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Saturday, January 29, 2011

Yakkety, Yak, Don't Talk Back!


Wanna see my Yak? I bet you do!

I'm land locked -- planted squarely in the middle of the United States, not a Yak in sight. And yet, somehow I have fifty pounds of Yak meat in my garage. Odd, yes! I recently joined up for the challenge over at Charcutepalooza (curing and smoking meats on a monthly basis). Make your own meat! Well heck yeah, I'm there I'm up for a new challenge and learning some new ways to feed my family healthier foods, ones where I've been in control of the ingredients!
I'm a rule breaker-- I don't play by the rules all the time. The challenge has some rules-- which of course I've already broken. I may not always play by the rules, but I am honest so I'm just putting it right out there... Yak meat is not local. The rules I have thus far broken are as listed:

1. Buy the book Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by Michael Ruhlman :
I've already broken that one-- we are completely broke, especially now that I spent all that money on the yak- and I've heard that Amazon is sold out of it. I still hope to acquire it but it may have to wait till my birthday or I can find it some other way.

2. Post about your experiences on the 15th of the month.
Breaking more rules! I missed the month of January-- Duck prosciutto. And... February is bacon--which I'm sad to report I may miss as well because, ahemmm... I couldn't pass on the yak meat. Can you blame me? Well, that and hubby looked at me like I was positively insane when I said I wanted to buy a pork belly on pay day. Thank goodness someone is there to rein me in! I know, he's right--- (shh, don't tell him I said so...) I could post about salt curing cabbage-- sauerkraut! But that's old news I just did that. There I go again, breakin' the rules...

I can’t wait-- I was so excited I had to blog about it-the yak that is. (The kids are getting tired of the yak jokes, happy snoopy dancing, and random high fives around here! - Yeah mom, its sooo cool that you have yak meat, no, I'm sure my friends don't wanna see it.

Let the rolling of eyes ensue.

3. “Let’s agree to use humanely raised meat, sourced as close to home as possible”:

You got me again! Yaks aren't native to Colorado nor are they farmed in CO to my knowledge. In fairness while Yak are not local to me, I do think I should get points for the way I got the meat. Its part of a sponsorship program for a local food charity that provides food to thousands of Coloradans every year. I got it for a great price as a way of raising funds for the charity. So while the meat isn't locally produced (It's from Canada- and I’m not!), it is benefiting the local community. And as to how humanely it was raised I can only imagine that yak's aren't farmed like cattle raised in tiny pens, and all hopped up on hormones to make them bigger, and antibiotics to keep them from getting sick despite their terrible living conditions. I don't know this for a fact -- because I'm certain that the person responsible for running this massive charity has more important work to do than be interrogated about the source of the meat. So that said-- I'm breakin' the rules but I'm ok with it, and there is my rationale.

Yep, I’m breakin’ rules right and left, but... I think I should get extra points because -- how cool is it to have Yak meat, I mean it just sounds fun to say. Yak Meat, Yak, Yak Yak, Yak Steaks, Yak Roasts, Canned Yak, Yak Jerky, Corned Yak?(after all St. Patty's day is coming!)

Do I HAVE to take a picture of the yak meat with my IPOD, Mom?

Poor dears they should be used to it by now....

The B girl affectionately says I have OCD, (Obsessive Canning Disorder) that’s me! I have fifty pounds of Yak meat in my garage. Now how many folks can say that! I'm a trend setter for sure! And the sheer rarity of it-- Yak Meat! Can you tell I'm excited? Did I ever tell you I'm one of those people who- when I do something I get tunnel vision and think of only one thing to the exclusion of most other things. You could say I'm prone to doing things obsessively. Oh and that I tend towards doing things in excess. (200 pounds of apples, 20 gallons of chokecherries, 6 kids, over 400 jars of home canned jars in our basement, hundreds of houseplants, "farming the back forty"-as my BIL affectionately refers to my garden – we live on a suburban lot, um..50 pounds of yak meat in my garage) yes excessiveness and me -- we are good buddies. And this yak -- he will be well loved! I have 3-4 days to figure out what to do with him or her while he/she thaws.

Got any ideas? I'd love to hear them!

Humming to self..”Yakkity Yak, Don’t talk back!”..hmm..wonder if they have that on itunes?..gotta run! I have much googling to do. Stay tuned and see what adventures I have with my Yak. I'll post back.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Changes are at foot!

