Steak salad

I needed more iron, so we started eating beef on Sunday. 

This is what we eat: Steak, salad, potatoes.

Sunday Steak Dinner

Some kind of steak, maybe strip or sirloin, not too much. Cut it into strips. Marinate. 

Here's the marinade recipe for one pound of beef. I make 1/3 of it. I've thought of making a whole recipe to have some for later, but I'm sure it's best fresh.

Marinade

1 C. bottled Italian dressing (I use Good Seasons.)

2 T. fresh lemon juice

2 T. Parmesan cheese

4 minced garlic cloves

1 T. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

Marinade makings

Use about 1/3 of this to marinate the meat; the rest will be salad dressing. Marinate 30 minutes to 4 hours. (I'm pretty sure overnight would also be fine.)

Just before we eat I put the steak into a hot iron skillet and cook it until it's still slightly pink inside. Toss some salad greens with the rest of the marinade and put the meat on top. 

We like this with little potatoes that have boiled until just soft, then smashed and drizzled with olive oil. Cook in a 425° oven until browned -- about 30 minutes. 

No-cook Sunday: Marinated vegetables

I've finally realized that no-cook Sunday is more about being organized than about having the right prepare-ahead recipes. However, I'm not an organized cook; I love to meander through different cultures and tastes and even serving bowls as they strike me. I HAVE tried. Notes from the past say things like "Monday, soup; Tuesday, fish; Wednesday, grill," etc. But I couldn't do it, not even when work and worry consumed me. Then, maybe most of all, I let myself cook as I pleased and take my time with it. Some Sundays I would cook all afternoon and early evening.

But it still seems like a good idea to have a single day with a packet of cooking time released so I can meander through other loves and creativities. Yesterday I cooked a garden-ful of vegetables (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, all steamed or microwaved separately) and tossed them with a can of white beans, another of marinated artichokes, and a marinade. It was tempting to eat them right away, but we resisted. Today I'll add little tomatoes, which I halved last night, sliced scallions, and chopped parsley. We'll have it with garlic toast, or maybe grilled cheese. But that would be cooking.

Marinade: Mix and boil 5 minutes: 3/4 C. red wine vinegar, 1/3 C. olive oil, 1 bay leaf, 2 chopped garlic cloves. Pour while hot over vegetables. Refrigerate when cool and toss occasionally.

No-cook Sunday: Greek cauliflower

Greek cauliflower

No-cook Sunday is harder than I thought. I can cook less, but it's hard to cook nothing at all -- even for just one day. Yesterday I made Greek cauliflower, put the skillet in the refrigerator overnight, and warmed it up for dinner. That's cooking, right? With it we had a roast chicken from New Leaf Market. While I was there I checked their ready-made foods: tuna salad, chicken salad, macaroni salad, quinoa salad. Guess next Saturday I have to make a salad for Sunday. This might be more about being organized than being hungry.

Greek cauliflower *

1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. crushed fennel seed
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets (I think frozen would work too)
1/2 C. tomato sauce
1 T. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Put olive oil in skillet and add onions, garlic, oregano, fennel, and cinnamon. Cover and cook over medium heat 3 to 4 minutes, until onions are golden.

Add the cauliflower, tomato sauce and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cver and reduce to medium. Cook until cauliflower is tender, about 8 minutes. Add a little water if sauce seems to be boiling away.

*I've had this recipe forever and don't remember where I got it.

Lentil salad and apple crisp

Lentils cooling

I've been trying to NOT cook on Sundays. A former neighbor, Geula, kept a Saturday Sabbath. "You should try it, Kathleen," she said, promising I'd love a day without thinking about food. Geula would make chicken salad Friday night, if I remember correctly, and in that spirit we've had tuna salad sandwiches on the last two Sundays. I made the salad and -- in one case -- chocolate chip cookies Saturday night, The week before, we were going to have cold shrimp, but it looked wan, so at the last minute I sautéed it lightly with sugar and salt. Last night I forgot, and I'm tired of tuna anyway. So I'm cooking again: we'll grill grouper sandwiches, and this morning I made a lentil salad and apple crisp. I did mix the topping last night, but today I peeled and sliced green apples. Geula was right: not cooking is easier, but you've got to think ahead.

Crumble topping for apple crisp

Mix in food processor:
1/3 C. light brown sugar
3/4 C. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. (or more) cinnamon
6 T. butter

When it's in little pieces that stick together, whirl in quickly:
1/4 C. (I use more) chopped walnuts
1/4 C. oatmeal

Slice enough apples for an 8" square pan. Cover with the topping. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until fruit is soft and top is lightly browned.
*Also good with a mixture of apples and cranberries, or with plums or berries.

Here are recipes for several good salads, including Alice Waters's Goat Cheese And Lentil Salad. I went easy on the garlic, and serve the cheese on the side because Clark doesn't like it. The ugly lentils in the picture above are from the step where they are cooled on a cookie sheet. I could have stopped right here; even minus the dressing, they are delicious. This would be good to make on Saturday night, if I could only get myself organized.