Top o' the Hill to ye! Steak tips, frizzled onions and kelp slaw

  Tender, tasty, off-the-stick sirloin tips, teriyaki style.  Beef from Alan Fredrickson's 'Top of the Hill Farm', Wolfeboro, NH.  Teriyaki sauce is, um, my 1-of-5 nonlocal vices (soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil...).  

Beef.  Beef, beef, beef, beef, beef.  My sister and I begged like dogs...tongues out, hands and knees, forearms pulled in with bent wrists-begged like dogs...for the pan drippings of my mother's Sunday roast when we were kids.  Salty, savory, meaty pan drippings....  To think that some people wash it all down the drain.  They should be prosecuted.
These sticky, finger-licking meaty treats are a snap.  Marinate in sauce of your choice overnight.  Or you know what?  Just forget the marinade.  Top of the Hill's tips are delicious and tender just the way they are and they're always available at the winter markets.  Broil on skewers or over the grill for about 4 minutes per side.  If that.  Medium rare's best.

Did you know that a bottle of coke works for "marinating?"  It's acidic, that's all.  Acid breaks down anything.  Even rusty horseshoes.  I'm not sayin' I used coca cola.  Nope, not sayin'.

Let's talk frizzled onions and kelp slaw.

Coppal House Farm's red onions ready for bathing in 'Kate's Homemade' buttermilk 

Ever heard of frizzled onion rings before?  Me neither.  I needed inspiration for a good, homey side for this beef post.  Didn't want mashed potatoes, didn't want rice, didn't have this, didn't have that.  Bumped into a fellow blogger's post and voila, "frizzled" onion rings.  Simply skinny rings soaked in buttermilk for an hour or more, then dredged in Brookford's whole wheat flour before frying in Henry's Maine organic sunflower oil.  I apply a different rule of thumb with these kinds of oils: cold pan, cold oil, bring to temp quickly and fry fast...er, frizzle.  Have everything ready to go. Season immediately with fine sea salt and a bit of Old Bay, perhaps.

Ocean Approved's (Portland, ME) kelp slaw with Brookford Farm's carrots and Heron Pond Farm's cabbages, dressed in South River's 3-yr barley miso and Maine Naturals' mustard oil (with a splash of Sewell's cider vinegar and a good pinch of Herb Farmacy's garlic sea salt!).

Ocean Approved grows their kelp on ropes in Casco Bay.  It's a raw food (frozen, but that happens naturally dontchaknow in them Maine watahs twice a day in wintah), crunchy, and really healthy for you.  Get some.  I bet the Health Food stores carry it.  You can find it in 'salad' cut, 'slaw' cut, and 'fettucini' style.  Good stuff.  

Have a great St. Pat's!  See you at the market!

Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important farmers' market to get to and couldn't find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, 'Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!'

Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

Paddy looked up again and said, 'Never mind, I found one!'