We don’t eat much beef (or red meat), but every once in a while we’ll have a steak or beef chili.  I bought a New England farmed top sirloin from Whole Foods and cooked it simply on the grill the other night.  Though my husband would never buy that type of steak (he’s a ribeye fan) he would approve of my cooking method.  I just put some sea salt and pepper on the steak before it went over the hot coals (he prefers charcoal to gas grills).  Just make sure you slice it thinly so it’s not too tough.  It smelled so good our local raccoon came looking for dinner with his nose up in the air.   I served it with asparagus, organic baby spinach and organic red potatoes.  “Conventional” asparagus is considered “clean” in terms of pesticide contamination.  If you’re wondering which vegetables and fruits to buy organic over conventional there are lists of those considered “clean” and those you should always buy organic (like I recently got reminded that strawberries contaminated with pesticides , which we eat almost daily, have been linked to ADHD among other problems).   I had been buying the cheaper conventionally grown strawberries because the price was right, but now I think the price I have to pay is greater in the long run.

Understand, I didn’t grow up with asparagus because my mother said she didn’t have an “asparagus cooker” and it was expensive.  Asparagus is often on sale in spring and you certainly don’t need a specialized cooker.  Just another thing to clutter your cabinets, an asparagus cooker is a tall, narrow pot with a basket where the asparagus rests vertically in the hot water.  Another wonderful trick I learned from my husband… cook in a sauté pan filled with water where the asparagus lies horizontally.    I take the whole bunch in its rubber band and chop off the bottom third of the stalk before I put it in the boiling water.  That is the woody part and what most people complain about.  You can save it for asparagus soup or just compost it if you’re like me.  Just need to lightly boil the asparagus for a few minutes until tender (you can always taste test one), take off heat, and cold shock with ice water.    It’s one veggie that needs to be cooled completely to stop cooking.  No one likes mushy vegetables.  Wish someone would tell/teach that to the cooks at the elementary school.  Once you’re ready to serve everything, reheat in a little butter, salt and pepper (once again, notice the pattern).

Tonight my middle son, who normally says, “I don’t want that” at every dinner, asked for more salad.  He’d eaten all his spinach, some of his brown rice, most of his bool kogi, and wanted MORE salad!!  He even asked his brothers if they would give up some of their salad.  No, they wouldn’t share!  I give several raw veggies a day and at least 3 salads per week, but it’s not always the favorite thing, not always first, or not always finished.   But today, all three ate all their salad (mixed CSA greens, organic Romaine, cilantro, Brianna’s vinaigrette) and wanted more!  Love that! 

When we were at a PTA pasta dinner not one of them ate the salad but had ziti and meatballs or pizza and ice creams for dessert.  I kept thinking if anyone sees them,  “Really my kids do really eat the foods I blog about.” Just not often when we’re out.  That’s why it’s so important to give them the good foods at home. 

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