Grilled Flank Steak with Tomato Relish: Double Recipe

by Rachel, who is covering for Kris this week

It is my firm belief that everyone should have one stupid, easy, ace-in-the-hole main course. I'm talking about the kind of savory creation that makes you look like you and Mario Batali and Eric Ripert and Daniel Boulud and Ina Garten and Christopher Kimball were all just hanging around, drinking a cold one and shootin' the sh*t, when all of a sudden, you were like, "Dudebros (and dudebro-ette). Check it. What if I did *this* for dinner?" And you told them your idea, and they were all like, "NOICE!" and high-fived you, and patted you on the back, and then maybe made out with you a little.

So, yeah. Everyone should have one of those. For the steak-lovers out there, here's mine, courtesy of Bon Apetit.

Grilled Flank Steak with Tequila Marinade and Grape Tomato Relish
Adapted slightly from this Epicurious recipe.

Part the First: Grilled Flank Steak with Tequila Marinade
Makes 21 servings

1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup tequila
7 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons grated lime peel
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 1/4 pounds of beef flank steaks (broken down into multiple steaks), trimmed

1) In a medium bowl, combine every ingredient but the beef. Whisk together. Pour into a huge ziploc bag.

2) Make little holes all over beef using a small knife. Place in bag with marinade. Seal and stick in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but overnight if you like. Flip the bag every so often so the whole steak gets some time in the marinade.

3) Preheat grill (medium-high heat). Grill meat to medium-rareness. (If you haven't already, throw the marinade out while this is happening.) When done, place on chopping board. "Tent with foil; let stand 10 minutes."

5) Slice beef diagonally across grain, making paper-thin slabs. Serve meat with Grape Tomato Relish below).


Part the Second: Grape Tomato Relish
Servings: Makes 21 servings.

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons crumbled dried oregano
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 tablespoons drained canned diced mild green chilies (NOTE: Since I like it moderately spicy, I eliminate the seeds and white membranes. If you can't find the canned goods, fresh jalapenos will work as well.)
6 green onions/scallions, finely chopped
6 cups halved cherry tomatoes

In a medium bowl, combine vinegar and oregano. Whisk together. Then, slowly whisk in oil. Add chilies and scallions. Add tomatoes. Toss gently, so everything is combined. Salt and pepper to taste.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
272 calories, 15.2 g fat, $2.32

Calculations
1/2 cup fresh lime juice: 33 calories, .1 g fat, $.50
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro: 10 calories, 0.2 g fat, $.79
1/2 cup olive oil: 952 calories, 108 g fat, $.80
1/3 cup soy sauce: 45.3 calories, 0.1 g fat, $0.51
1/4 cup tequila: 260 calories, 0 g fat, $3.46
7 garlic cloves, finely chopped: 30.3 calories, 0 g fat, $.23
2 teaspoons grated lime peel: negligible fat and calories, $.13 (cost absorbed by price of limes for lime juice)
2 teaspoons ground cumin: negligible calories and fat, $0.02
3 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano: 11.4 calories, 0.45 g fat, $0.07
Salt and fresh ground ground black pepper: negligible calories and fat, $0.03
5 1/4 pounds of beef flank steaks: 4116 calories, 210 g fat, $35.00
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar: 40 calories, 0 g fat, $0.30
2-3 tablespoons drained canned diced mild green chilies: 5 calories, .2 g fat, $.36
6 green onions, finely chopped: 28.5 calories, 0.15 g fat, $.50
6 cups halved grape tomatoes: 180 calories, 0 g fat, $5.97

TOTAL: 5711.5 calories, 319.2 g fat, $48.67 (Roughly 4 oz. meat and 1/4 - 1/3 cup of salsa)
PER SERVING (TOTAL/21): 272 calories, 15.2 g fat, $2.32

Veggie Might: Rx: Snickerdoodles

Penned by the effervescent Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about the wide world of Vegetarianism.

It’s been one of those weeks. You know what I’m talking about: a week when nothing quite goes right. You make plans, and plans are foiled; you get surprises, but not the good kind; and just when you think everything is under control…Curses! Foiled again.

Only one thing can cure the kind of ills a bad week brings: cookies, specifically snickerdoodles.

A snickerdoodle is more than a sugar cookie. It’s a sugar cookie with a kick—two actually. The first comes from the cream of tartar, which gives the cookies tanginess, and the second from the cinnamon pressed in before baking. Snickerdoodles may be the perfect cookie.

When I first started baking for my adult self, I made snicks from this recipe. I’ve since tweaked and teased to fit my taste and whims over the years. First of all, a cookie recipe should have vanilla. It just should.

A couple of Christmases ago, I began making the snicks dairy-free for our lovely, lactose-intolerant Rach. Then I thought, why not go the whole nine and make them vegan? That has worked well subbing the eggs for a vegan egg replacer or just leaving out the eggs and adding a little rice milk to alleviate the dryness.

