Beef

Roasting peppers is very easy- all you need to do is turn your broiler on and put your peppers on a baking sheet. With some tongs, turn the peppers so that they char evenly over 75 to 80% of the skin. Roasting peppers gives them a nice earthy flavor. Roasted peppers can be used in many recipes, including sauces (like the sauce we used for our shish kebabs), hummus, as well as being used for stuffing with chicken or other meats.

Beef is very high in protein, B-vitamins, and iron. Proteins are made up of amino acids, nine of which are essential (meaning we must find them in food). Proteins contain all nine of these amino acids. These complete proteins found in beef help repair the body, form hormones and enzymes, and helps to build an immune system. B-Vitamins help to improve cognitive performance. There are quite a large amonut of B-Vitamins in beef, including B3, which promotes gealthy skin and nerves as well as aids digestion; B6, which helps the body make nonessential amino acids as well as help form red blood cells; B12 is found naturally only in animal foods and is needed for the proper functioning of body cells and the nervous system. The body needs iron to help red blood cells carry oxygen. The body can easily use heme, the kind of iron found in beef. Heme also helps the body use non-heme iron which can be found in beans, grains, and vegetables.

We used a sirloin to make our shish kebabs. This cut works well for grilling and broiling because it is a more tender cut of meat, so it doesn't have as many muscle tissues that need to be broken down by slow cooking methods. In other words, dry heat cooking methods are great ways to cook mote tender cuts of meat, and slow cooking methods are the best way to cook locomotive muscles.

The three grades of beef are prime, choice, and select. Prime beef has the most marbling, or fat that helps a cut of beef stay juicy and flavorful. It is usually not found in supermarkets, but instead in nice restaurants or very select beef stores. The cost for prime beef can be very high because it is not widely produced. Choice beef has less marbling than prime, but enough to keep the mean juicy and flavorful. Generally it doesn't cost as much as prime beef. Select beef is very lean, which means that there isn't much marbling. It is much cheaper than both choice and prime beefs, but it is also less juicy and flavorful.

Grass fed cattle are eating natural food- what nature has to give them, occasionally with some supliments. They aren't eating foods that may contain pesticides, and grass fed cows aren't given anything to help stimulate their growth. Because these cows eat grass, their meats contain omega 3 acids, just like fish. Grain fed cows are given hormones to stimulate growth, and the food that they are given isn't really high quality. These cows also aren't usually in very good living conditions. A grass fed cow is a happy cow, but a grain-fed cow isn't really very happy at all.

To cook less tender meat, you can braise it or cook it in liquid. To braise beef, slowly brown it on all sides with a small amount of oil. Eventually you'll add 1/2 to 2 cups of liquid, and then cover the beef and let it simmer until the beef becomes tender. To cook beef in liquid, gently brown it, cover the beef in liquid, and then let it simmer until it's tender.