Back to Reality

We're back from our week in the Florida Keys.  How wonderful it was to simply relax and take it all in!  Like the amazing views...

The Keys are lovely and laid-back.  Scorching hot weather kept us either by the pool, playing in the ocean or enjoying the AC in our condo. 

We ate as much fresh seafood as we could, drank wine and beer at rock bottom prices (thanks to the US convenience stores!), rode waverunners around Key West, snorkelled the reefs off Islamorada and played in the waves at Bahia Honda. 

Hair and makeup go out the window in this serious humidity, so it was nice to ditch the routine.

But just as nice as it is to get away, it's so nice to get home.  We missed Gus so much we visited a local humane society and took their newest homeless puppy, a pitbull cross named Whisky, for a walk.  I managed to shoot some great doors so watch for those this week. 

After a week of amazing seafood, we decided Sunday dinner should be steaks.  These recipes caught my eye in a local supermarket flyer down in the Keys, so I brought it home and decided to give them a go.  Sure, it's a little bit of gluttony but let's just say we're still on vacation! 

A heads up that I made a few minor substitutions and I'm fairly loose on quantities, so add and subtract as you see fit!

Chimichurri-style Steak and Black Bean Corn Salad

For the steak combine 1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, 6 chopped pepperoncini peppers, 3 Tb olive oil, 1 Tb minced garlic and 1 tsp dried oregano.

Place NY strip steaks on the grill and coat top with above mixture.  Grill 3 minutes, turn and coat the other side with remaining mixture.  Grill another 3-5 minutes. 

Top each steak with 1 tsp butter and sprinkle with fresh lemon juice.

For the salad, slice kernals off 4 husks of corn on the cob.  Saute for 4 minutes in a pan with 1 Tb olive oil.

Toss together cooled corn, your favourite salad greens, 1 15 oz can of drained black beans, 2 cups of wonton strips (or broken tortilla chips), 1/2 cup ranch dressing and sprinkle with 1 tsp dried oregano.

Serve hot steaks with cold salad and enjoy!

Written with love,

Lenore