Smoky Tea Roast

This post shall also known as: Lessons from a world-travelling farmhouse-dweller. It shall seek to inform you of not-enough in too-little-words, and finish with a grand pile of shredded beef. 


I'll give you a tiny bullet-list of things that I have learned in the past few months, before getting 
onto the lovely recipe. 

•  Melbourne's weather is as crazy as DFW's
•  New Zealand has a thing against delightful beef jerky
•  Take notes and take pictures
•  ALWAYS zip up your camera bag. Do NOT EVER leave your camera in an unzipped bag OR outside of a bag. EVER. 
•  DON'T TOUCH THE TURTLES
•  Mulch. 
•  I feel better with very little carbohydrate. 
•  Just plant things. Sometimes you can have an entire farm and the best place ends up being your front flower-bed. 
•  Presents are fun
•  People will listen to anything the TV says
•  Don't forget about yourself.

OK, so, philosophy lesson over? Discussion may continue after class. Uh, after post. Post-post. Comment. 

Smoky Tea Roast, a photo by CaptainShen on Flickr.

ONTO THE BEEF: I just got a little bit of grass-fed rump-roast with no clue about what I'd like to do with it. I've been developing tea-based recipes (as I'd like to lead a class in Fairview on this subject!) and decided I'd try one out, measurements and all. Lapsang Souchong is a black tea that is dried over burning pine-needles, giving it a robust, complex, smoky flavor. Typically a cup that I'd drink in the wintertime, the possibilities are endless and evergreen when it comes to recipe incorporation. Braising in it, marinating chicken, creating sauces-- all ideas that I encourage you to experiment with.

Being roast and having hot weather, I figured either the slow-cooker or the pressure-cooker would be my options, and when I got home from work I certainly didn't approve of the 'slow' part of the former. Out came my pressure-cooker, and then transcended the following:

Smoky Tea Roast

(Set One)

10 grams lapsang souchong (?? Approx 1/4 cup) (brewed into 1 - 2 cups)
1 tsp pink salt
2 tsp powdered ginger
2 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 TB coconut shoyu

(Set Two)

1 lb rump roast
Sprinkling of Hawaiian Black Salt/Alaea
dusting of garlic granules
1 thinly sliced onion
2 cloves chopped garlic

Whisk together first set of ingredients.
Sautee onion and garlic until onion is carmelized in the bottom of a pressure cooker, push to the side. Brown roast thoroughly on all sides and add liquid from above. Pressure cook on high pressure for 40 minutes and let naturally cool.

I served this with Mark Sisson's Creamy Basil Pesto Coleslaw, from his Quick and Easy book, but replaced the walnuts with sesame seed and half of the cabbage with shredded mustard-greens. I shredded the meat on top, and the flavor really surprised me with its complexity-- carmelesqe, almost chocolatey in nature, deep and robust. Ah!

Auwe... Ono... BROKE DA MOUT...

Stay tuned for more Tea Recipes, and as always, happy eating.

Zahlouk and Meatballs

Moroccan food is one of my top favorite cuisines in the whole world. It is almost level with Tunisian food for me-- they are both exotic and mysterious, yet warm, bright, and familiar enough to be comfort food. It is well varied, though almost every single recipe uses Olive Oil, Cumin, Paprika, Cilantro, and Parsley. It is beautiful, bright, and clean. I love it desperately and rarely get to eat it unless I make it myself.

Zahlouk (to me this is pronounced just like 'Salad,' except with different letters. What?! Um...) is a Moroccan stewed eggplant and tomato dish that really develops its flavor on the stove after almost exactly the 30 minute mark. I'm not sure how 'authentic' my recipe is, but I do something that I've never seen done with it before: I add meat. Sometimes I add it ground up like a middle-eastern ragout, but this time I added it in meatball form. So, I have Cinnamon Lemon Meatballs and Zahlouk.

3 Chinese eggplants*, peeled in stripes, then cubed
1 large grated onion
2 large tomatoes, peeled and diced
2 or 3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup of chopped parsley
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
1/2 TB paprika
1/2 TB cumin
Sea Salt
Course Black Pepper
1/2 TB white vinegar
Olive Oil 

Grass-fed ground beef, 1/2 lb
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1 tsp cinnamon
Sea Salt

Salt the eggplant and boil it for like half an hour. Drain it and press the water out of the pieces with a spoon, in a colander, until they're mostly wrung out. 

Roll the beef into loose meatballs and get a skillet really hot, with a bit of olive oil. Put the meatballs in and sprinkle them with salt, some cinnamon, and some lemon juice. After turning them a few times so that they're nicely browned (and have made a bit of grease) add the onions and garlic to get them going. After they've sauteed just a bit, add everything else (except vinegar and some lemon juice and salt). Let it cook on medium for another half hour, smashing the eggplant and tomatoes with a spoon but not smashing the meatballs. After that half hour, add the vinegar, the rest of the lemon, and some salt. One thing that I did differently was use one big fat vine tomato and a whole bunch of little grape tomatoes. Those popped and cooked beautifully!

Oh lets see, did I forget anything? I'm not sure. I served this with my standard spinach-- that is, spinach with wakame stirred in it after it cooked.

*Or, one giant American eggplant.
**Also, I'm showing off my new bowl. <3

Buffalo Cauliflower

I hope I didn't misslead you with the name, as I love bison and bison meat too, yet there is none involved. No no, this recipe is more dedicated to my best friend V (or even her husband).

I really dig cauliflower. I think that it is a stellar vegetable in all that it brings us (and allows us to do to it). I don't know what gave me such a grand idea (maybe the fact that butter based sauces on steamed cauliflower naturally lead to good things) but I decided to make a 'Buffalo Cauliflower' (which I swear I just unintentionally spelled Butterfulo) and I think it came out rather dandy.

