Skirting the Issue

by Mara @ What's For Dinner? on February 15, 2010

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¡Buenas noches!

I hope you all had a wonderful Monday, whether you worked today or not. I did not and had a thoroughly unproductive day off. I tend to do nothing on my days off and then feel guilty about it, but I have NO shame about being completely useless today. I did have a doctor’s appointment to meet my new doctor, then hit the grocery store. I found the CUTEST thing:

Pocket kabocha! I thought of HEAB and Coco when I found them! I can’t wait to roast this and FINALLY try it! It was also an exciting evening because our new dishwasher was installed! A huge thanks goes out to LIzz’s dad, who took time out of his busy day to come out and put it in for us. I can’t wait to see how it works! It certainly looks nice:

I insisted that Lizz’s dad stay for dinner, and I made a marinated skirt steak (now do you get the title?) and garlic steamed broccoli. I’d never made a skirt steak before, so I asked my mom for advice on what to do with it. Unfortunately, her suggestion included a bunch of stuff we didn’t have in the house, so I’m going to have to save it for another day. I went with a simple marinade:

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1.5 Tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp parsley flakes
Salt and pepper

I mixed up the marinade, set the steaks in, and let them sit for almost 2 hours. Then, I simply broiled them for a great result!

Tomorrow’s a big day over here… a certain 5 lb shipment from Amazon is coming that I just can’t wait for! Some of you know what it is, and the rest of you will just have to wait! There are big things this week, maybe a giveaway, and definitely some shopping opportunities!

I have gotten a few questions to answer in the last couple of days:

Have any tips on substitutions for those of use who keep kosher?? My answer here depends wholly on how strict of a kosher house you keep! For the very strictest, I’m low on ideas, as I’m not sure of all the intricacies. However, if you’re a “no pork, no milk and meat together” kind of kosher-keeper, I do have a couple of ideas. Many of my pork dishes are easily recreated using chicken or turkey. All of the marinades taste great on chicken, and cooking time will need to be adjusted slightly. If there’s a milk/meat dish, I’d recommend subbing in either rice cheese or casein free soy cheese instead. Casein is a milk protein often found in some soy cheeses, so avoid those. Usually the vegan ones will work. Also: most foods that are marked as kosher (either a circled K or a circled U) will also be organic, and vice versa.

If you could change places with anyone for one day who would it be and why? This feels like an essay question on a state achievement test… but I kind of like it! I would have to say that honestly, I wouldn’t change myself at all, I’d just change my circumstances. I’d love to be me, still be married to Adam, still be a blogger, etc, but I’d love to have the house of my dreams, no financial worries, no weight problem… so I guess I’d like to change places with my ideal me, just to know what I’m striving for.

What are your absolute favorite blogs? You know, the ones you can’t miss a day reading? Name your top 5 faves. I check in on a ton of blogs every day, so many that I can’t even keep track… but yeah, there are a few that I HAVE to read every day. Many of them are bloggers I’ve met in person, and a few with whom I have a great phone and email relationship with. So, in no particular order, and since I can’t just pick 5:

EatingBender (She’s been such a great friend)
On A Lobster Placemat (for her honesty, passion, and amazing artwork)
Fitnessista (She’s just fabizzle)
ColorHungry (She’s a fantastic writer with a great perspective)
MizFit (For her inherant Mizfitednessandpassion)
Gliding Calm (She’s just adorable)
How Sweet It Is (for her love of bacon and sweets)
The Daily Balance (Food, Fashion, Fun…what else do we need?)

I have over 200 blogs in my Google Reader that I read regularly, and most of them are on my Blogroll Page. Feel free to check that out!

What are you most looking forward to this summer? Warm weather, like I am? Haha Warmth for sure. Camp as always, especially since Skylar (Lizz’s daughter) will be attending for the first time! Maybe a small vacation, going to the pool, and sunshine until after 8 p.m.