) and stir until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add beef back into the mushroom mixture, add pepper and crumble and toss in the 2 slices of cheese, stir to melt and combine.

Taste for seasoning.

I add a squirt of Taste #5, it makes everything taste better! You can get it on Amazon and in any fancy cooking shop.

It is rich and creamy with no milk, and a fraction of the cheese that was called for.

I had it over broccoli florets. It was great!

Curry Peanut Soup

Sunday afternoon it was rainy and I was in the mood for soup.  I love soup, it can warm the soul and fill the belly.

I cut this recipe out of the December issue of Oxygen magazine because it had something in it I love: Peanut Butter! It also costs $1.12 per serving, pretty darn cheap if you ask me!

I LOVED it!! I had it for meal #4 and will have it for dinner the next day. Of course, I made some changes and I will tell you about that once I write the recipe here.

Keep in mind that the nutritional breakdown is an estimate (from the magazine), because nothing is weighed, it cannot be exact. Unless you are in competition prep mode, there is no need to concern yourself with the fact that this is not exact. And, anyone in prep wouldn't be able to eat this anyway!

Makes 12 servings, ready in 40 minutes

2 Tbsps low sodium soy sauce
1 onion, chopped
2 small sweet potatoes, diced (I peeled mine)
1 large carrot, cut into half moons
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 lb small shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
32 oz low-sodium vegetable broth
1 15 oz can low sodium garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
3 Tbsps natural peanut butter
2 tsps curry powder

Heat 1/2 cup water and soy sauce in a large pot.

Add onion and sweet potatoes, cook 5 minutes over high heat, stir occasionally.

Add carrot, celery and red pepper. Cover and cook 3 minutes, stir occasionally.

Add shrimp and cook until white, 5 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, stock, beans and cilantro.

Blend peanut butter with 1/3 cup water and curry powder, add to soup.

Stir to mix well, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Serve in 1 cup servings.

Calories 140
Fat 3 grams
Sodium 400 mg
Carbohydrate 15 grams
Fiber 3 grams
Sugar 3 grams
Protein 13 grams
Now, I didn't follow this recipe exactly, here is what I did.

I planned on making this and freezing it in single portion servings. I didn't want to freeze the shrimp (as shrimp is always frozen when you buy it anyway, it has just been defrosted).

I made the soup, omitting the shrimp. Then when I was ready to eat some, I added 1 cup of soup to a small pot and added 1/4 pound shrimp. I also want more shrimp than the recipe calls for...I found it to be a little thick, not quite enough broth for me, so in went a little tap water. I just heated it through and it was great.

Now what makes this so much more exciting (for me) is that Cooper tried it before I added the shrimp and liked it very much! David also liked it. Cooper said he would like me to get a nice, tender cut of beef, cook it so it was still pink, and then cut it into chunks. Add this to his soup instead of shrimp and he would be more than willing to have it for dinner, in fact, he said he would enjoy it very much. He liked the peanut taste and the mild curry flavor.

I made their soup with the beef, and it was great! I would eat it like that too.


So, shrimp in mine, beef in theirs and everyone gets a great bowl of soup!

The Counter

The Counter is a restaurant, they serve one of my all time favorite dishes- BURGERS.

Friends always think it's funny that I am such a gourmet yet I love burgers with a passion.

The Counter is located in the Santana Row shopping center, I had it on my "list of good eats" back from my July competition and from my October competition, in fact, I have been wanting to go there for about a year now (that shows how often I really do this)....I only just made it there for the first time on Thursday evening.

  
It was good. 

It was really good. 

The picture is an interesting sepia tone because I was attempting to soften the devil look in my eyes that the red eye deleter wouldn't take care of, you see, David, bless his pointy little head, is a lousy photographer!

I had to have this picture though, because there are a few disbelievers out there, who doubt I can (or more accurately WILL) power on a cheeseburger...

Cheese?

Yes, it had cheese, Tillamook Cheddar...yum! 

So, if you have never been to the counter, here's the deal-

They have a menu and they have this cool checklist, it's actually a small paper checklist that walks you through the entire burger building process, you are presented with choices at several levels, you check off your choices on the sheet and it makes it easy to get a burger exactly as you like it. EXACTLY!

First- meat choices  (and this is from memory)

Beef, chicken, veggie, turkey, crab

Then bun or bowl?

If a bun what kind?

White, honey wheat, ciabatta, English muffin,  onion...

Cheese?

Too many to list...

Toppings?

mushrooms, onions, sprouts, carrots, hard cooked eggs (???), pineapple, jalapenos, cucumber..it goes on quite a bit

Sauces?

Besides the regular mayo, mustard, ketchup you have BBQ, horseradish, red relish, ranch, on and on.

None of the sauces come actually on the burger, they are on the side which is great.

The burgers come "medium rare, still pink , but we can make then more cooked or less cooked, how do you want it?"

Oh my goodness, I want it bloody rare..... with a glass of red wine (after all, Friday is back and bicep day, I can handle one glass of wine, this back is impressive).

The fries? Stupendous!

The onion strings? The same!

Honestly, I didn't try the sweet potato fries, I am a bit sweet potatoed out right now....

And what makes it even better is that my 16 year old son wants to hang out with me at this place, we all have a great time, the sharks game is on (and they are fighting up a storm), all of the young beautiful hotties are out (what happened to me? I used to be one of those!!) 

Oh, I am not crying over my age, I look great, I feel great, I have a great life....maybe just not as hot as I used to be :) But hotter than most are now!

Ah, isn't life wonderful?

Vietnamese Glazed Tilapia

One of my favorite things to eat and it is super healthy too! This is a recipe from a cooking magazine (I think it was Bon Appetit) and is intended for thin pork chops. While pork chops are great prepared this way, I don't eat them often as they aren't the best choice of protein. My family does like them though, so I will prepare a double batch of this marinade, in one container I will marinade tilapia or turkey cutlets for myself, and in the other, thin beef steaks or pork chops for the boys.


TOTAL TIME: 30 MIN PLUS OVERNIGHT MARINATING

SERVES: 4
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Asian fish sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium shallots, minced
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
16 ounces tilapia or
8 thin beef steaks or center-cut pork loin chops
Salt
1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts (optional)


In a large bowl, combine the vegetable oil with the honey, fish sauce, garlic, shallots and pepper. Add the tilapia (or beef steaks), turn to coat thoroughly with the marinade and refrigerate overnight.

Tilapia:

If only cooking a small portion of this, for one or two people, you an microwave it. Place the tilapia in a shallow glass dish, pour some of the marinade over and add a half cup water. Cover with domed lid, microwave until cooked through, approximately 4 to 6 minutes (depending on amount of fish cooked at one time).

If cooking all of this, I suggest placing the fish, along with most of the marinade and one to one and a half cups water into a large skillet, simmer until fish is cooked though and firm, about 5 minutes.

Serve the fish on top of a bed or rice and steamed vegetables, and then scatter the peanuts on top. Pour a bit of the cooking liquid over for moistness.

Beef, pork or turkey cutlets:

Light a grill. Lightly season the meat with salt. Brush the grill with oil and cook the meat over very high heat until nicely charred and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side (less for turkey cutlets). Scatter the peanuts on top and serve right away with rice and vegetables.

I am available for hugs and kisses once you try this; I guarantee it will be one of your favorites. You can marinade several batches, then portion them out and place into the freezer for a very quick meal when you have no time to prepare anything. I will always have marinated portions of tilapia already measured out in the proper weight. If I can remember, I take one out and leave it in the refrigerator in a bowl to thaw while I am at work. If I forget, it can still be microwaved straight from the freezer, although I think it tends to cook better if thawed.