On my real food journey, my eyes have been opened to the individual ingredient and everything it has to offer. You have to because it does not come in a box with instructions...so it forces you to get to know it!
Take short ribs for example. I have never really thought about what could come of these little guys until recently. I found out that you can't just grill them and that you really need to cook them slowly and purposefully. Once cooked it's a virtual canvas as to what you smother and cover them in.
I had some French Dijon mustard in the refrigerator and some fresh fennel so I decided to make a quick honey Dijon sauce and crispy fennel to finish these off. The sea salt that completes the dish is my go to favorite with honey and mustard - Vanilla Bean sea salt!
Ingredients:
1) 2 lbs of short ribs
2) 4 tablespoons of French Dijon mustard
3) 1 tablespoon of raw organic honey (or to taste)
4) 1 tablespoon of raw organic apple cider vinegar
5) 1 large fennel bulb
6) 1 tablespoon of olive oil or coconut oil
Directions:
First broil your short ribs in a hot oven (425 degrees) for about 15 minutes to brown and sear the ribs. Transfer the ribs to a stock pot and fill with filtered water to cover the ribs about 2 inches above the meat. Cook in a low oven (270 degrees) for 3 hours to slowly cook the meat. At this point the ribs are fully cooked and very tender. Now it's time to add your sauce and broil one more time to sear in the sauce. Arrange your short ribs on a pan and add the sauce.
Sauce: Whisk together the Dijon mustard, honey, vinegar and olive oil and spread on top of the short ribs, reserve some for plating. Place under the broil until the sauce begins to bubble, but does not burn.
While your preparing your short ribs slice a fennel bulb into thin strips and cook on top of the stove until browned and a bit crispy. Top your short ribs with the cooked fennel, a bit of the reserved Dijon sauce and finish the entire dish with a sprinkle of Vanilla Bean sea salt!
It's grilling time again! Wait, has it ever stopped? Not at our house. We grill in all sorts of weather.
However, I had been in the kitchen for so many days and it seemed the right time to get outdoors, open the grill and chill outside while the children played.
I had picked up two fresh pineapples the other day and grilling them sounded like a fantastic thing to do...then came to mind a grilled seasoned hamburger on top of this would be even better!
Hamburger Ingredients:
1) 2 lbs ground round. If I can purchase grass fed, I do...if I can't find that I will ask the butcher to freshly grind a piece of round. That way I am assured it came from only one cow.
2) 1 medium onion finely grated, I used a food processor to get this job done with less tears
3) 1 bunch of chopped parsley
4) 2 cloves of garlic minced
5) 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
6) 1 teaspoon of sea salt
Directions:
Marinade the meat for a minimum of 3 hours, longer is always better. Get your grill hot and grill the burgers to sear all sides and then turn down to low-medium.
While they are simmering on one side of your grill, get ready to grill some pineapple rings! Slice your pineapple in 1/2 inch rings. Place rings on a hot grill and cook until soft and lightly brown char is achieved. If your pineapple is not as ripe, you may have to add a little bit of coconut oil to the rings prior to grilling. This will help with the cooking process and allow the pineapple to cook without burning.
To plate, place a piece of grilled pineapple on the plate and glaze with balsamic (optional) and dust with Smoked Serrano sea salt (this salt pairs extremely well with pineapple). Next, top your burger on the pineapple and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and another sprinkle of Smoked Serrano sea salt!
The flavor combinations go so well together! Enjoy!
This was a two day meal preparation and I'm usually not in for complicated...however I would and will do this one again!
When our diet became all about whole fresh ingredients, I paid more attention to my meat and where it came from. No longer do I purchase meat in bulk from confined animal feeding operations (CAFO's). To many diseases, too many antibiotics and chemicals pumped into the animals. So I have been purchasing my meat from the local Fresh Market and single cuts of meat that they cannot combine 1,000 animals into my ground round.
One of my staple cuts of meat has been the short rib. It has a nice meaty cut of meat wrapped around a rib bone. I usually braised the short ribs and used the bones to make a beef bone broth.
Well, I was in the mood to grill....so I did a little investigating and you really need to marinade these ribs in order to have them come off on the grill not being chewy. So I got thinking of marinades...this is what I came up with!
Short Rib Marinade:
1) 3 Tablespoons of raw organic honey
2) 3 Tablespoons of olive oil
3) 6 Scallions roughly chopped
4) 1 Tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar
5) 1 Cup of home made kefir or (live cultured yogurt)
I placed 4 large short ribs into a sealable bag along with the above marinade for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Once marinated, gas up your grill and get it really hot. You want to sear the ribs on all sides and get a good caramelized crust. Then turn your grill down to low and cook for about an hour with the lid closed. Check and turn occasionally.
I paired my marinated grilled short ribs with braised cabbage and a mango coconut puree. I used Smoked Serrano as a finishing salt on the ribs and it went exquisitely well with the cabbage and mango coconut puree.
The Cabbage was sliced in 1/2 inch rings and basted with coconut oil and broiled for about 5-10 minutes. Pull out and place a rib on top. I purchased a very natural sweet and spicy mango coconut puree from the Fresh Market that was exceptional with all of the ingredients!
This is an easy one skillet dish that is sure to satisfy the meat lover in your family!
For the beef in this dish I used 1 lb of strip steak:
1) You can purchase steak strips already prepared from your local butcher or super market.
2) If you purchase your beef in bulk you can prep the cuts and save the trimmings for this dish.
or
3) Get your favorite cut of steak and trim into strips about 2 inches long and about 1/2 inch thick.
This entire dish was made on the stove top in a cast iron skillet. I started by taking a large organic onion and chopped into medium rings and one large bell pepper diced ( I used red pepper for color!)
Saute these in a pan with a tablespoon of coconut oil until they start to caramelize. Remove and add in your mushrooms (1 bin), I used baby portabella mushrooms. Cook down the mushrooms and remove when they start to get soft.
Once all vegetables are cooked and set aside get your skillet hot and throw in your strips of steak. Sear all sides and then turn down the heat to low. Add in all of your vegetables and a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary. Allow all of these flavors to come meld together for several minutes.
Just prior to serving add several chunks of blue cheese (to your liking) and then most importantly season your dish with either Ghost Pepper sea salt for a kick or Smoked Serrano for a milder heat. The salts are what really elevate the dish to another level!
I was feeling a bit exotic and wanted a healthy beef dish with all kinds of flavor...so this is what I came up with.
Just a quick note about me: I never follow recipes, I will get inspired by others, however there is something in my personality that does not allow me to follow the written direction when it comes to food or grocery lists.
I am a free spirit when it comes to these things and sometimes it takes me to such high heights and newly explored ingredients and sometimes I go back to the drawing board. BUT always, it is me and what comes out of my heart, mind and soul.
This one was a hit! I sauteed finely chopped onions (1 medium) and garlic (3-4 cloves) until translucent. Then I removed and added my grass fed ground beef (1 1/2 lbs). Render your beef until cooked.
Add back in your onions and garlic and add about two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. I finely chopped some left over organic kale and added this to the mix!
Slowly allow this to simmer and meld all the flavors together.
I then cooked a really delicious Jasmine rice! Once cooked, add to a small bowl and lightly pat down. Turn the bowl over on a large plate and you will have a beautiful dome presentation!
I added a bit of berry punch to my meat mixture with the super berry - Golden Berry! Add to your meat mixture near the end of cooking (1/2 cup) and allow them to simmer in the juices and plump up a bit! This gives the dish a tart sweetness that pops with this dish!
Of course, season this dish well with a natural sea salt! We used Smoked Serrano for a mild touch of heat which paired well with the sweetness of the berry!
