This year we went all-out on preparing the holes. We used a mix of Wonder Soil from San Carlos Nursery (for free on Craigslist), and the free compost from Re-cology. In each hole, we put:
It has been three weeks now, and the results are great so far…
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This is a quick, easy, improvisational dinner. We have some stir-fry steak from Bianchini’s left over from Friday, and assorted vegetables. I made a red chicken in the slow cooker yesterday, so we have the red sauce to use tonight.
Made a Ribeye and roasted broccoli; I made one small adjustment from my recipe: I cooked it for 3 minutes a side in the skillet and nine minutes at 475ºf in the oven. I then sauteed onion in the same skillet in blue-cheese butter. This is a twist on the blue-cheese butter over the steak, and is fantastic.
I cannot over-state how easy this recipe is. You simply prep the meat with salt, pepper, and thyme, and after you start the first side in the skillet, you put the broccoli in the oven. Since I skipped the starch (we had had crackers with brie as an appy), the whole process was less than 30 minutes. The steak cost $13 and fed us both. Not too expensive, easy, and fast – and eating like royalty…
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Making a version of Lidia’s rice and chicken. It is a simplified chicken risotto and great for an evening when you don’t want to stand over the stove and stir rice for a half an hour. This meal is great for leftovers – easily carried and reheated on-site at work.
Lidia is Lidia Bastianich; she has a great cooking show on PBS. We were not blown away by her cookbook, but there are a few recipes that work well, and a few more that at least give a good starting point.
Slow Down and Cook 