sore hands, cold beef

Dear Kristin,

Yes - you are absolutely right. I've been very remiss in posting to our blog and I sincerely apologize. What have I been doing that prevents me from posting? Ah nothing, really, just:

shifting/weeding our collection of 45,000 journals
looking for a new house
getting our house ready to put on the market (cleaning down to the tooth-brush level!)
trying to get in at least a couple of runs every week
and, yes - watching funny dog videos on You Tube

So have pity on your poor mom - either that, or get a plane ticket & come up here to help me shift & weed 45,000 volumes! Between shifting & cleaning, I'm definitely beginning to feel my age. You would think that my back and arms would suffer the most, which they did at first. What really hurts now though, are my hands. I come home at night with the sorest, most battered hands you can imagine. I'm having trouble opening the cap on my Geritol, I can't grasp the remote control for the tv, and pretty soon I'm going to have to ask dad to start cutting up my meat for me at dinner!

One thing that does ease my pain is applying cold compresses to my hands. That is why this recipe is actually therapeutic - it requires that you slice a piece of steak while it is partially frozen - so there you go - what a great segue from pain to cooking, don't you think?

So, not only is this recipe therapeutic for sore hands, but it's super quick, so that you can get dinner on the table in no time. Just add a side of rice and maybe some spring rolls and you are good to go, (Or in my case, good to park yourself in front of the tv & watch reruns of Poirot!)

quick beef & broccoli (loosely based on a recipe found in Cooking Light October, 2012)

1/2 c. lower sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
12 oz. boneless sirloin steak, thinly sliced*
4 tsp. canola oil
3 c. broccoli florets
1 red onion, sliced
4 large carrots, sliced diagonally about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick
1 c. water
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. dark sesame oil

Combine soy sauce, cornstarch, and hoisin in a medium bowl. Add beef and toss, making sure all beef is coated in sauce.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over high heat. Add oil to pan. Remove beef from marinade. Reserve the marinade. Add beef to heated oil in pan. Stir fry about 2 minutes or until browned. (Do no over crowd the pan - brown beef in two batches if necessary). Remove beef from pan and keep warm.

Add broccoli, onion, carrots and water to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Add reserved marinade to pan and bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until sauce begins to thicken. Add beef back into the pan and continue to cook for about 2 minutes more, or until mixture is heated through and sauce has thickened.

* Partially freezing the steak before slicing will allow you to slice the meat more thinly, and will enhance tenderness.

risottolutions

Dear Mom,

I am officially making the resolution of getting back on track with this blog!  You and I originally planned that we would each post every other week, resulting in one post per week on our blog.  We have both become totally lazy with this, but I think I just won the lazy prize.  The last post you made was on the 9th of December, and it is now the 13th of January.  (Lola's birthday by-the-way, Happy Birthday Lola!)  Simply ridiculous...  I sincerely apologize and will not waste any time with excuses.

To kick off my New Year's resolution to write every other week, I am going to post another recipe for risotto.  Why you ask?  Because I cannot stress enough how wonderful it is knowing how to throw together a risotto at any time.  We all know that we get down in the dumps, especially in January.  Its cold, snowy and gray outside and we've got a long way to go until spring.  But have no fear, risotto is here!  If you've ever had a good risotto, you know that it has the creamy, sumptuous, warm, deliciousness, that you just want to dive into and take a nap.  Perfect for a cold, gloomy January day, with the small exception that the cooking method for risotto tends to intimidate a lot of people.  Well I challenge you all to look that box of arborio rice dead in the eye and say "No, I WILL make risotto!"  Make it your New Year's resolution to learn how to make it, I promise it will be one of the easiest and most rewarding resolutions to make!

The cooking method is easy, it just requires a little more of your undivided attention than some other recipes you may make.  On the clock, it will really only take about 45 minutes or so from start to finish (sometimes even less).  You will just need to stand-by stirring and shaking the pot frequently enough that you are sort of chained to the stove.  But just like puppies, children and husbands who require your undivided attention, love and devotion, it will be worth it.

broccoli and cheddar risotto

1 bunch broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1 box low sodium chicken or veggie broth (4 cups)
2 large shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine (I use pinot grigio)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp salt
pepper
1 cup shredded sharp (or extra sharp) cheddar

Preheat the oven to 400.

On a baking sheet toss the chopped broccoli with the 2 tbsp evoo and salt and pepper.  Spread broccoli out in an even layer and roast in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes.  Turn broccoli and return to oven for anther 8-10 minutes.  The broccoli should be slightly browned and a little crispy.

Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan bring the chicken/veggie broth up to a simmer. 

Meanwhile, add the 1 tbsp evoo and minced onion & garlic to a separate medium saucepan and place over medium-high heat.  Saute the onions and garlic until translucent and fragrant, if they start to brown turn the heat down.  Add the 1 cup rice and stir.  Toast the rice for 5-7 minutes. Add the 1/2 cup white wine.  Stir frequently until wine is mostly absorbed by the rice.  Add about a 1/2 cup to a full cup of the simmering broth to the rice, stir frequently until most of the addition of broth is absorbed.  Once absorbed, add another 1/2-1 cup simmering broth, stir (or shake), keep repeating this process until all the broth is gone.  (You don't really need to stir constantly, go back to it every few minutes for a stir/shake.  What your basically doing is agitating the rice so that it releases its starches into the broth which will create that creaminess that makes risotto so yummy.)

Once all of the broth is absorbed, remove the rice from the heat, it should be slightly soupy in its consistency.  Add the parmesan, butter, 1 tsp salt and pepper to taste.  Beat these ingredients into the risotto some what vigorously until the butter is melted.  Add the 1 cup cheddar and stir until melted and combined.  Fold in the chopped, roasted broccoli.