1 Head Cauliflower
1/8 Cup Butter
3 Cloves Minced Garlic (or more)
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/2 Cup Tomato Sauce
1/8 Cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
1/8 Cup Softened Cream Cheese
Smoked Sea Salt, Coarse
Black Pepper, Coarse
1/2 Cup Chopped Celery*
1 Stalk Green Onion, Sliced*

Steam and chop cauliflower. 

Melt butter over low heat. Sautee garlic and mustard seeds until garlic softens. Turn up to medium high heat. Add Cauliflower. Mix together tomato sauce, hot sauce, and cream cheese. Pour over the top. Top with smoked sea salt and pepper (don't skip coarse ground pepper!) and stir in until very well coated. It should all be creamy and orange.  

Add in celery and green onions and serve, topping with more ground pepper. *(not pictured)

I ate this with an SB Longhorn Beef Patty-- a phenomenal beefy flavored beef patty simply topped with pepper, mustard, and ketchup. 

Happy eating! 

Using Up: The makings of an all-American BBQ dinner.

I'm preparing to leave the country. I'm Israel bound! I'll be gone for a while-- just about 15 days. Its a little bit interesting, to think of being away for that long-- simply leaving your things behind can be uncomfortable, or at least mildly thought-provoking. I'm eating perishables out of the fridge. I'm getting someone to water all of my plants and beloved succulents, but I plan on turning off the A/C the entire time. In Texas heat, things begin to happen. Frightening things.

Any-how, I'd like to run out of fridge food at the exact time that I leave, having no leftovers and no shortage at all. I'm doing pretty well, but this takes a large slice of creativity and a fair amount of meal-planning.

Here is what I had, among other things, to work with:
1 Egg Per day, exactly
Leftover canned tomato sauce
Lots of onions, red bell peppers, and a big round zuccinni from market
Heaps of cut Jicama from Jeff
1 black radish
A whole lot of celery
A wee bit of homemade mayonnaise
"Black and White" Vinegar (Blackberry and White Vinegar) from Texas Olive Ranch
Homemade beef bone stock, a few ounces
Maille Mustard (I want to use it up, it has sugar.)
1/2 smoked sweet potato
Brisket
A few TB leftover devilled-egg filling from a BBQ

So, the culinary shadow-puppets formed a obvious, beautiful possibility: A true BBQ dinner. I made BBQ sauce, and it was STELLAR. Best primal BBQ sauce ever!

I made a single devilled egg, and STILL had too much yolk-stuff, so I decided to use that in a 'root salad,' in which I steamed a bunch of zucchini and radish with garlic cloves, then combined them with mustard, dill, spices, onions (lots), and the smoked sweet potato and chopped jicama and celery! AAAAh, simply put, chilling this bowl in the fridge was a true test of will-power. I didn't add any mayonnaise*, but used up the last of a bottle of white wine vinegar and olive oil to give it moisture. Silky, moist, fork-tender brisket from dad's smoker, topped with tangy and glossy-smooth bbq sauce? Yes. Flanked by a cold root salad? Of course. All cozied up beside two perfect little devilled eggs? Oh, man, my Texas is showing. And all that was left to have was a big stein of iced tea. Happy summer, ya'll.

*The rest of my homemade mayo will star in part of this week's planned meal number #3.

A Smoker's Harvest

My family does food quite well. We don't all do food in the same way, but we do it very, very well. One point of pride which we hold in high regard would be my father's building and manning of a smoker from an old propane tank. We didn't light the smoker at dinner time or evey weekend or for even for the occasional football game. No, no, the greater scope of life would've been intimidated by this. Flooded by such intense glory that it would've thrown off the balance of things. Entire populations of creatures would drop to dangerously low levels. No-- this was once an experience for once a year or sometimes once every two. The smoker, when lit, would have a minimum of three days of support from someone who was home. The smoker would be loaded full of dozens and dozens of cuts of meat and whole poultry, while the smoke-free oven that he'd put on the end would be utilized for all other meals. Meats rubbed with my father's own spice rub would come bubbling and encrusted with black (the best part) from the vast abdomen of this great beast and straight onto the slicing board to melt its tender flesh into our souls (yes, souls!).

That is how the smoker went.

A small sampling of the resulting treasures!
Smoker Credit: Dad                   Photo Credit: Mom

Recent years, however, have left the parents busy and the smoker lie in a period of primordial hibernation in their backyard. Its dormant state was unassuming and humble. However, my father rousted the dragon. I drove down to them a grass-fed brisket, market-made pork bratwurst (I'm not usually a fan, but SMOKED is different), a pork butt, and sweet potatoes. In addition to that, they send back those things, a whole chicken, and a rack of ribs.

Life is good. :)

Beef Bacon Review...

I just tried Beef bacon for the first time. Pretty good-- I couldn't get it to crisp up like pork, though.

Imagine Beef Jerky falling in love with Pork Bacon on a post-breakfast hike. Thats what this is like. Their delicious love child.

Its great as an ingredient (in stir fry, or like tonight, in my creamed spinach) but its a different thing than bacon... pork bacon still has its old crispy place in my heart.

Seriously though, two bacon posts in a row? A bit excessive, methinks.

...then again, if beef bacon is indeed a different thing...

In other news, I have recently tried Heavy Cream. I expected so much from it-- I expected glory in a spoon-- but really was let down. Until, that is, I tried creamed spinach-- and sparkling water with cream and vanilla stevia drops.

And I'd like to note that I feel I should apologize somewhat for the abrupt 'change' that this place has undertaken-- but I didn't feel that I should write it all off and start a new blog. My life has changed (as has my eating life) in a very real, very purposeful way, and I was inspired again to share the things that I discover and believe in. Come with me, yeah?