Never tried edamame? What are you waiting for!

As you can see from the 11 new recipes this week, we are getting back into the groove and settling in well. Highlights for us this week were the Frosted Apple Squares, Garlic Fries, and Baked Fish Sticks.

Well, geez... menu planning was not as fun as it usually is this weekend. Once or twice a year, I take a look at my stacks of to-try piles and cookbooks and get totally overwhelmed - I will sift through the recipes, think that nothing looks or sounds good and wish I could just toss them all out. Don't get me wrong, I love having a large selection of recipes to choose from, but sometimes it just seems like too much when you are constantly trying to keep things new and different in the kitchen.

I pulled out a few recipes, got the shopping done this morning and am hoping for the best - I'm already getting out of the funk, but it takes me a couple days. I think part of the problem is I've tried quite a few times to get the piles very organized, but give up halfway though and make the mess even worse! Oh well... let's move on to tonight's dinner!

We've been enjoying edamame (green soybeans) for quite a few years now and I still love it as much as the first time I tried it. Some of our more favorite edamame recipes were the Edamame Corn Chowder, Fresh Pea and Edamame Risotto with Fresh Mozzarella and Prosciutto, Edamame Dumplings and a twist on dip with this Soybean Hummus. Simply boiled with just a dash of salt and pepper is great for a snack, but working the little guys into recipes is much more fun. Tonight they served as a bed for thinly sliced meat in a recipe for
Flank Steak and Edamame with Wasabi Dressing.

Before being quickly cooked in a grill pan, a large piece of trimmed flank steak is seasoned with soy salt, salt and fresh ground pepper. Once it is done to your liking (we prefer medium-rare), you need to make sure you give it about a 10 minute rest so the juices have a chance to redistribute throughout the meat before slicing it against the grain (do double check to make sure you are slicing against the grain!) into thin strips. While the steak is resting, nutty toasted sesame oil is heated over medium to begin cooking some fresh minced garlic and snappy ginger. A couple tablespoons of salty soy and the bright green beans are tossed in with the garlic mixture to thoroughly heat through. For a punch of heat and pungent flavor, a couple teaspoons of wasabi paste (go light on this if you are not used to it) is mixed with rice vinegar to drizzle over the juicy steak and firm edamame as a light tangy dressing.

Recipes
Flank Steak and Edamame with Wasabi Dressing