This weekend, Matt and I transformed the walls of our living room from pea sludge green to lovely linen white. It took one full role of blue tape, three gallons of paint and about six hours, but we did it! The new color feels SO much better.
It will be great when we are done with painting entirely. Maybe I can start wearing something beside my painting outfit on the weekends.
Actually, calling it “painting outfit” makes it sound way too cute, as if I am wearing some stylishly, painted-sprinkled ensemble like the heroine in a romantic comedy would have on after she gets into an adorable paint flight with her cute, new love interest.
No, actually, I have on cut-off sweatpants from high school that Matt has begged me never to wear again and a thick, cotton men’s t-shirt. My clothes are not lightly dotted with multi-colored paint, like was hot in the 80s – but are smeared with huge blotches of off-white.
Anyhow, besides painting the living room this weekend, I also created this meal, which was heavily inspired by ideas from two friends.
The marinade was inspired by a post from a virtual friend, Mrs. Paleo Lawyer. In THIS post on her blog, she listed the ingredients for a marinade she loved. “It’s a Korean-style bulgogi marinade taught to me by a Korean friend of mine that I adapted”, she explained in a comment.
The idea of slicing and grilling short ribs and topping with cilantro and onion came from my friend Lani, the insanely talented woman who created my blog header. (My plug for Lani: She does freelance design work of all types. Over the years I have known her, I’ve seen all sorts of her work and she nails it every time. If you need design work, contact her.) She said her recipe was inspired by Mexican cooking she has encountered in Texas, where she now lives.
I used both ideas to create this easy, flavorful dish Matt and I adored.
Grilled Short Ribs Internationale
For marinade –
Garlic, 1 clove
Fresh chives, 1 tablespoon
Fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon
Fresh cilantro, 1 tablespoon
Coconut aminos, 3 tablespoons
Toasted sesame oil, 3 tablespoons
Salt and pepper
For meal –
Boneless beef short ribs, 1 to 1.5 pounds
Cilantro, 1 cup
Avocado, 2, peeled and cubed
Tomato, 1 cup, diced
Red onion, ½ cup, diced
- Prepare marinade by dicing garlic, chives, ginger and cilantro. Combine with coconut aminos, sesame, salt and pepper.
- Slice short ribs lengthwise into slices about 1cm thick.
- Place meat in a small container or ziplock bag. Add marinade and make sure meat is covered. Let sit in fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- When you are ready to cook, pre-heat the grill. Remove beef slices from marinade and place on grill. Cook meat 2-4 minutes per side, depending on thickness of meat and desired doneness. (If you don’t have a grill, you can obviously cook this in the oven.)
- Remove meat from grill. Chop into bite sized pieces and put on plate.
- Combine cilantro, avocado, tomato and onion. Load on top of grilled beef and eat.