Beef Tri-Tip
For years the beef tri-tip found itself being ground into hamburger or cut into cubes and sold as soup meat. The reason for this is that there is only one per side of beef and in the days when butchers carved their own meat it was considered a waste of display space to sell the tri-tip by itself. Now that the carving is done by packers you are much more likely to find the tri-tip at your local butcher. If you don't, ask for it. This often over looked piece of meat is not only relatively inexpensive but also very flavorful and has become a favorite amongst the few in the know.

The tri-tip roast or steak (also called a triangle roast) is the 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pounds of meat that sits at the bottom of the sirloin. Not only does it have a great flavor, but also tends to be lower in fat than most other cuts, so it's a good lean cut. Of course this means that it can dry out faster, but with a good marinade you really can't go wrong with this cut. Particularly good flavors for tri-tip are Southwestern or Asian.

The versatility of tri-tips is another factor that makes them great. Uncut it's a fantastic roast that should be grill indirectly for 30 to 40 minutes. You can also cut the tri-tip into 1-inch steaks that grill up in about 8 minutes over a low to medium direct heat. As always, let your steak (or roast) sit for 5 to 10 minutes before you carve or serve it. This lets the juices return and evens out the heat.

Because tri-tip is lean, be careful not to over cook it, particularly when preparing the full roast. Medium is as far as you should go with this cut. Use a meat thermometer to make sure you get it right where you want it. If you are used to grilling other cuts, this one can throw some grillers off by appearing underdone when it is ready to serve.

I know a lot of people who complain about not being able to find this cut. In past almost all of it was shipped to California or ground for sirloin burger patties. With the recent interest however, you can find this cut in many places including the large shopping club stores like Costco and Sam's Club. If you have to, try calling around. It's a great cut of meat and worth the search.

Easy Grilled Tri Tip
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons water
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
ground black pepper to taste
4 pounds beef tri tip, cut into 1/2 inch slices

DIRECTIONS
In a large, non-reactive bowl, blend the soy sauce, olive oil, water, garlic, and pepper. Place the beef tri tip in the marinade. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 4 hours.

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil grate.

Grill the beef slices 3 to 5 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. Discard remaining marinade.

PARMESAN GRITS
1 cup uncooked regular grits
1-1/4 cups milk
1 (14-oz.) can chicken broth
1 (10-3/4-oz.) can cream of celery soup
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1.) Bring grits, milk, and broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat; reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in soup and next 3 ingredients. Pour mixture into a lightly greased 8-inch square baking dish.
2.) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Top evenly with 2 tablespoons grated Parmrsan cheese

Artichoke Chili Dip
1 (16-oz) can artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
1 small can of chili peppers
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated parmesan cheese (save a little for top)

Blend together. Place in a baking dish and add the saved parmesan cheese to the top. Bake in a 350 degree oven until brown. This recipe is superb and is good served hot or cold.

ZUCCHINI PANCAKES
5 medium zucchini (about 1-1/2 pounds)
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Dairy sour cream (optional)

1.) Trim and coarsely shred zucchini. In bowl toss zucchini with salt. Place plate on top; weight with cans. Drain 15 minutes; discard liquid.
2.) In a bowl beat eggs and garlic. Stir in flour, cheese, onion, and pepper just until moistened (batter will be lumpy). Stir in zucchini just until combined.
3.) For each pancake, spoon 1 heaping tablespoon batter on hot lightly oiled griddle or skillet, spread to 3-inch circle. Cook over medium heat 2 or 3 minutes on each side or until pancake is golden brown. Keep pancakes warm while cooking remaining pancakes.
4.) Serve topping with sour cream. Or cool, layer in freezing container with waxed paper, and freeze up to 3 months.
5.) To reheat, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place frozen pancakes in single layer on greased baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, 8 to 10 minutes or until hot and slightly crisp.
Makes 30 pancakes

Pineapple Muffins

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS
1.) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pans, or line with paper liners.
2.) In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/4 cup juice. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the reserved juice, egg, milk, and 1/4 cup melted butter. Mix just until blended.
3.) In a separate bowl, stir together the cinnamon, brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and 1/4 cup melted butter to make the topping.
4.) Spoon batter into muffin cups, then spoon crushed pineapple over the batter and sprinkle with the cinnamon topping.
5.) Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the crown of the muffin comes out clean.

