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Tag: Butcher box

Stormy Weather, A New Swimming Hole, and Peeping Flowers

Day 13 of 28 Day Refocus

Fort Caroline, Timucuan Ecological Preserve
Jacksonville, FL – August 14, 2021

We had a quite a few quick outings today, mostly scheduled around breaks in the rain. I took us up to Fort Caroline this morning for a little stroll, but we didn’t stay long. The afternoon took us to the beach and then an evening walk to a couple of our favorite parks where Codee discovered his favorite benefit of Florida summer rain…flooding.

Sky Art
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 14, 2021
Enjoying The Breeze, Cloisters Pier
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 14, 2021

Parks and Recreation:

Jack Russell Park
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 14, 2021
“Don’t mind if I do…”, Jack Russell Park
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 14, 2021
Jack Russell Park
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 14, 2021

Sweating It Out:

Just fast enough to get my heart going in the aerobic zone, but I could chat at this pace for hours. It was a nice, peaceful, evening jog.

What I Watched:

Nothing like watching a baking show during your six week added sugar break while on the treadmill. Really not much of what I do is normal, I guess, so…
I learned about Christina Tossi from an actor on Dear Evan Hansen when they recommended her Milk Bar episode of A Chef’s Table. Instant fan, to say the least. She hosts this one, but they put together a fun team of people. Everyone is specialized in a different discipline of the dessert world and they are competing against one another to win the guest’s choice of best dessert for their upcoming special event.

On The Plates:

Remarkably, I am still digging my daily green drink as my first small meal of the day and I like to try to follow that with some actual greens later on in the day. This was a super quick way to do it. I made a really fast lemon vinaigrette in a mason jar and I had just over 2oz of Butcher Box Ranch Steak left, so I sliced it and tossed it in. I also added a serving of quinoa that I had in the fridge, stirred everything up, popped a lid on it, and put it back in the fridge for a few hours. I put it on a bed of balcony garden greens for a bright summer supper.

You know I love my eggs for dinner. Tonight, I served them over a chickpea and spaghetti squash pancake and sautéed spinach and garlic. I kind of made Chris Morocco’s chickpea pancakes, but instead of water, I used some tremendously overcooked spaghetti squash. It added a bit of sweetness and some bonus nutrients…assuming I didn’t cook them all away. 🙂 I also don’t add any oil to the batter, but I used a tablespoon of avocado oil in the pan, so I definitely got it in there.

Cronometer:

It was one of those days when I couldn’t believe the numbers. I had that moment of, “There’s no way the calories came in as low as they did.” I re-checked and, apparently, it’s the true. Now seems like a good time to remember that calorie counting is about as inaccurate of a “science” as you can find. Labels can be up to 20% off and, even though I am weighing all of my food for this challenge, there’s really no guarantee that a.) the info in the app is correct and b.) that my body is going to process and react to that food exactly as a bomb calorimeter would. Seems suspect, but it’s a good practice for me for a lot of reasons. Having said all of that, it seems it was a pretty good “volume eating” day, to use the newest diet phrase trend I saw the other day…like we need another one….
Long story short…I felt like I ate a lot of food, but it was not a lot of calories. 🙂

Garmin Says:

It’s very frustrating when I notice how close I am to a round step number after midnight. Only sixty nine steps shy of 25,000. That’s like, one more trip to fill up my water glass…bummer. Maybe it’s time to officially up my goal considering it’s 15,000.

Stay safe and moving, y’all!

Butcher Box Ranch Steak with Asparagus and Cauliflower Scramble

At the moment, I have paused my Butcher Box subscription because I buy most of my meat directly from Kim at Lola Farms in Lake Butler, FL, but I am still working my way through the last pieces of the last couple of Butcher Box orders and I love their products. (Side note: I’m really grateful for my three freezers.) This plate is 4oz of their grass fed ranch steak. They come two per package and I seasoned them the night before with a bunch of sea salt and left the plate uncovered in the fridge. Ah, the beauty of living alone….unsealed raw meat, but I don’t have to worry about anyone touching it or have any serious cross contamination concerns here at home….

Mine is made by Misen.

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The 6.5qt model is great for me.