Since I wasn’t the only one in need of a little cookie Rx, I decided to try one more adjustment. One of my coworkers, the effervescent E, has Celiac disease, which means no gluten can ever cross her lips. Quel horror!

I made a quinoa flour batch for E, and any other intrepid palates, and a white flour batch for the rest of the long sufferers. I also wanted to stay within the CHG parameters too, so I cut the fat and sugar by half. (Warning, baking is equal parts art and science. Adjust recipes with care. All amounts have to be changed by the same proportion.)

You’d never know these were light, vegan, or (maybe) gluten-free (Okay, quinoa flour smells pretty strong, so you might notice it, but they came out great!)! Soft in the middle, chewy around the edges, these snicks were just what the doctor ordered.

Snicks with Quinoa Flour

Snicks with White Flour

Light Vegan (Gluten-free) Snickerdoodles
Yields 3 dozen; 3 cookies per serving

1/4 cup vegan margarine, softened
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cups sugar
1 serving vegan egg replacer
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp rice milk (or soy)
1 2/3 cups flour (Note: substitute same quantity of quinoa flour for gluten-free delight)
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 400º

2. Combine margarine, shortening, sugar, egg replacer, vanilla, and rice milk in large bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.

4. In three to four stages, blend flour mixture into sugar mixture.

5. Chill for 1 hour. (I skip this step often. They still come out great.)

6. Drop teaspoon-sized dollops on cookie sheet. Press lightly with the bottom of a juice glass dipped in cinnamon/sugar combo.

7. Bake 6 to 8 minutes.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price per Serving
133.4 cal, 8.2g fat, $ .20 (with white flour)
*188.4 cal, 9.13g fat, $.37 (with quinoa flour)

Calculations
vegan margarine: 400 cal, 44g fat, $.45
shortening: 440 cal, 52g fat, $.31
sugar: 600 cal, 0g fat, $.45
vegan egg replacer: 15 cal, 0g fat, $.05
vanilla: negligible calories and fat, $.58
rice milk:6 cal, .2g fat, $.03
flour: 680 cal, 1.6g fat, $.37
*quinoa flour: 800 cal, 13g fat, $2.32*
cream of tartar negligible calories and fat, $.10
baking soda: negligible calories and fat, $.01
salt: negligible calories and fat, $.01
TOTALS:1601 calories, 97.8g fat, $2.48 (with white flour)
PER SERVING: 133.4 cal, 8.2g fat, $ .20 (with white flour)
*188.4 cal, 9.13g fat, $.37 (with quinoa flour)*

CHG Favorites of the Week

by Jaime

Food Blog(s) of the Week
VeganYumYum
FatFree Vegan Kitchen
Vegan Bits
In Kris' absence, and my probable only chance to write the Thursday Favorites, I'm busting out a vegan trifecta here. No, I'm not a vegan, but these sites are full of delectable, healthy recipes and in the case of Vegan Bits refreshingly sane, even-keeled information. VeganYumYum has more advanced, intensive recipes and exquisite photography; FatFree Vegan Kitchen is totally accessible and often kid-friendly (but remember - healthy fats are good for you!); Vegan Bits has restaurant reports, chronicles of kitchen adventures (vegan baking!) and is a great antidote to the awful stereotype of the screaming, proselytizing vegan. I love them all.

Food Comedy of the Week
Muffin Films
These 12 little flash animation movies are delightful and totally weird. I had no idea muffins had so much going on. # 6, The Muffin Tree, is a personal favorite.

Food Organization of the Week
Heifer International
Taking the old adage about giving a man a fish to its logical end, Heifer International gives livestock (and plants) to disadvantaged families as the foundation of a sustainable and independent livelihood. The animals provide sustenance (as milk, eggs, or sometimes meat) and an opportunity for income. Also, as animals tend to make more animals, it's a gift that grows and builds wealth. Gifts start small, with a flock of chicks or trio of rabbits, and go all the way up through bigger animals to a menagerie. Even though there isn't necessarily a one-to-one link between me "buying" the chicks and someone filling their coop, the concreteness of how it's presented feels satisfying. (I once gave a flock of chicks in honor of my sister's birthday.) The online catalog is here.

Food Quote of the Week
from The Magic Kingdom, by Mark Schultz
This speech is from one of my favorite plays. In this scene, Sam is speaking to the guy he's kidnapped and is holding hostage. (Fun times.) Sam also might have the same sort of accent as the Geico gecko. Julie's the brains behind the operation. Sam, you'll note, is not. (Apologies to Mark, and all of you, as I've edited this for obscenity.)

SAM: Julie be back soon. With cakes and stuff. Pies and things. Candy and sweets. I like pie and candy. Could eat it everyday like for breakfast lunch and dinner, I’d have like a big plate full of meringue and like that lemon stuff for a lemon meringue pie and a glass of soda and a little side dish piled high with like tootsie rolls and sweet tarts and I’d freaking. I’d eat it. I’d just freaking eat it. I’d go to town. I mean. Sue me if that isn’t like the best. The best. Possible. Dinner. Like cuisine. Food. Sue me.

