Steak with Tomato Relish, Asparagus Toss, and Potato Wedges

SEPTEMBER 3RD,2009

Please note that I had to use my old camera, so the pictures were very blurry. For the next few recipes, I will try to post as many pics as I can, but the quality might not be so great.

Steak with Sweet Tomato Relish

4 stars (out of 5 - a great addition to the meat!)

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped ripe tomato
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1 lean boneless beef sirloin steak
Salt and pepper

1. First I combined the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan and added some pepper. I brought it to a boil and reduced the heat so that it could simmer for about 8 minutes.

2. As this was cooking, I cooked the steak and the meatless beef. Once it was done, I placed the meat on a plate and covered with the relish. Easy!

SB's steak:


My "beef":


Asparagus & Onion Salad

2.5 stars (out of 5 - overpowering vinegar flavour)

Ingredients:

1 bunch of fresh asparagus
1/2- 3/4 cup of sliced green onion (depending on preference)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar*
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried basis
Salt and pepper

{Note. I found that vinegar taste overpowered everything, so in the future I would add much less at first and then take it from there. If it needs more kick, add some more, if not leave as it is}.

1. I actually made this first and refrigerated it so that I didn't have to worry about it at all later on. I like dishes like that! First I trimmed the asparagus and cut them in thirds. I then very briefly boiled it until it was tender-crisp (I think it was about 4 minutes).

2. After they were cooked, I rinsed them under cold water to both cool them and stop them from cooking further.

3. I then added all the ingredients and the asparagus to a bowl and stirred. I let it chill in the fridge for a few hours.

Garlic potato wedges

4 stars (out of 5 - pretty tasty, but a bit of work and time)

Ingredients:

2 medium potatoes (russet)
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika

1. I first washed to potatoes and then cut each into 8 wedges.

2. I then combined all of the other ingredients into a zip-lock bag and added 1/2 the potato wedges and shook it until they were coated. I repeated this with the second half.

3. I then laid them out on a cookie sheet and sprinkled with any additional ingredients I wanted to amplify (in this case, garlic and salt!).

4. I baked them at 375F for 25 minutes (although it turned out to be longer with my oven). I turned them once and then took them out when they were slightly crispy. Delicious!

The final product... SB's steak:



And my "beef" version:

Overall, this was a fairly simple meal to prepare, as you can stagger the times for everything. I am not so great at multi-talking in the kitchen, so this was perfect for me. The only criticism I had for this meal was the asparagus, as the vinegar taste was overpowering. That could just be my taste though! I'll definitely make the potatoes and steak again!