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I preheated both my carbon steel pan and the Ninja. The former over a medium high burner and the latter to Bake 350degrees. Now, I know that you are supposed to bring your steaks up to room temp before you add them to a hot pan, but I pretty much never remember that part. They came out of the fridge and got a quick dash of ground black pepper. Once I seared the steaks on both sides, I transferred them to the Ninja to finish cooking. As soon as I took the steaks out of the skillet, I put the trimmed asparagus in, added about a quarter cup of water and covered it with my cutting board to steam the asparagus…Bonus: This part helps clean the pans from the steaks. 😉The asparagus only take a few minutes to cook. Take a peek and move them around a little. They will change color. I like mine bright with a good deal of bite left to them. I’m not a big fan of flopping asparagus, in general, but cook it to your liking. Most people aren’t a fan of lightly salted steamed veggies on their own, so if that is you, add some olive oil, grass-fed butter or melted ghee.

I was reading Christina Chey’s Bon Appetit newsletter about the unglamorous eating habits of a recipe developer the other day and, on that note…Let’s talk about the weirdness underneath that delicious piece of meat…It all started when I bought a leek at the grocery store and decided that I wanted to make cauliflower and leek mash with a bit of my latest obsession, nutritional yeast, for a little “cheesiness” and that’s where I should have stopped….but I didn’t…I had two egg whites leftover from making mayo and I figured, “Great. Protein. Perfect.” So I whirled it all up in the food processor and I had a very heterogeneous mixture…definitely not fit to call a mash. ”No worries…I’ll make pancakes with it. The pan is right here…” Back on track, everything seemed great until there were some bad words uttered during an ill fated attempt at flipping, but after some time over the heat, the story ends with a rather interestingly delightful scramble that I can only describe as pillowy and full of umami…. Not bad for a failure, but I think I’ll tuck this side dish in my back pocket until I reintroduce dairy next month.

Back to the steaks…The ones that I got were very different in thickness and, while I could have done my own butchering to even them out, I did not. Instead, I used my trusty meat thermometer and checked them for an internal temp of 135 degrees. They had DRASTICALLY different cooking times…about 15 minutes for one of them and 22 for the other, so keep your thermometer handy. As always, I let them rest before I slice them. Ranch steaks are super lean, so add a sauce if you like, but they are perfect for me with nothing but the sea salt and pepper.

Not a blockbuster recipe, but you don’t need one when you have good ingredients. Simple, quick, easy, and delicious.

Eat the rainbow, y’all!

Tideview Preserve, The Beach, and A Tasty Failure

Day 10 of 28 Day Refocus

Morning Shade, Tideview Preserve
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 11, 2021
Codee, Tideview Preserve
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 11, 2021
Tideview Preserve
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 11, 2021
The Cuban Oregano Takeover, The Upcycle Balcony Victory Garden
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 11, 2021
“Wanna race to the water?” – Codee
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 11, 2021
Codee Coolin’ Off
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 11, 2021

Sweating It Out:

This is definitely a program that I can keep doing consistently and use as a good foundation for the next coming months.

On The Plates:

I had my standard Green Drink for brunch and oatmeal made a return for a dessert for dinner switch up. Supper was the plated meal of the day and I used it for a bit of an experiment. I had sliced Butcher Box Ranch Steak with Asparagus and Cauliflower Scramble.
At the moment, I have paused my Butcher Box subscription because I buy most of my meat directly from Kim at Lola Farms in Lake Butler, FL, but I am still working my way through the last pieces of the last couple of Butcher Box orders. (Side note: I’m really grateful for my three freezers.) This plate is 4oz of their grass fed ranch steak. I find that, like with most meat, I really notice a difference when I remember to seasson it the night before I want to cook it. I seared this on the stove and finished it in the Ninja.
I was reading Christina Chey’s Bon Appetit newsletter about the unglamorous eating habits of a recipe developer and, on that note…Let’s talk about the weirdness underneath that delicious piece of meat…It all started when I bought a leek at the grocery store and decided that I wanted to make cauliflower and leek mash with a bit of my latest obsession, nutritional yeast, for a little “cheesiness”. I roasted the cauliflower in the Ninja, naked, at Bake/400 degrees for 20 minutes and the leeks for 10 minutes. That’s where I should have stopped….those two ingredients plus some nutritional yeast, but I didn’t…I had two egg whites leftover from making mayo and I figured, “Great. Protein. Perfect.” So, I whirled it all up in the food processor. “Hmmm…” I had a very heterogeneous mixture…definitely not fit to call a mash. ”No worries…I’ll make pancakes with it. The pan is right here…” Cut to some bad words uttered during an ill fated attempt at flipping, but after some time over the heat, the story ends with a rather interestingly delightful scramble that I can only describe as pillowy and full of umami….

