This is a surprisingly tasty recipe for how easy it is. Below is the recipe for the lamb. Here is the recipe for the peppers. Swap out pita for buckwheat, or lentils to lower the glycemic index of this meal. 

Ingredients

• Rack of lamb, 5-6 bones
• Pita
• 1/2 an onion
• 6 cloves of garlic

Directions

1. Salt lamb ~two hours before cooking. This means heavily sprinkling salt on the whole lamb
2. Bring pan to medium high heat. Add olive oil, smashed garlic cloves, and onion. Begin to sear the sides of the lamb. For 5-6 ribs, I hand to cut them in half for them to fit better. While you’re doing this, make sure to move around the garlic and onion. They’re going to get super delicious and caramelized. Searing means that you cook on medium high heat until one side of the meat starts to get brown, then you move to another part, until all parts are browned. But it’s not cooked all the way on the inside! This is good. Keeping it generously pink in the middle is the most delicious. You can actually taste the meat. Pull the onion and garlic out when they’re dark, I mean DARK, and still edible. 
3. Remove the meat from the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes: put it on a plate or cutting board (make sure the juice can’t drip off). Put a plate on top, or a foil tent, to keep the heat in. 
4. Cut the meat into individual sections. The meat is done! 

Start the peppers the same time as you start the meat. Artistically place the lamb on top of the peppers. Serve with pita. Level up by adding a dollop of yogurt to the plate. 

An easy meal when the world is crazy around you. 

​

Cooked seafood: Lobster, shrimp
Basic salad of kale with lemon, olive oil with salt
Kimchi
Avocado
Lemon + olive oil dipping sauce for seafood
Seafood salad (yes, seafood with mayo and Cajun seasoning)

I got some ground bison from a farmer’s market in Ybor City in Tampa, Florida. The harissa was on the sale table at the Publix and the inspiration for this meal. This meal is flavor-filled and gluten free. 

Sides are arugula and cucumber salad with a lemon and sesame oil dressing, and Korean carrots (which is actually a Russian recipe). 

The recipe below is just for the meatballs.

Ingredients

• One pound ground bison
• Two strips of prosciutto
• one egg
• pinch of salt
• handfull of chopped parsley
• 1/2 onion

Directions

1. Chop onion and add to pan with 1 tbs olive oil over medium heat. Cook 10 minutes.
2. While onion is cooking, prepare the meatball mixture: combine egg, parsley, pinch of salt. Chop prosciutto into little pieces and add to the mixture, making sure that the piece don’t stick together. 
3. Add cooked onion and mix thoroughly. 
4. Add 1 tbs of oil to the pan, over medium heat. 
5. Roll out 1-inch meatballs and put in pan. Cook for 5 minutes then check to see if the meatballs are releasing from the pan. (I’m still getting used to this pan, it took longer than expected for them to release from the pan.) Once the meatballs release from the pan, flip them. You want them to be just cooked.. a little color on at least two sides. Enjoy!

The lentils should be saucy but not soupy. Remove the cloves and the cardamom pods (they're edible, though) before serving. 

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, grated (3 cloves yield ~1 1/2 Tbsp)
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 3 cloves and/or cardamom (smash the cardamom), whole - Remove these before serving
• 1 teaspoon salt or chicken bouillon

Directions
Add oil to the pan, along with garlic and ginger. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add red lentils, salt/bouillon, and water to cover the lentils 1/2 inch. Add cloves or cardamom. Bring to boil and cook for 20-30 minutes... test the lentils to make sure they’re done, meaning that the center of the lentil is no longer hard.

This recipe takes about 20 minutes. It’s a fast and fresh dinner than works in every season. 
​
Ingredients

• ​1-1.5 lbs of fresh, never frozen, fish
• 1/2 of a yellow or white onion
• 1 tomato
• 1/4 cup mushrooms, fresh or preserved
• Chicken stock (I use Better than Bouillon in water)
• 1 tbs olive oil for pan

Directions

1. Slice onion into strips from top to bottom of the onion.
2. Bring pan to medium heat, add olive oil, and sauté onion for 5 minutes.
3. add chicken stock so it’s 1/4-1/2in deep in the pan. Bring to boil. Add mushrooms to the pan.  If using fresh mushrooms, allow them to cook for 5 minutes, then add sliced tomatoes. Allow it all to cook together for a minute, then add fish. Lay fish flat in the pan. If it’s a big piece and some of it rides up on the side of the pan, that’s ok. 
4. Cover the pan and cook. If it’s a thin piece of fish, 4 minutes will be plenty. If it’s a thicker, meatier fish, then check to see if the fish is done by taking a look at the thickest section of the fish. If it’s still translucent, it’s not done. Fish is best just-cooked. Overcooked fish tends to be smellier and less tender. Err on the side of less-done fish, since the residual heat of the pan and broth will continue to cook the fish. 
5. ​Serve over red lentils.
   

