In a galaxy far, far away... 

...which may have been in Punxatawney where Pennsylvania's famous groundhog lives or maybe at the vo-tech school in Brownstown (not sure), my fellow Home Ec. teacher Sam and I were attending some kind of cooking workshop. That was one of the best things about teaching the subject - our workshops were way better than those for teachers who had to attend data sessions. Not sorry.

Chef Kapusta was great with lessons on knife skills and herbs.

We minced garlic and chopped parsley with the best of them.  We made cheese bowls and learned about sugar sculptures and had a fabulous lunch. My take away at the end of the day, though, wasn't all the recipes and techniques and lusciousness. It was what I saw printed on the apron of one of the student chefs:

May The Forks Be With You!

Obviously a play on Star Wars' "May the Force Be with You,"  I just thought it was most clever thing ever invented. Then Star Wars Day, May 4th, was officially declared by California lawmakers in conjunction with Disney's Galaxy Edge opening in 2019. We got "May the Fourth Be with You!" (And yes, I know it's also tied to the 1979 election of Margaret Thatcher, but we don't really give it much attention here.)

That said, I'm officially declaring a two-day celebration for May 4 and 5: May the Forks Be With You and Cinco de Mayo, Too!

The idea is that you channel your inner Jedi and use the Force to direct your actions in creating delicious food.

Having created that delicious food, the following day you invite over R2D2 or a bunch of Ewoks to eat, drink, and party with you. They should bring the Margaritas. I have just the recipe to get you started with your new tradition: Carne Asada. It is a super-flavorful meat cooked either on a grill or grilled in a skillet in your kitchen.

Don't be scared off by the 12 ingredients in the marinade.  It's totally work worth it, and you probably have most of them anyway. You’ll slice the grilled meat thin and serve it in tacos, burritos, in a sandwich or as is.

Your Ewoks will thank you.

Carne Asada

Ingredients

5 T low sodium soy sauce

5 T extra virgin olive oil

3 T white vinegar

1 t. cumin

1 t. chili powder

1 t. smoked paprika

1 t. onion powder

1 t. white pepper

1 t. black pepper

1 t. Mexican oregano (or regular if you can't find Mexican)

1 ½ limes, juiced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. skirt or flank steak

2 t vegetable oil

Procedure

1. Place marinade ingredients (all but skirt steak and vegetable oil) in a mixing bowl and whisk together.
2. Place meat in a baking dish and pour marinade mixture over meat.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Allow meat to marinate at least 3 hours and up to 12 hours.
4. To cook, heat grill or grill pan to high heat. Brush with vegetable oil.
5.  Grill meat 4 – 5 minutes on each side, lightly seasoning with salt.
6. Transfer meat to a cutting board and let rest for 5 – 7 minutes. Cut across grain in thin slices and serve.

 You can use a more tender cut of meat if desired, but you really don’t need to as the acidic marinade tenderizes the tougher cuts. If you use a thicker cut such as round steak, the grilling time might be longer per side.

The marinade can be made up to 2 days ahead of time, refrigerated. You could also put the meat and marinade in a plastic resealable bag and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw in fridge overnight.

For more tips, watch the video demonstration here.