Food Video of the Week
"Potato" by Cheryl Wheeler
This video opens with an introduction, so I'll just let Cheryl tell you what the heck this is all about. But the title pretty much says it all.

(without the explanation but brilliantly animated here.)

Extra Special Totally Unrelated Bonus of the Week
Winston on Yummy from fourfour
Okay, except it is related. Because it's about eating. Sue me. In case you've never met him before, here is internet celebrity Winston. Welcome to your new obsession.

(Photos courtesy of FatFree Vegan Kitchen; heifer.org.)

Food Labels That Ate My Sanity

by Leigh

When I first saw the commercials featuring the bloated college girl surrounded by books and pizza boxes whose roommate gives her yogurt to help her get "regular," I was all huh? Dairy? For constipation? But I said nothing. (Or maybe I did to my roommate.)

Then came another with a fifty-something woman in a flower shop who experienced "bloating". What really got me this time was the fake name for the active cultures in the yogurt. Bifidus regularis? I remained silent. (My dog might disagree.)

Now Jamie Lee Curtis is in on the act. Jamie Lee, respected spokeswoman for aging gracefully; Jamie Lee, adoption advocate and children's book author; Jamie Lee, co-star of my favorite holiday movie of all time, Trading Places. Well, that just tears it.

Why would anyone turn to a dairy product for “slow intestinal transit”? Dairy mucks up the works. Just ask anyone who bought into the Atkins craze. And who would wait for two weeks for relief by yogurt, when a bowl of quinoa and spinach will do the trick in a day?

Dannon gets away making these claims because, according to Lauren Sandler in Slate, "The FDA classifies constipation as a disease, and any product that claims to treat a disease must carry an FDA-approved health claim. Activia does not." It's all in the phrasing.

Food labeling is as much of a science as inventing designer yogurt cultures. Take a gander at the FDA’s food labeling regulations if you want your brain to short circuit. A handy chart at the bottom of this page translates the guidelines.

With labels, it's all about how you present the information. As long as the food company doesn't claim to cure disease or put the "low fat" burst too close to the "statement of identity" or separate it from the "disclosure statement," everything seems to be kosher. (But not necessarily Kosher.)

In other words, if the claim is low-fat, then the label has to say how low in fat compared to the regular product, but it can have a bunch of other distracting information with the hope you don't read it. As for those pesky TV spots, forget it. Clinical studies, schminical schtudies.

I'm not saying Activia doesn't work for some folks; it's just not a connection I would make. To me, dairy = delicious in small quantities. Probiotics certainly have their place. My doctor always recommended eating yogurt after antibiotic treatment to replace intestinal flora, and I am well aware of the benefits in keeping the female parts in check.

If you want my unsolicited, laylady's advice: eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to keep things moving. And if you want some unsolicited professional advice: eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to keep things moving.

Which brings up the next commercial series that makes my head explode. General Mills has been touting for some time now that all their cereals are made with “whole grain.” In the TV commercial, we see adults browsing rows and rows of cereal, including Lucky Charms and Trix, excited that they get their nostalgia fix and still eat healthy.

Hold up, junior. These cereals are still refined flour products fortified with vitamins. If only “whole grain” and “fiber” meant the same thing. According to Web MD, whole grains are necessary for heart health, but, once again, food labels can be misleading.

“The reality is that refined white flour—with just a touch of whole wheat added back in—can be listed as ‘whole grain.’ A food manufacturer can use the term ‘whole grain’ no matter how much whole wheat the product contains,” say nutritionist Tanya Jollife and health educator Nicole Nichols.

The General Mills healthy stalwarts, Cheerios, Wheaties, and Total, are thought to be the standard bearers of the brand, but it gets muddier when the sweetened "kids" cereals come into play. How does Cocoa Puffs, made with "whole grain corn," get away with that claim and only have have 1g of dietary fiber? Cinnamon Toast Crunch, made with "whole grain wheat" (not "whole wheat"), comes in at a whopping 3g of dietary fiber. The very same tally as Cheerios, Wheaties, and Total.

General Mills is not the only culprit. Quaker does it; Kellogs does it. Sara Lee was sued by the Center for Science in the Public Interest for making false claims about it's whole-grain usage. A settlement was reached in July, and will hopefully lead to more accurate labeling.

If you want to be sure you're getting a whole-grain cereal (or bread or flour), read the nutritional information. Check the fiber content; at least 5g of dietary fiber. What is the first ingredient? If it says "enriched" or "refined", keep looking. Unless the package says 100% whole grain, it isn't.

There are other areas that require diligence: fruit juices, high fructose corn syrup, the word "natural" that crops up everywhere but means nothing. But if we can resist the seductive powers of Jamie Lee and the nostalgia trip - with their promises of miracle cures and magic elixirs - we'll be feeling fine.

~~~~~~~~~~

If you dig this article, you might also enjoy...

• The Case for Frozen Food
• The Problem with Diet Foods
• Food, Frugality, and Fighting Brand Loyalty

(Photos courtesy of flickr members bunbunlife and erindean)