I am thinking today about connections, health, wellness and our emotions. My oldest DD is getting ready to sprout wings and leave the nest, separating herself from us and from me (swallow, that hurts to say). Anger, frustration and fear are tremendous motivators -- or they have been for me. Those emotions have led me to many changes in my life-moving out "on my own" and becoming a nanny, going back to school after my divorce, leaving unhealthy toxic relationships, ending toxic and damaging friendships, and of course with each of these changes comes new exciting, better, opportunities, inspiring people, and a better more "evolved" self. As we are inspired we gain knowledge, and as we gain knowledge what we are used to becomes unacceptable, and we sometimes experience anger, frustration and fear. Normally folks think of these emotions as negative, but they are valuable and in small ways essential to change.

Today I recognized those emotions in myself in so many ways and my relationship to those emotions. My life is always changing too-- as it should. The human existence to me is partly about change. It's about evolution, whether that is learning learning a new skill, or learing something about our personal biases and making a concious effort to change what we see in people around us. Similarly a health crisis can affect how we eat and nourish our bodies, and recommit us to exercise regularly. It is all a part of change. Many people set goals and are thoughtful this time of year. We think for a moment about the past years and things we desire-- the changes we want to make in the coming year. While I've not ever been one to make new years resolutions stick, change is something I know intimately as I imagine most of you do too. I think too-- of the way in which change occurs in our lives and how it manifests itself and how change is connected so intuitively to frustration, anger, and fear. If we fight those emotions off and stuff them down, they resurface because I believe we are divinely driven to evolve and become better versions of ourselves. They can become illness - weakened immune systems resulting in colds, backaches, distraction causing accidents. Call it stress, anxiety or what have you -- but I think of it as brewing change. It is as well our responsibility to attempt to make change with kindness in our hearts and forgiveness as that too enriches our lives. Kindness not only to ourselves but also to others. I may not always succeed at this -- but that is always my goal.

I am at this very moment so thankful for the many changes in my life- just one of them is my now and forever husband, and those babies who have grown and who I've had the honor of knowing. And I'm thankful too for the fear, anger and frustration that led me my husband to me in some small way. My previous experiences have made me the person I am and given me the appreciation of all I have now. Fear, Anger and Frustration have guided me wrongly in my life to hurtful words and acts, both to myself and to others, but they have often times provided the catalyst for good changes as well and have brought me many, many benefits too! I'm thankful today for the years of dreading the mirror, the many hours spent near tears in the dressing rooms of various department stores trying on clothes, and finally the opportunity to address what drives me to eat things I know I shouldn't. I know that sounds odd-- but truly it's all part of what has brought me here today. It's emotions that drove me where I am. Ready. (What terror that word strikes in me!), Ready to address my eating habits, and the weight that I've accumulated over the years over this voyage and the courage (dare I say it), to change it even in some small way.

I've thought for many years now about my weight. Sometimes I denied it, sometimes I was angry with myself, sometimes I blamed it on others. But mostly I feared it-- feared that I was incapable of changing it, (oh yeah I still have that fear deep inside me-it's what drives me to write this and not publish it-- see if I don't ever tell anyone I'm scared of this, then no one knows and if I fail this time, no one knows. But I will know. ) I feared that my resolve was not stronger than a Reese's peanut butter cup. And I feared that my time worn body wasn't physically able to be a thinner version of myself. Then I met those around me who successfully tackled their issues and I saw them do it and so -- I knew it was possible. And hoped that it was possible for me, and after much ruminating - I think I can finally see how.

Anger -- I am so angry that I'm here -- 218 pounds -- I'm angry at every one of them. But I will forgive them-- I have to you see! If I don't they will resurface because my anger is just one of many parts of me-- not a pretty one granted, but a necessary one. My anger, if not checked, recognized and dealt with becomes more pounds, or a backache, headache or stomach ache, harsh words, or worse. So I must forgive myself the pounds I've put on-- Whatever my motivation was, they are there and I can't wish them away. Neither can I wish away my anger-- but I can change what angers me, and how I deal with that. I have the power to change what I do with my anger!

