Healthy Eating: Chuck Eye Steak!

             It is going to be hard to type out this entry as Stumpy is sacked out on the pull out desk of the computer stand. It was a “flashy, noisy” morning with thunder and lightning. The rain is letting up; Normally Stump would be outside, but he is erring on the side of dryness this morning!

I finally got around to cleaning the stove Tuesday morning. This is a job I hate, but it is such a difference to have it all cleaned up. The grease build up is so gradual, it is not till things are out of hand I realize how bad it truly is! This also meant doing a “deep clean” on my kettle and drip coffee pot. I have the coffee filter soaking in vinegar to help unplug the jammed up holes in the aluminum strainer.

I had to run to Publix for emergency food. (cat food, milk, and eggs.) Every Publix trip it is a must to check out the meat aisle. I found a two pack of extra thick chuck eye steaks. That package jumped into my cart! One of the main reasons I work out and watch my health is so I can enjoy indulgences like Tuesday nights supper. My camera was on the kitchen counter so I decided to record cooking up my favourite meal in pictures.

About 15 minutes before cooking I’ll store the chuck eye in the freezer to get extra cold. Then an onion is chopped up.

A heavy china “Pals Cabin” is put into the toaster oven and it is turned on and set to broil.

The onions begin to cook up in a cast iron skillet in plenty of butter. The steak is added and fryed on hight heat about one minute on each side.

Then the steak and onions are transferred to the toaster oven tray and placed on top of the heated plate. The steak is broiled 2 ½ minutes on each side.

Potholders are a must at this stage: the meat and onions are plated onto the hot plate. Montreal Steak Seasoning is sprinkled on top. I have to force myself to eat slow. This is one of my top ten meals. That juice, onions, and seasonings soaked up in a piece of bread was my desert!

It is a journey when I eat a meal like this. To most people the table ware is a hodge-podge of silver, plates and glass. For me it is a connection to my past. Let me do bullets for this part of my entry:

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; The table itself was made by my good friends Jeff and JP. It is kind of involved how it came into my possession, but around 1999 I got this table through Judy as he had no room for it. There are seven imprints of a screwdriver blade being rammed into the top. Jeff did this in a fit of rage. He had a temper, but knowing he was going to die from AIDS in the prime of his life did not help things. Those marks will stay as long as I have this in my possession. (Jeff died in November of 1992. He was a staunch Republican. Jeff’s partner JP carried him in his arms like a baby, into the voting booth so he could vote for Bill Clinton.)

·         The glass butter dish was a Christmas present from my mom the first year I was in my house in 1978.

·         The red floral dish came from “Larry and Bob’s” auction back in the late 1970’s. It is now Stumpy’s “wet food” dish.

·         The Pals Cabin plate the steak is on was a present from Billy. Pals Cabin was a pretty famous New Jersey eating establishment. A friend of Billy’s who had connections there gave him a stack of these plates when they were being changed out.

·         The wine glass is from 1983. A good friend Dave moved in so we could share expenses. The early 1980’s were lean times. Dave was a chef and he used this glass as a “traveler” one night. It has been in my cupboard ever since.

I could go on all day in this fashion. I like to tell the stories behind my belongings here on my journal. I know in today’s world this information holds little value with my “blood family”. You can’t choose them, but you do have control over extended family, which means more to me than what family I have left. (I feel so guilty in saying this, but it is the truth.)

When the rain let up a bit I ran out to snap this picture of the new brick installation. I sanded the bricks yesterday. All this rain will do a good job of working the sand into the gaps under and around the bricks to anchor them firmly in place. When I did the first installation years ago I tried to keep the distance between the levels equal. At the bottom level this always caused puddles at the lowest spots. This time I have things so this bottom level raises in the middle a bit to shed water. It seems to be working!