This salad serves as a full meal. It’s easy to make, and fast, because there aren’t too many ingredients, yet it’s so very delicious. The crunch of the cabbage pairs well with the savory chicken or shrimp. The dressing is a simplified Vietnamese nuoc cham. 

Ingredients

• Cabbage, sliced onto thin strips, or purchase pre-shredded slaw
• Cooked protein: Chicken or shrimp
• A handful of cashews/person
• Cilantro
• Green onion
• For the dressing: 1 tbs fish sauce, 1 tbs lime juice, 2 tablespoons water. Optional: 1 tbs of sugar

Directions
Combine all ingredients, coating everything in the dressing. Enjoy.

Summary:

1. Salt your steak prior to cooking, ideally 24 hrs before
2. Sear it, don’t overcook it
3. Let it rest 10 min before cutting it

I’m doing a whole post on steak because, well, steak deserves it. Steak can be intimidating for people... and it can feel high steaks (see what I did there) if it doesn’t go right. 

I don’t buy steak that is over $15.99/lb. Also know I WILL NOT buy the most affordable steak product, chuck roast. It’s not tasty, even when you cook it for hours. Or days. Not worth it. I also do not like short ribs, even boneless short ribs. I just don’t get it.  Ground beef has it’s own use and I don’t address it in this post. I very much appreciate ground beef. 

I’m usually purchasing a top sirloin or skirt steak. What I’m looking for is a cut with some “marbling” or fat, but not too much. I always end up cutting the extra fat off, so why would I pay for that? 

I usually cook steak 1-3 days after going to the grocery store, after eating the fish that I bought from the store. Fish goes bad faster, so it’s the first thing I cook after going to the grocery store. 

The best thing you can do to make your steak great is to salt it 24 hours prior to cooking it. Up to 48 hours is fine. Raw steak won’t keep for much more after that, though the salt helps.

The second best thing to do for your steak is to take it out of the freezer at least 15 min before you cook it. Ideally, the steak would be room temperature when you start cooking it. Room temperature steak means that the steak would cook more evenly and it’s less likely that you’ll have a burnt exterior and too-raw interior. 

You’ll want your pan over medium-high heat. Add a thin slice of butter or a squirt of olive oil once the pan is hot, then add the steak. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the meat. For an inch of meat, sear 2-3 minutes/side, getting a dark brown seared color. That’s where all the flavor is.

Let the steak rest 5-10 minutes before you cut into it. If you cut in sooner, all the tasty juices will run out of the steak. Letting it rest seals in the juices and flavor. 

Pay attention to the smells of your pan and steak. As you make more steak, you’ll be able to trust your nose to know when to flip the steak. You’ll also start to get the feel for how stiff the steak becomes as it cooks. The more well-done it is, the stiffer the steak.

I go for medium-rare. It’s a celebration of the meat. A well-done steak has left flavor dimensions. 

Gordon Ramsay has a much watched YouTube video on how to make the perfect steak. How he moved the steak and bastes the steak with butter is quite sophisticated. You can graduate to that at some point, but the method above sure does work. I bet it would be closer to Gordon Ramsay’s if there was a 1/2 stick of butter and more salt on the steak. Just saying. 

If I’m feeling sophisticated, I’ll smash a piece of garlic and fry it in my little bit of oil, for a minute or two, before adding the steak. You could also add a piece or two of onion, fresh rosemary, or fresh sage. Dry herbs will burn. 
 
I’ve now taken to cooking a large piece of steak and having it ready to go for my next few meals. Cooked steak stays good for much longer than raw steak. If I know I’m going to be keeping some in the fridge, I super make sure to keep it on the rare-medium-rare side, so when I heat it up, it’s still good and not overcooked. When I’m ready to eat the steak, I cut it into bite size pieces and arrange it in a ring on a dish so the pieces warm up evenly. If it’s a weak microwave, I just zap it for 30 or 45 seconds. If it’s a strong microwave, I cook it for 90 seconds on power level 5 and see where that gets me. 
​