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The weather recently has been a bit of a let down, with all the rain and wind passing through. If my cousin were here he'd probably say something like, "Da weather go stay all kine junk!" I did manage to take advantage of warmer days in the last month, however, to try out a teriyaki recipe that I got from my mom back in Hawaii. As a bit of quick background, I grew up thinking of "teriyaki" as an overnight marinade for grilling meat, particularly beef. Imagine my surprise when I arrived in Seattle, went to my first teriyaki restaurant, and was served meat that had a sauce poured on it after the cooking process. Don't get me wrong, it's still tasty...just not quite what I expected. Anyway, with my urge to barbecue returning now that I don't have to brush snow off of my grill, I've been experimenting with a recipe and I thought I'd share it with folks. Here's the basic ingredient list:

- 2 cups soy sauce (shoyu for you folks from Hawaii)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 or more teaspoons of finely grated or chopped ginger
- 3 green onion stalks, chopped
- a splash of sake (can be substituted with mirin)
- optional - 1 large garlic clove minced, or 3-4 cloves crushed or sliced

The garlic is optional because my mom didn't always throw it in...she doesn't like garlic that much. I've been adding 3 or 4 crushed cloves since I tend to remove the garlic from the meat before grilling. The main area that's strongly to taste is the sugar, with some people like something closer to a 1:1 ratio of the soy sauce to sugar. Feel free to experiment a little, since it's pretty easy to taste the sauce and adjust by either adding more sugar or soy sauce. To be honest, I mostly go by taste and don't really measure proportions. I suspect I probably use something closer to a 3:1 soy sauce to sugar ratio and a little more ginger.

As far as directions go, all you do is mix the ingredients together (heating the soy sauce then adding the sugar may help in dissolving it, but isn't necessary) and marinate your chosen meat overnight. Personally, I've been using choice sirloin steak sliced thin, marinated, and then put on bamboo skewers so they don't end up in my grill. The result is a flavorful dish that is designed to go great with steamed rice, and can be eaten either hot off the grill or cold for that "authentic" Hawaiian plate lunch experience.

Hope you enjoy the recipe, and feel free to leave a comment with feedback or any recipes of your own! Mahalo!

There can be a lot of confusion when shopping for beef these days. I would like to explain some of the attributes of grass fed beef and what makes it different from grain fed beef. Grass Fed beef is beef that has never been fed grain products in its life span. Not all grass fed beef is the same though, as some grass fed producers do finish their cattle with silage and other food sources such as rice bran hulls to help the animal gain weight before processing. Some of the advantages to grass fed beef is that the beef has higher levels of Omega-3 acids, up to 4 times the amount of vitamin E and much higher levels of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid). Because the cattle have never been introduced to grains they are a much leaner beef also.

The Rocky Mountain Organic grass fed beef carried by AmazonFresh is beef raised in the high Rocky Mountain plateaus. Their cattle have never been fenced in and are allowed to freely roam on certified organic pastures. The cattle have never, ever been administered antibiotics or hormones. Their program is certified by the USDA that Rocky Mountain Organic is following the prescribed protocols for being labeled Organic.

Grass fed beef is a much leaner beef so special care is needed in preparing grass fed beef. My first recommendation is to cook the beef rare to medium rare. If you must have your beef well done I suggest that you cook at a low temperature and use liquid to prevent the cut from drying out and toughening up. Rub olive oil on the cut of beef, season and allow it to set on the cutting block until it reaches room temperature. This allows the flavors of the seasonings to permeate the cut and shorten cooking times. Because grass fed beef is so lean, cooking times are shortened about 30% so you really need to watch how long you cook the cut. I highly recommend using a meat thermometer and bringing the cut to 135 degrees for rare, 145 degrees for medium rare. When you have reached the desired temperature, pull from heat, cover with a foil tent and let rest for 5-10 minutes. The cut will continue to cook as it rests on the counter top and the finished cooking temperature will rise by 5 degrees.

One further note: There are grass fed programs that would like you to believe that they are organic also. But just raising cattle on grass doesn't qualify them to be organic. To have a certified organic program the USDA has outlined these standards.
1. Animals for slaughter must be raised under organic management from the last third of gestation, or no later than the second day of life for poultry.
2. Producers must feed livestock agricultural feed products that are 100% organic, but may also provide allowed vitamin and mineral supplements.
3. Organically raised animals must not be given hormones to promote growth, or antibiotics for any reason.
4. Preventive management practices, including the use of vaccines, must be used to keep animals healthy. Producers must not withhold treatment from a sick or injured animal; however, animals treated with a prohibited medication may not be sold as organic.
5. All organically grown animals must have access to the outdoors, including access to pasture for ruminants. They may be temporarily confined only for reasons of health, safety, the animal's stage of production, or to protect soil or water quality.