Frustration -- goes without saying. Disheartening frustration. Small steps that then get sabotaged become frustration. However, it's with small changes that progress is made. In order to change I will have to embrace the fact that there will be times when I will take what feels like steps backward. When I do I will have the memory of 20 years of frustration to remind me that frustration is part of the process of change. It is what drives us to stop and reflect while on the path -- it's what stalls us and eventually what pushes us forward.

I resolve to publish this -- despite my fears, not so you can see it, but so that I can say I published it -- addressed my fear in a very small way, so I can put it to words and smash it into pieces and move on. And also I will publish it so I can look back on this day and remember why I'm doing this. I know there will be times when I may need to look back and remind myself why I want this. Because at my core I believe it is our divine right, pleasure and even responsibility to embrace change and become better versions of ourselves. Is a slimmer me a better me-- no, please don't misunderstand me, a slimmer me doesn't make me better, just by being more slim. A me who knows how to deal with her emotions in a way that doesn't hurt me or others is a better me! That's what it's about -- not the number, not the size, not the beauty of it -- it's the inner beauty that knows to speak up when appropriate about what makes her angry rather than hide in a big piece of cake, and stuff all that emotion deep inside her. It's the me that no longer needs to eat to cushion the painful blows of a bad marriage. A me who can see a problem, and find a real solution for that problem that doesn't involve destructive eating. I resolve to attempt kindness to myself and embrace forgiveness -- not just for myself but for everyone around me. I will search out forgiveness and kindness because forgiveness and kindness are higher guides to evolving. And they are the healers -- and healing is what we all need.

I'm sure you'll hear me talk about how I plan to lose weight and the changes I hope to make in the future. While I plan to keep this blog primarily about preserving food and making the most of the food you have, the home and all I do. I wanted you to know that it's all connected here. With me it connects -- health, well being, food, emotion, and all! Just like I am a part of my blog and writing about carrots are a part of my blog it all fits neatly here. And you too are a part of this -- that's what I love about the Internet -- just one more way to be connected to the world around you!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

2 Salads and the Dressings That Make Them So Loveable!




This post is part of Homestead Revival's Salad Dressing Recipe Exchange!
Can I tell you how strange it is to hear myself saying "I just am craving a great salad!".
Well-- let me tell you that is a truly strange feeling for me until this last couple of years. I've been gradually working towards eliminating all sorts of things from our diets and working on getting more veggies into our diets for all of us for a couple of years now and it's starting to take hold, and why not with salads as tasty and delish as these two salads.

The first is from the Moosewood Cookbook:
(can't tell you how many delectable things are in that cookbook- even for us non-vegetarians) It's there California version of a waldorf salad, and the yogurt avacado dressing is stellar! I was skeptical at first -- thinking , hmm.. .. well I'll make a half a batch and if I like it I'm not out too much. Then I proceeded to eat it all over the course of 3 hours! Now I make the dressing in full batches and freeze what I don't use for later to save me prep time, etc. Avacados freeze amazingly well -- by the way. And you can't see it in the picture because my avacado sat out while tending to toddler needs and got brown, but the dressing when made properly and promptly has a beautiful green color to it too. I'm sure if you want the original recipe as it's written you can find it. I find that with the proportions as written it is quite soggy and has too much dressing, so I wrote below what I do. The dressing I think would be great on any fruit salad, and even would be good on spinach salad with some red onion and strawberries.

California Waldorf Salad (My version):

Dressing:
Combine in a blender till smooth, use about half and freeze the rest or save for later.
1 cup yogurt - I use plain unsweetened, whole milk yogurt
1 small ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and mashed
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
2-3 tablespoons honey
1 lemons, juiced
(Fresh lemons make a difference here -- in many things I like to use bottled juice, but this is not one of them, and of course since you are going to eat the rind I like to get organic when possible.)


2 large apples, peel on, cored, and cubed
1 large orange or 2 tangerines cut up and peel off
3-4 stalks celery, chopped- I add more than the original to keep it lower in carbs
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup toasted cashews
Juice of one lemon to coat the fruit and veggies

Chop and combine the above ingredients except the cashews -- don't add those until you serve it. Add dressing and combine sprinkle cashews on top just before serving so they don't get soggy.

