Archive for the ‘Health’ Category

What are your favorites? I’m currently making a list for a future post.

I live with two males. One that is purely steak and potatoes man and the other, which prefers a happy meal over anything. But there is one thing in this household that they can both agree on which helps me not feel like a chef in a diner every night. It’s steak.

Marinated and broiled.

Meat cuts are utterly foreign to me. When I head to the butchers I have no clue what part is to what side is to what but I do know this: Porter house cuts are the way to go.  They stay juicy and tender under the broiler and seriously suck up as much marinade as possible before hitting the pan. I like to tenderize the meat (get my frustrations out with a mallet) and let it marinade through the night. (30 minutes will do, too, if you’re short on time.) 

I grab a freezer size Ziploc bag and throw in my marinade. Everything is entirely eyeballed. No measurements. Just use common sense – Do you want more of a tang? Add more vinegar. More garlicy? Add more garlic… I usually put the same amount of liquids all around. ( That’s the vinegar, worcestershire, and olive oil.) 

Here are the ingredients to my super easy marinade:

Balsamic Vinegar

Worcestershire Sauce

Olive Oil

Lemon and Herb Seasoning

Garlic

Salt and Pepper both sides right before broiling on 8 -10 minutes on each side.

I often throw in a side of salad for the hubby and french fries or handful of potatoe chips for the little man.

Ahh..and look what I found? A Butcher’s Diagram.

Unfortunately, when I head to the grocers again, I will still be utterly confused and all this important meat knowledge will fly right out the refrigerated window.

“Neatly packaged meat in supermarkets is often completely detached from the consumer’s minds from the process of it’s production.”

A few weeks ago as I was browsing for links in my other writing job (I intern as Social Media for Green By Design) I fell upon world press photo and these insanely amazing photographic captures of a slaughterhouse in Tomasso Ausili, Italy. This editorial won 3rd prize in the contemporary issues category. You can see the rest here.

My desire to become vegetarian began when I was 10, when my childhood best friend, Samantha, showed me a life changing Rolling Stone magazine cut out of a cow being slaughtered. Though I am not vegan or 100% veg, I do try to cut down where I can in order to contribute towards the avoidance of cruelty. I’m not getting on a soap box here…but I just hope that everyone at least thinks about trading in a day or two during the week to go veg.  It’s healthier in the long run, too.