Brown Rice Crackers

Ingredients
  • rice crackers1 c brown rice flour
  • 1 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 pinch raw or brown sugar
  • 1/3 c water
  • 1 Tbs melted butter
  • sesame seeds
  • kosher salt
Directions
  • Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F
  • Mix dry ingredients
  • Mix with oil and melted butter
  • Slowly add water while mixing, until dough forms a ball
  • Roll out on baking sheet until 1/8 inch thick (*)
  • Brush with melted butter, add sesame seeds and kosher salt
  • Score dough into rectangles, squares, whatever…
  • Bake 15 – 17 minutes until golden brown

* I also pressed these in a tortilla press, then scored the dough like pie slices

 

Steak Fajitas

Ingredients
  • steakFajitasJuice of 1 lime
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 fresh jalepeno, or 8 sliced jalepenos with 1 Tbs juice from jar
  • 1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro, including stems
  • 14 oz top sirloin steak (or flank steak or skirt steak)
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 3 bell peppers: green, yellow, and red, sliced into strips
  • 1 Tbs vegetable oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
  • Mix lime, olive oil, garlic, cumin, and jalepenos to create marinade
  • Coat the steak with marinade, cover and allow to sit 1 hour at room temperature
  • Heat vegetable oil in iron skillet to smoke point over high heat.  Open window, turn on exhaust fan, or disable smoke alarms
  • Remove most of the marinade from steak. Fry 3 minutes on each side. Place on carving board and tent.
  • Add onions and peppers to skillet.  Allow to sear 90 minutes without stirring
  • Stir and continue cooking veggies, 4-6 minutes according to preference.
  • Slice steak across the grain into thin strips, add to skillet.
  • Season with salt and pepper
  • Re-enable smoke alarm before serving with home made flour tortillas

 

Roast Eye of Round

Preface

This recipe was an experiment, adapted from Cooks Illustrated 20th Anniversary Edition.  The objective was to create a tasty roast from a cheap cut of meat.  The result was successful, but I think it can be improved.

Theory

Cuts of meat such as eye or round or chuck contain a lot of connective tissue.  Enzymes break down this tissue as temperature increases, but stop working after temperature reaches 122 degrees F.  Therefore, slow cooking at low temperatures creates a tender roast. Most ovens do not have settings below 200 degrees; however, because my toaster oven can cook at 150 degrees, it can be used to slow cook this roast.

Ingredients
  • 3 1/2 lb eye of round roast
  • 2 Tbs kosher salt
  • 5 tsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp pepper
Directions
  • Season all sides of meat with salt.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours.
  • Remove meat from refrigerator 1 hour before cooking.  Pat dry, rub with 2 tsp oil on all sides,  season with pepper.
  • Heat 3 tsp oil in iron skillet or dutch oven to smoke point.  Open window, turn on exhaust fan, or disable smoke alarms.
  • Sear meat on all sides, about 12 minutes.
  • Place meat on rack over drip pan in toaster oven.  Bake at 225 degrees F until internal temp of meat reaches 115 deg. F (for medium rare roast.) Re-enable smoke alarms.
  • Reduce heat to 150 deg F, continue baking until internal temp reaches 130 deg F.
  • Place on carving board, tent and rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Result

Roast was very flavorful, but not as tender as I wanted.  I found the internal temp rose above 122 degrees sooner than expected. Next time, I will try roasting in oven at much lower temperature – perhaps 170 degrees F for a longer time. Subscribe to this blog to receive updates…

Roast Eye of Round with green bean casserole and whole wheat bread
Roast Eye of Round with green bean casserole and whole wheat bread

 

Pop’s Green Bean Casserole

Green bean casserole with roast beef and  whole wheat bread
Green bean casserole with roast beef and whole wheat bread
Ingredients
  • 1/2 lb fresh organic green beans
  • 1 medium shallot, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
  • 6 mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 Tbs butter
  • 14oz can cream of mushroom soup, opened
  • 1/2 c heavy cream
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 c french fried onions
Directions
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Blanch green beans for 5 minutes, drain and cool
  • French cut green beans
  • In a medium dutch oven, saute shallot and garlic over medium heat about 4 minutes, until shallots are clear
  • Add cream of mushroom soup, heavy cream, stir until smooth
  • Stir in mushrooms, green beans, thyme, salt and pepper
  • Bake uncovered for 25 minutes
  • Sprinkle french fried onions over top, increase oven temp to 400 degrees
  • Bake 5 more minutes and serve

New Year Morning 2016

drivingDownhillFromTontoHillsI crawled out of bed at five AM the first morning of the year, having forgone any party to hit the sack at nine on New Year’s Eve.  An hour later, I was hauling my bike out of the bike house, groping around in the dark to find my cold weather riding gear.  A New Year’s Day ride was starting at 8 somewhere west of where I live – not sure exactly where, but I had a general idea. An hour later I was cruising down the hill, leaving the crisp clear air of Tonto Hills to ride in the stale air of Phoenix with a bunch of guys I didn’t know who were almost certainly faster than me.

newYearsMorningRideThis was the second annual NYD ride, organized by Timothy, of underground crit fame.  A group of about 40 riders started out neutral on a flat course.  After the first turn, they wound it up and spit me off the back.  There was an A group, a B group, and a bunch of stragglers.  I ended up chasing with 2 other guys, happy knowing there were still a bunch of riders behind us.