GERMAN POTATO SOUP

Ingredients

1 medium onion, sliced

1/4 cup butter

3 medium leeks (white part only)

2 pounds (aboput 6 medium) potatoes

1 ham bone, any size

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

6 cups chicken or beef stock or water

1/2 pint heavy cream

1 dash Salt and white pepper

1 croutons

Brown onions to a light golden color in butter in a saucepan. Clean leeks well and slice. Peel potatoes and slice. Add leeks, potatoes, ham bone, thyme and stock (or water) to onion. Cover and simmer until potatoes are very soft. Remove ham bone, discard. Cool potato/leek mixture slightly. Puree in a food processor or blender and return to pot. Add cream and cook a few minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with croutons. Makes about 6 servings.
Yield: 6 Portionen

Wienerschnitzel/Schweineschnitzel
Lightly breaded boneless veal or pork cutlet - This is one of my favorite dishes and it is SO easy to make!

Ingredients:
4 thin boneless pork chops or veal chops
1/2 cup oil (I use olive oil)
3/4 cup fine bread crumbs
2 eggs
salt & pepper
2 lemons

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet at medium high heat. Place each chop between two sheets of plastic and pound with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer until thin (1/4" - 3/8"). Beat the two eggs in a bowl that is wide enough to dip the meat into. Spread the bread crumbs onto a plate or flat surface. Take each cutlet, season with salt and pepper and dip both sides of meat into eggs to coat. Then coat the entire cutlet with the bread crumbs. Place in hot oil and cook on both sides until golden brown. It only takes about 1-2 minutes per side. Serve each cutlet with half a lemon on the side. Some people go ahead and squeeze the lemon onto the schnitzel before serving. I prefer to squeeze the lemon juice onto the meat just before I eat it. I prefer to serve with half a lemon, rather than wedges, because it is not as messy when you squeeze it. (Which you would appreciate if you have paper cut)!

** Some people serve this with a fried egg placed on top of the schnitzel.

Garlic Fried Rice
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4-5 cups of cooked rice (warm rice is better than cold rice)
2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of dried parsley

Directions:

1. In a large skillet or wok, put butter and sliced garlic. Cook over a low heat until the garlic becomes light brown in color.
2. Add the rice into the skillet and mix well.
3. Add soy sauce and parsley and mix well.
4. Serve alone or as a side with any meat dish.

Fresh corn is in season right now. We know that most people use a recipe that calls for it to be cooked in a pot of water or roasted over a barbeque fire. Most folks chew it off the cob like a mule or horse would do. My mother used a recipe similar to this one and served it as a side dish on the dinner table.

FRESH CORN COOKED WITH MILK
4 ears of fresh field corn, shucked
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white pepper
4 ounces butter
Cut the corn off the cob and place it into a sauce pan. Add the next 5 ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 10 minutes of until the corn is tender. Much of the milk will evaporate while cooking.

Bliss Balls

Ingredients
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup almonds
1/3 cup agave nectar or dates
3-5 tbs. mesquite meal or carob powder
pinch of nutmeg and/or cinnamon
pinch of sea salt

How to: Put the sunflower seeds and almonds in the blender to make them into a flour or powder. Then, mix them with the rest of the ingredients. Get about 1-2 tbs. of the mixture and shape it into a nice round ball. At this point you may roll it in sesame seeds, coconut flakes, or carob powder. Continue this process until all of the mixture is gone. Put the bliss balls into the freezer until ready to eat.

Source: Deborah Weinischke, Floyd, Virginia