Cronometer:

Clearly, I am a lover of carbs. This isn’t news to me and, frankly, because I know this, I’m not looking to go low carb or Keto, but I may have to reign that in a bit to see the results that I want. It all comes back to balance, of course, but I’ll see how the next couple of weeks go.

Garmin Says:

I got my heart rate a little higher than I though I did this afternoon.

Butcher Box Ranch Steak, Caramelized Carrots, Steamed Asparagus, Lemon Vinaigrette

This is what happens when you make your Misen carbon steel pan ripping hot. There was enough rendered fat left in the pan from the steak that I didn’t have to use any oil for the carrots. I just tossed the spears in the pan while the steak rested. It’s one of my favorite cuts from Butcher Box and all it needs is some salt and pepper. I definitely try to take the lesson from my cooking queen, Samin Nosrat, to season the steak the night before I cook it. It definitely makes a difference, but their products are so great, it’s delicious even if I forget. The asparagus was leftover, but I added a little drizzle of a vinaigrette to punch up the flavor and healthy fats.

Beefy Greens & Chickpea Shells

Ingredients: Chickpea/Lentil Pasta Shells, Ground Beef, Rainbow Chard, Roasted Bell Peppers, Roasted Purple Onion, Saucy Saturday’s Roasted Pepper Sauce (roasted grape tomatoes, roasted orange pepper, sweet onion, garlic, parsley, basil, coconut oil, sea salt, pepper).

I had most of the components of this dish already ready to go. It took under 15 minutes to get all the bits together and the pasta cooked. The package directions stated 7-9 minutes, but with only one serving, they were a little overcooked at 7. I would check them at 5, if you aren’t making the entire box. The sauce was leftover in the fridge next to the roasted veggies and the sautéed/portioned ground beef that I prepped the day before. The chard was from the freezer, but…I forgot I was going to need some greens….so I used the heat of the pot lid while the pasta was cooking to defrost it just enough to get it out of the Ziploc (I’m working on getting them out of my life) and break it up. Once the pasta was cooked, I killed the heat on the stove, drained the pasta from the pot and then added everything back into the same pot. I put the whole thing back on the still warm, but off burner, took my quick post run shower and when I returned everything had come to a pretty even warm temp. I turned the heat back on for a minute because I am still luxuriating in hot meals and two minutes later…voila! a super quick and easy dinner.

Steak Sandwich English Style


Ingredients: Butcher Box Strip Loin, Roasted Pepper Black Bean Hummus, Ezekiel Sprouted English Muffin, Arugula, Cremini Mushrooms, Grape Tomatoes, Crispy Kale

I don’t really understand people who don’t like leftovers and this is a good example of why not. Personally, I think that leftovers are awesome, but I live alone and do a lot of meal prepping, so I’m not inclined to call many things “leftover.” This little bit of strip loin really was left over when I portioned my dinner last night, though, and it was the perfect amount for this sandwich. I also had some hummus in the fridge and I love using that instead of mayo as a spread on my favorite English muffins. My mother is a big English muffin fan and, I guess, that making a sandwich on one makes me a little nostalgic. The Ezekiel ones are perfect and they have such great texture for a sandwich. A handful of arugula and a dash of salt and pepper is all it needs.
The kale was rubbed with a 1/4tsp of virgin coconut oil and cooked in the Ninja on Airfry/300 degrees for 7 minutes. I usually toss it all around once or twice during the cooking time to make sure it gets evenly crispy. Once it is done, I dump the basket onto a half sheet pan and sprinkle the kale with some sea salt while it is still a little warm. Here in the humidity of FL, it has to be eaten immediately or it will quickly become chewy kale instead of crispy kale.