Driving to get my daughter from school. It is raining so heavily that I can hear the drumming of the rain drops on the roof and the windows of the car. I turn on the radio to hear this story…

Once upon a time a farmer found a baby eagle in the forest, he took it to his farm and put it in the chicken coop and raised it with the chickens. The eagle grew up as a chicken eating seeds, more interested in the ground – scratching it to look for worms  – than in the sky and its heights.

One day, the little eagle saw a couple of eagles soaring through the sky and something steered inside him..he started flapping his wings.

The chickens started to laugh and mock him.

“you’re crazy” one said laughing

“look at the silly chicken” said another “he thinks he can fly.”

“go ahead, try to fly .You’ll fall and break your neck”

The little eagle stopped flapping.

He lived the rest of his live a chicken …never looking up at the sky again

It made me think.

 How many people  surround themselves with chickens that keep you earth-bound , scratching for worms. And how many surround themselves with eagles, edging them to fly higher and explore new horizons.

If you want to be rich, seek the company of rich people. If you want to become a scientist, look for people interested in science and research. If you want to be great at whatever you do, study the life of the great and make them your role model. On the other hand, if you stick with the chickens,you’ll be earth digging, worm eating for the rest of your life.

So, take a look around you…

Are you in the company of chickens or eagles?

 

My recipe today, has a great marinade and an AMAZING gravy! You can use the gravy with any marinade or rub you like..it  complements the steak beautifully.. You may think there are too many ingredients but give this a try…love at first bite…trust me 

I usually serve this with mashed potatoes and  arugula salad…creamy potatoes..crunchy peppery arugla…and tender delicious steak…YUM

 

Savory garlic marinated steak

marinate adapted from all recipes

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

paprika

 steaks

one can mushrooms (you can use fresh mushrooms)

For the gravy

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cubes cream cheese

1/4 teaspoon cardamon

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup of water + one chicken stock cube or (1/2 a cup chicken stock)

In a medium bowl, mix the vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, honey, olive oil, ground black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, salt and paprika.

Place the steak  in a shallow glass dish with the marinade, and turn to coat. For optimum flavor, rub the liquid into the meat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days but if you don’t have time one hour will get you good flavor.

next you could heat a pan with some oil and sear the steak for 5-10 minutes on each side then finish them in the oven. Or you could put them in the oven from the begging.

I usually sear them on both sides then take them out of the pan. Add the butter to the same pan then the mushrooms. Saute them for 5-10 minutes then  add the flour and steer till the flour changes color to light brown. Add the water while whisking to make sure you don’t get clumps.

Add cheese and steer, keep whisking till the mix thickens.

At this stage I usually add the steak back to the pan for 5-10 minutes for the flavour to mix