Steak, Rice And the Most Amazing Salad

For easy listening:

Of Monsters and Men Six Weeks

Isn't it interesting how our taste buds change overtime. When we are kids we can eat sugar by spoonfuls, now I would rather spend some time in the kitchen baking than buying a sugary treat from the store. I am not saying I do not have a craving for Fanta once in a while though ;)





I remember when I tried olives for the first time or blue cheese- I wasn't too impressed. Or anchovies, or sashimi. But over time my taste has developed and grew, and I realized there is a certain depth and sophistication to these products. Really, who craves arugula and toasted walnuts when they are pregnant. And frozen fruit blended with yogurt! Apparently I was on a pregnant diet, because now, I crave real ice cream with whipped cream or something baked every day. And it happens to be at 10 pm when my daughter is in bed. Not the greatest idea....Well, I hope she will eat everything!

I was never a big fan of red meat. I aways thought that red meat is bad for your health. However, recent studies show that red meat has benefits that while meat simply lacks! So if you were saying No to that nice juicy steak, go ahead and have it without thinking twice about it. Remember everything is good as long as in moderation....The breaking point for me was learning about searing. It takes meat to a different level and the difference is huge. When you sear you keep the outside of the meat crispy and browned while the inside is still juicy and never dry. When you add some salt, pepper, maybe thyme, onions and mushrooms and some red wine, oh my god, you just went to heaven. So, steak is quite a frequent visitor in this household and with a Mexican appetite and I learnt to develop a craving for it.

So steak it is for tonight:

-steak that I seared with some onions, mushrooms, salt, pepper, thyme and some red wine.

-white basmati rice cooked with 1 cinnamon stick and 1 star anise for some fragrance. I use a deep pan or pot for it, make sure that rice is evenly distributed on its surface. Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil, heat it on high heat and add 1 cup of rice. Mix and cook on high until it becomes clear, that will be maybe a minute, it cooks fast. Now add 2 cups of water to it, it will boil up, reduce the heat to medium and cook covered until the rice is tender, but still a little hard inside. Turn off the heat and leave it covered, it will finish cooking without the heat on.  This process makes the best fluffy rice I have ever made.

-some snap peas with olive oil, salt and pepper.

And the star of this meal aside for the steak of course, for is this salad. The recipe is from one of my favourite magazines ever, the Food and Drink, Winter 2012.

Fig and Roasted Walnut Salad With Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/4 cup walnut pieces, roasted or 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or both

12 dried figs, cut in to eights

8 cups of spinach or lettuce (i made both, preferred spinach, picture shows lettuce, again eaten before I could take a snapshot)

1/2 cup sliced red onion

1/4 cup crumbled feta or queso fresco

Dressing

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 clove crushed garlic

Toss figs, spinach, onion, feta and walnuts in a large bowl.

In another bowl (i use a jar with a lid, so it can be easily shaken and make more of the dressing to last, this amount is just for one salad) place all the dressing ingredients, mix well and pour over the salad. Toss, and serve immediately. You will notice that the figs become juicy and the onion sweet when hit by the dressing. Amazing.

ENJOY.