Have some ground coffee on your Roasters Steak

Our family has been playing host parents to Sophia for the past few weeks. She is a 17-year-old from Innsbruck, Austria, who has been experiencing the United States for the first time. We dove into a whirlwind of Northwest flavored activities, reminding me that our part of the world is quirky, fun and lovely. After all, where else but in the Northwest can you search for the Twilight vampires of Forks while imbibing a triple chocolate frappuccino? To add to our pleasure, even the sun has made regular appearances.

The spectacular weather called for classic American dining, which meant piling up the charcoal briquettes and firing up the Weber. The menus featured organic grilled hamburgers to marinated shrimp kabobs. Our region is never short on new takes on the familiar. Cascadia Grill in downtown Olympia likes to cook their own ground patties served with a freshly baked bun and homemade sauce, but they also offer a Roasters Steak with a distinctively Northwest touch – it’s coated in finely ground coffee before it’s cooked.

Aaron Eubanks, kitchen manager, finds delight with innovative cooking ideas. He uses Olympia Coffee Roasting Company’s Big Truck coffee for the Roasters Steak. The coffee, a blend of El Salvador Santa Adelaida and Ethiopia Amaro Gayo coffees, is finely ground before it is dusted and rolled onto the meat.

Cascadia’s Roasters Steak is served with roasted carrots, potatoes and celery, then topped with balsamic onions (outstanding!). Roasting brings out the sweetness within vegetables and makes for great eating. But if you are too much in a summer mood and want to postpone roasting your vegetables this fall, grill your steak outside and serve instead with the fabulous vegetables that are aplenty right now. Thick slices of heirloom tomatoes, freshly picked green beans or corn on the cob would be an excellent accompaniments. You can even cook the corn right on the grill.

There are many schools of thought about grilling corn, but here are general instructions. Soak the ears from 15 to 20 minutes in cold water. Shake off excess water. Either remove husks and wrap in foil or remove top layers and leave the rest of the husks intact. Put on medium-heated grill, turning every few minutes for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove with mitts, as the cobs will be hot. Remove foil or husks and serve with butter. For the adventurous, before cooking sprinkle garlic, chopped onion, nutmeg or oregano – then wrap and cook.

After dinner, if you are lucky, you will have just enough heat left over in the grill to toast a few marshmallows. Sophia was introduced to s’mores, made famous by Scouts from coast to coast. If you have escaped life so far without experiencing this dessert sandwich of infinite sweetness, you make one by placing a few squares of chocolate and a finely toasted marshmallow between two graham crackers. Squish merrily and devour. You can savor the flavors with your favorite brew of Northwest coffee. Bon Appetit!

Mary Ellen Psaltis lives locally and eats globally. You can reach her at TheRecipeWriter@hotmail.com.

Roasters Steak with Balsamic Onions

1 carrot, peeled

1 potato, peeled

3 celery stalks

Filet or rib eye

Big Truck coffee, super fine

1/2 red onion

1/2 white onion

1/2 red wine

1/3 balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons water

For the veggies: Roughly cut carrot, potato and celery into thick chunks. Season to taste and roast in oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until tender

For the balsamic onions: Sauté onions. Add wine, balsamic vinegar, sugar and water and allow liquids to reduce.

For the meat: Coat meat with super fine grind of coffee. Pan cook or grill your meat to desired tenderness. Set on a bed of the cooked vegetables and top with balsamic onions.