beansterNOSHES.................Filet Mignon, twice baked sweet potato, and tomato salad

Filet? Well, thats not a good decision for a vegetarian is it? No, you're right. Thats why I didn't eat it, but not a good reason why I can't make one for my giant-meat eating lover. So I utilized my knowledge of eating a good steak: Keep it simple, stupid. Any foodie will tell you that with a good cut of beef only needs salt and peppah (and maybe a delicious bearnaise or red wine sauce. Blue cheese, anyone?) But this weekend I wanted to keep it as light as possible with a simple seasoning. From listening to various chefs, steakhouse waiters and TV food hosts I left ample time for the salt and pepper to completely absorb into the meat (At least 30 minutes, but the longer the better.) I also believe, as many recipes online will show you, that the flavor and capabilities of kosher salt compared to regular iodized table salt are WAY better and leave the steak with a better taste. Also, remember when seasoning a pretty thick filet (ours was 8 oz and about 1.5 to 2 inches thick) to be pretty heavy handed because you are seasoning for all of that thickness and don't want it to end up bland.

So, as health conscious individuals and for the newly and still adapting vegetarian (Im not that good at it yet, and that steak looked sooooo good!!!) we needed some sides that I could keep my self occupied with. So, after reading an article on sweet potatoes and how beneficial they are-- check out sweet potato superfood-- I decided to try a twice baked sweet potato. Here is the Twice baked sweet potato recipe that I used. However, I didn't feel like waiting for the baked potatoes to cool down before scooping out the flesh, so I just mashed it all together with the other ingredients, which included one of my top 5 favorite foods cream cheese (YUM). The result was a chunky, sweet and slightly creamy textured mash that was extremely delicious! Maybe next time Ill try and do it the right way and not be so impatient. ;-)

Lastly on the menu is a tomato salad that I just kinda made up with ideas from the various types of tomato salad that I've had. 

1 8oz container of cherry tomatoes, big ones sliced in half

1 avocado, chopped

half of a red onion, chopped into big pieces

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar (I eye-balled this, but am guessing I put about a tablespoon.)

salt and pepper to taste

a few squeeze of lime to keep the avocado from browning

I love tomato salad with huge chunks of mozzarella, but to keep it light I opted for the healthy fat option of avocado to get the same creaminess without the guilt of cheese. Also, the crunch from the raw red onion was absolutely necessary to give a much needed texture difference from the avocado. (This salad was actually better the next day when we took it for a picnic at the topiary gardens in Columbus, OH. An awesome landscape recreation of George Seurats A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatt. The boyfriend didn't car for the art history lesson although I love that shit, but all in all it was nice day in the park. Perfect for a sweet little picnic. Wish I had my boys though; Zylo would have LOVED it, although Razin would have thought it was boring. Where are the lizards?!)
I tossed the salad with some left over chicken for my Gimme-some-protein-body-builder. It was delicious!) Next time I would love to add some basil and maybe add some small balls of mozzarella to indulge a little! 

Yummy weekend! I love not having anything to do :)

Best wishes, 

K