Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Beef and scallion “rolls

Sauteed bok choy and broccoli

Unrolled and unconcerned

Unrolled and unconcerned

Slice a pound of beef tenderloin or sirloin into 8 slices.  Place each slice between pieces of plastic wrap, being careful not to let the plastic wrap do the thing that it ALWAYS does where it sticks to itself, pound lightly until 1/8 inch thick.  Place delicate, little slices of bell pepper and green onion on to the slices, roll them tightly and secure with a toothpick.  Brown them on the stove.  Still with me?  I’m not.  I didn’t do any of this.  I took that beef, the bell pepper, and the green onion, chopped it into pieces and stir fried it in a non-stick skillet.  Then I added the soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar, made an awesome sauce and tossed it all together.  You know what?  It was good enough for me.

The bok choy and broccoli was probably a bigger hassle than the beef just because of all the prep it takes to cut up those vegetables.  I also overcrowded the pot and wound up jamming things down in there haphazardly.  It has a wonderful flavor and goes perfectly with the beef and scallion stir fry.

French cut green beans with dill butter

Know why most of the entree is gone?  Because we got tired of waiting for the beans to be done.


What’s French for tedious?  Apparently, “fastidieux.”  Haricots vert et fastidieux.  That’s what these are.  Listen to these instructions and you’ll wish you were pounding little pieces of beef to 1/8 inch thick.

  1. Trim both ends of beans with a paring knife or snap off
  2. Cut beans in half into approximately equal-size pieces (really?)
  3. With a paring knife, carefully split each bean in half lengthwise
  4. Ask yourself why you ever decided to start this blog in the first place

The last step might not have been strictly necessary.  Yeah, they were tasty.  Yeah, they have a nicer texture than cooked green beans normally do.  Yeah, the dill and the butter are great additions.  It’s just…well…as a wise woman once said…


Fastest salmon in the west

Salmon with mustard-dill sauce

served with snap peas

served with snap peas

Serves 4. Prep time: 5 minutes. Total time: 15 minutes (really)

  • 4 skinless salmon filets (about 6 ounces each)
  • coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 2 T grainy mustard
  • 2 T Dijon mustard
  • 1 t brown sugar
  • 2 T snipped fresh dill
  • 1 scallion, thinly sliced
  1. Preheat oven to 450.  Place salmon on a rimmed baking sheet; sea on with salt and pepper.  Roast until salmon is opaque, 8-10 minutes.  Seriously.
  2. Meanwhile, in a  small bowl, stir together the mustards, sugar, and 1 T water until smooth.  Stir in dill and scallion.  Serve salmon with sauce.  Do a cartoonish double take at the clock.  High five the nearest human or cat.

-adapted from Everyday Food, Issue 45, September 2007, p. 41

I love it when a recipe that says it will take 15 minutes actually takes 15 minutes.  This is one of those recipes.

How does it taste?  Quite nice!  It has a bright flavor.  I thought the brown sugar was a good touch to balance out the other sour and salty flavors in the sauce.  Plus, if you already bought the dill to make the dill feta scramble in this issue, then you might as well make this one too.