and now i succumb to red meat...

at the beginning of school, our teacher Jill told us “if you’re waiting for someone to give you permission to eat something specific, here it is. eat what you need to eat. you have no one to answer to but yourself.” odd as that may sound, that advice resonated deeply for many of us, and happened to translate to one thing in particular – beginning to eat meat again.

this week my school offered a special meat class which I attended with some of my classmates. all of us had started the program as either vegetarian or vegan. I’m not saying we all eat meat all of the time, but we are all listening to our bodies in a different way while still making informed decisions about the food we choose to eat. the meat at the class was all either organic or grass fed, and came from local sources. if there’s one thing they stress at Natural Gourmet, it’s high quality food, and that is particularly important when it comes to animal protein. grass fed meat tends to be a bit tougher because the animals are actually out in the pasture getting exercise, rather than being cooped up & fattened up for the sake of tender meat. tough schmuff – I’m willing to take a slightly tougher piece of meat for the sake of humanely treated animals.

of course I’m not here to preach that you should start eating meat if you don’t already – everyone’s body needs something different, and everyone’s diet will change and morph over time according to what you need at a specific point in time. if you do happen to eat meat, however, then try these delicious & easy recipes courtesy of Elliott Prag, instructor extraordinaire at NGI. (though I don’t suggest gorging it all in one night as we did because that’s just a bad idea):


Skirt Steak
serves 4-6

2 shallots, minced
¼ cup shoyu
¼ cup brown rice vinegar
2 pounds skirt steak
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1. Mix together the shallots, shoyu, and rice vinegar.
2. Add steak to marinade and marinate for several hours to overnight.
3. Heat a grill until very hot (you should have difficulty holding your hand 3 inches above the grill).
4. Remove the steak from the marinade. Place remaining marinade in a small sauce pan.
5. Grill the steak 2 minutes a side for rare, then let stand 4-5 minutes before slicing.
6. While the steak is resting, mount the marinade with cold butter to make a sauce. (Mounting means dropping in the sauce and whisking until the butter thickens the sauce)
7. Thinly slice steak against the grain and serve immediately.

*This is a great served in fajitas or burritos.

Short Ribs
serves 6-8

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 pounds short ribs
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 large onion (10 ounces), small dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup tomato paste
2 cups beef stock
¼ cup mustard
¼ cup horseradish

1. Heat oil in a dutch oven.
2. Add ribs and brown on all sides, 20 – 30 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.
3. Remove the ribs to a plate, and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. (if there is no fat at all then you might want to add a drop of olive oil)
4. Add smoked paprika, onions, garlic, and sauté 10 minutes.
5. Add beef stock and tomato paste.
6. Add ribs back in, bring liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and add more stock if necessary to cover. Cover the pot with a lid.
7. Cook ribs another 90 minutes, turning ribs occasionally. They will be done when the meat is falling off the bone.
8. Remove ribs from cooking liquid and refrigerate the stock overnight.
9. Skim fat from stock and reheat ribs with stock.
10. Transfer ribs to a plate, and whisk mustard and horseradish into the sauce.

*These are delicious with the sauce, but equally as delicious without. Feel free to eat them immediately and save the sauce for later or for something else entirely.