2T to 1/4 C brewed black coffee (optional) (I used decaf)
Instructions
Whisk together marinade ingredients. Pour in a sealable container and add beef. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Refrigerate overnight (or for at least a few hours). In the morning, flip beef, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until 30 minutes before cooking.
Drizzle Crock Pot with olive oil. Place beef in CP, sprinkle with more salt and pepper, if desired. Pour marinade in. (This is safe to do as long as it is thoroughly cooked… and if it’s not, the beef probably won’t be either. If you don’t want to, discard used marinade and make a fresh batch.)
Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours, or on low 3-4 hours, or until internal temperature reaches 160F (for medium, if you want it medium rare it should be 145F).
When beef has 30 minutes left to cook, whisk together mustard brush ingredients and brush over beef. If there’s any extra, you could pour it into the Crock Pot.
If desired, remove from Crock Pot and let beef rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
This blogging adventure of mine is still a pretty new endeavor. It has needed plenty of encouragement, support, and love. When I first started (officially) blogging a little less than a year ago, I asked a few friends if they wanted to be ambassadors. Their job was/is to tell people about my blog and get them interested. In return I promised to create a dish for and named after them.
This past Wednesday, after a long and tiring day of editing, I was trying to come up with something for dinner. I finished work at 6, and was supposed to Skype with my family a few minutes later. I had something on the menu, but hadn’t done any work to prepare it (and might not have even had all the ingredients required). So I stood at the pantry cupboard and sought inspiration. I think some of the best meals come from staring at a bunch of ingredients sitting on a shelf. This was no exception.
The ingredients that sounded yummy to me reminded me of what one of my ambassadors had said she liked. The wheels started turning and I soon had the makings for “Mediterranean Quinoa for Stephanie”.
While I cooked, I had a small glass of wine. I was finishing up the dish and preparing to plate so I could take a few photos, so I poured a little more for the photo. Or so I thought. I realized that I’d picked up the olive oil, which was sitting right next to the bottle of wine, and poured it into my mostly empty wine glass. Whoops. Have I mentioned that I was really really tired!? Not one to waste food or wine, I poured the glass into the dish of rosemary infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar that we were going to dip our bread into. 🙂
A little bit about Stephanie Gladysz… She’s become a friend because I’m friends with her daughters Genevieve of Create Nourish Share, and Alexandra of Pink and Honey. She lives in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It gets really really cold there in the winter. She and her husband own and operate Joey’s Restaurant in Regina, SK. They make really great fish and chips! She wrote a book called (Gasp) I have an idea! She’s really good at connecting people to my blog and often tells someone a specific post that reminded her of them. She’s a good encourager too. I’m thankful that she’s been willing to tell people about my work.
Thanks, Stephanie! Here’s the recipe that I created for you. I hope you enjoy it!!
I made risotto this week because my friend, Elizabeth, asked me to.
I was inspired by the basil I was getting in this week’s Abundant Harvest Organics box. All of the ingredients in this dish are basil friendly. It’s a tasty dish.
I’ll admit to you that I couldn’t stop eating it, even though it was a little too hot and I kinda burned my mouth. It was worth it.
Most of this dish contains ingredients that are from an AHO box, or can be bought as or made from an add on. There are a few exceptions (such as the arborio rice and the wine), but even the rice could be substituted for the rice that’s available through AHO. I’ve done it before. It’s a bit different, but still really good. It’s up to you.
We buy cheap wine. That’s what we drink and what I cook with. If you want to use more expensive wine, go for it! But, in my opinion, Two Buck Chuck is just fine. 🙂 If you don’t want to use wine at all, just use all chicken or vegetable stock.
Basil is probably my favorite herb. The smell of it reminds me of Reedley, where we used to live, where I learned to garden and grew my first basil plants from seed.
I can see myself in the spoon in the photo. I’m OK with that.
I served the risotto in a tea cup that belonged to my Oma. I miss her.
1 C basil, cut in a chiffonade (roll it up and cut into little strips)
1 C parmesan cheese, grated
lemon juice, for serving
Instructions
In a medium sauce pan, combine 1 C wine, stock, honey, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer (or turn off and cover).
Heat a medium or large sauce pan over medium heat. Add olive oil. When it's hot, add onion, squash, salt, and pepper. Cook 3-5 minutes.
Add garlic and green garlic, cook for 1 minute.
Add rice, cook for 1 minute.
Add 1 C wine, cook for 1 minute or so, stirring to deglaze the pan.
Add 1 C of the hot stock mixture to rice pan. Stir. Cook about 3 minutes, or until the liquid is mostly absorbed.
Repeat until rice is tender, creamy, starchy. (You may use all the liquid and need more: add water or more stock, heat. Or, you may not need it all: refrigerate or freeze leftovers.) It will take about 30-40 minutes.
Remove from heat. Add basil. Stir for about a minute.
Add parmesan cheese, stir to combine.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Serve topped with fresh basil, grated parmesan, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
