While my steak dinner contained a small amount of carbs (½ cups of rice), this dish is an excellent high-protein dinner.

Have you never heard of the Shabu Shabu cut of meat? It is often sold at Costo, where it is an incredibly thin sliced steak – and is either top round or loin New York (it can be ribeye as well). It is wafer thin, in a cut you cannot get at home without a commercial meat slicer. It is used in hot pot and similar recipes, where the meat is quickly cooked in boiling broth. This same cut is also great in dishes like this and Philly cheesesteak.

This is a flexible recipe ingredient-wise. When it comes to ginger, do you need to measure it? Use your heart and nose. It’s good for you.

You can make the hoisin sauce easy enough (and no, it shouldn’t have peanut butter in it if you see recipes for that…sigh). Read labels carefully, and look for US-made ingredients and a short list of ingredients. Yes, it is processed but can be relatively OK for a few brands. Hoison is heavy on soy sauce and not overly sweet (whereas teriyaki sauce is very sugary, making it a far better choice when eating higher protein). It is Cantonese Chinese.

Leftover steak? Add it to a skillet with a knob of butter, saute it up, and then add in eggs for a delicious scrambled egg breakfast the following day.

Ginger Garlic Steak

Ingredients:

2-ish pounds of Shabu Shabu steak
A big chunk of fresh ginger
1 bulb garlic (or as much as you like)
Avocado oil
Hoison sauce
Sesame seeds

Directions:

Peel the ginger and use a microplane to grate it. Peel and finely dice the garlic. Mix the two.

Separate the steak slices in a large bowl and gently massage the ginger mixture into them, setting them aside. You can do this up to 24 hours in advance and chill until ready.

Heat a large cast iron skillet or wok over high heat. Add enough avocado oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

Add in the steak, let sit for a couple of minutes to start getting a good char on the bottom, then start working it, stir-frying the meat till it is done. You want the meat cooked with a nice sear on it.

Turn the heat down to medium, and add ¼ cup of hoisin sauce, stirring it in. Taste and add more if desired.

Take off the heat and serve.

Served with steamed broccoli on the side. If rice is desired, ½ cup per person. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top for a nice crunch.

Serves 6.

~Sarah

Uncategorized

May You Have A Blessed Winter Solstice

December 21, 2024 Sarah

December 21st, 2024, marks the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. The hibernal solstice marks the start of winter in the north and the return of the light.

It’s dark in December in this corner of the PNW. The light won’t change much for the next week, but we will be gaining once we get to the New Year. Slowly at first, but then it will increase as we cross January.

It is a short sliver of time for the light today. The UV Index is often low in this time frame, so it can be very dark all day. Yesterday, on the eve, the skies opened to the sun, and it felt so good to be outside for an hour, working on the homestead.

Light candles to send the dark away, maybe have a fire outside, be outside, enjoying knowing the light will return.

Consider a feast with loved ones.

But most of all, it is winter. Learn to relax and just be. As the plants and animals do.

~Sarah

Gardening

It’s Almost Time To Start Planning

December 20, 2024 Sarah

In that lull between the holidays and the start of the year, the desire to plant becomes insatiable as we slip into the new year. Maybe we know deep in our psyche that the light is returning to the north.

For many of us, there’s not enough daylight as we enter Winter; it’s cold, rainy, and possibly snowy. Your ground may also be frozen over.

But that desire still burns. We know soon! We can start planting seeds once again.

To me, gardening is something deep in our souls. Because even less than a hundred years ago, our lives did depend on humans growing food. We are fortunate that it can be a hobby now, but we should always treat it as something we should know. Well.

By the end of the long summer, often we hate gardening. We might declare we will never do it again. We are hot, sweaty and burnt out. But once we take a few months off, all we want is to be in soil once again, watching tiny seeds sprout.

But for now, it’s time to dream. Of planning. Order seeds. Sketch out what you want.

But you have time. A lot of time. Yes, you can start tomatoes and peppers if you really want, under grow lights, but you can also wait till March 1st.

Winter is here, and let it shine for it’s short months. Soon the light and warmth will return. But just like the earth, it is time for you to rest, to hibernate.

Soon, you will be back outside, planting happily.

~Sarah

Recipes

Bread Machine Buttery Rolls

December 19, 2024 Sarah

The boys have a couple more days of school before winter break, so I made rolls for lunch today. These are buttery and full of flavor. They’d be great for slider-sized rolls and also perfect for a holiday dinner.

Bread Machine Buttery Rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1½ tsp fine sea salt
480 grams of all-purpose flour + more as needed
2¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)

Directions:

Place eggs on the counter, slice the butter, and let soften at room temperature.

Add the ingredients in order, ending with the yeast on the flour.

Set for dough (our machine takes 1 hour 50 minutes).

5 minutes before, set a heating pad too high. Lightly butter a 9×13 pan and set it on the heating pad.

Take the dough out and set it on a lightly floured work surface. Pat it out into a rectangle (about the size of the pan). Cut it into 15 sections. Form each piece into a ball and place it in the pan.

Lightly spray plastic wrap with avocado or olive oil and cover tightly.

Let rise for 45 minutes.

With 5 minutes left, preheat oven to 350°.

Uncover and bake for 15 to 18 minutes or till golden on top. Let cool on a wire rack.

Makes 16 rolls.

Notes:

We use a Zojirushi bread machine, which has a 15-minute preheat cycle. If you use another brand of machine, preheat your milk as directed (at 110° or so) and possibly melt/cool the butter for best results.

~Sarah

Uncategorized

The Ten Most Read Posts In 2024

December 18, 2024 Sarah

The Ten Most Read Posts In 2024: A collection of recipes, meals in a jar, and gardening articles, it seems, are the most popular here at Never Free Farm.

Something happened this year, and I am so happy: our readership increased by 171% in 2024 compared to 2023. That is a massive jump for any site.

Oh yeah, and you all love to visit on Sunday at 10 a.m. to catch up. Are you hiding that phone in your Bible? 😉 I kid!

Truthfully, watching my readership grow has inspired me to write more and try new things. I hope this brings us so much more in 2025.