SIMPLE FOOD: Here is a basic, uncomplicated “foodie-post” for today! I often wax eloquent about how much I enjoy preparing challenging meals – making fresh pasta, working on a sauce that takes all afternoon, using heavy cream, messing with layers of filo dough, or learning a new technique – but Friday evening I used ingredients that were much less rich, or costly, and the result was exceptional.

When we eat steak, I generally prefer tenderloin (filet mignon) but this time I followed a recipe that called for flank steak. Flank is a much less expensive cut, but deliciously flavorful.

The first order of business was to snip\ some fresh rosemary and sage from my herb garden. I chopped them to a fine consistency, combined the herbs with an equal amount of kosher salt, and applied the mixture as a rub, about an hour before cooking.

Then I took a ridged iron skillet, sprayed a little olive oil to prevent sticking, grilled the steak seven minutes on each side – until it was medium-rare – then set the meat aside on a warm dish, covered.

Meanwhile, I had boiled some cauliflower, drained and mashed it, then combined the vegetable – 50-50 – with mashed potatoes.

While the steak was resting, I put the skillet – with meat drippings – back on the heat and added butter, a quarter cup of red-wine vinegar, and an equal amount of balsamic vinegar, reducing the mixture for a sauce to be drizzled on the meat when served.

I presented the meat, sliced into strips, with the potato mixture, and a mixed-greens salad served with tomatoes, pine-nuts, and a balsamic-vinaigrette dressing. Rebekah drinks ice-tea, but I felt this was the perfect setting for the fine Italian Ripasso our son, Andrew, shared with me this summer.

Sometimes it’s the simple meal, made from fresh ingredients and prepared with love, that touches the soul with the most nourishment.

GIVE THANKS: Cooking for Rebekah, making our dinners together special, then sharing our hearts and talking about the events of a busy day, is a tremendous privilege and blessing for me. And we always give thanks together before we eat – no matter the meal, the occasion, or the setting – because we are genuinely grateful to God for this home we enjoy together, grateful for this community where we live, grateful for life itself, grateful that we are loved with such passion by the God who called us into being.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
And let everyone who hears say, “Come.”
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.  – Revelation 22:17