The second is a great stolen recipe from the book Saving Dinner the low carb way. The dressing that is.. is stolen. The combinations of the salad isn't - it's my own creation. Spinach leaves, some red onion strips, pecans, apple chunks and my personal favorite blue cheese! That and the terrific balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Which by the way is great on any salad. Especially with really good balsamic vinegar --that makes all the difference! So here it is - stolen contriband and all.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 T. dijon mustard
4 T. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Throw all the ingredients in a small jelly jar with a tightly sealing lid and shake it up really good. Shake before serving-- lasts in the fridge for a long time, allthough I always manage to use it up before it even come close to going bad.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Making my own sauerkraut the lazy way!




I have a few friends who keep touting the good things about fermenting things the old fashioned way--beet kvass, gingered carrots, etc.. and it just never sounded that great.

Effervescent beets?

I could never get my family to like those and I tried making ginger carrots twice and um... ick! (I don't know if I was doing something wrong or it just is the inherent saltiness of fermenting that I never think of in combination with ginger and carrots. )

Then I thought of .. sauerkraut, well -- I love sauerkraut but the rest of the family sneers up their cute little noses at sauerkraut. With a chorus of "ewww..s". I however, grew up on sauerkraut, everyone in the house loved sauerkraut. Good sauerkraut. Our favorite brand was cosmic cukes brand of sauerkraut, my mom would buy it by the case from rainbow foods. I can't even imagine how expensive that kraut would be now-probably something obscene along the lines of 4$ a jar. But I do consider myself a kraut snob. No tin can sauerkraut--ick! Being the only one in the house that finds it edible creates a problem however. I can't quite justify spending good money on big jars of good kraut when I'm the only one who likes it. And the tinned stuff-- well it won't cut it. But do you know how much cabbage I can buy with $4? Well -- it's a lot!

Being that cabbage is cheap, that I can do. And salt-- yep got that too.. so I recently tried making my own fermented cabbage.

Now I know you're thinking I might have travelled down the wacko road now, you're probably thinking "isn't that a pretty lengthy terribly stinky process? ". Well the answer is -- NOPE!
not any more difficult or stinky than making coleslaw. Making coleslaw isn't wacky - you can make coleslaw can't you? And actually it's easier than coleslaw because there aren't as many ingredients in it. Four ingredients to be exact, three if you leave out the caraway or dill -- and if you are counting water as an ingredient.

Here is the process in a nutshell:

1. Chop up cabbage
(nothing monumentally difficult here, and to be honest I bet if you wanted to short cut this and just buy all ready cut up cabbage you could.)

2. Mix salt and either dill or caraway seeds into the cabbage
in a bowl and squish it up with a potato masher or I bet you could even do it in a Kitchen Aid style mixer and the paddle blade attached-- we just aren't talking about my KA mixer and how it doesn't work right now... :(. But either way this an excellent task for those days when squishing things and pounding would seem like a good idea--great for your stress if ya' know what I mean? wink wink.

3. Wait ten minutes ( I know you can do that!)

4. Put the cabbage into a clean jar with a lid-- squishing it down so it all fits.
A funnel makes it easier but you don't have to have one. (Oh and the jar just needs to be clean --not sanitized, hermetically sealed or anything fancy, just clean.) Make sure there is enough liquid to cover the sauerkraut if not add some water but leave about an inch of head space (that's canner speak for leave some room on top of the jar so it doesn't overflow.) (filtered preferably because the chlorine could make all the good bacteria die). And yes you want the good bacteria to live. They are your friends.

5. Set a small dish under the jar (in case it overflows)- And leave it alone on the counter or someplace warmish for four days with a lid on it. Leave it -- all alone for four days. This is when the magic happens! All the good bacteria come out to play and make tasty stuff. I am completely not interested in the science of it all -- but it's safe, and people have done it for centuries, and the salt or whey if you use whey is what protects it while the good bacteria have their party. More info on the science of it all can be found here.. http://www.rosicrucianfellowship.com/rays/lacto-fermentation.pdf
After four days you put it into the fridge and store it a long time (3 mo or so)if it lasts that long.

There ya' have it - 5 easy steps, four days of waiting, no stink, no wacko do it yourself stuff, and it's even cheap and better yet-- super duper healthy cause it has all that good bacteria in it! No fancy shmancy pickling crock, no lengthy process.. seriously 5 easy steps, tools you should all ready have in your kitchen, a canning jar-or for that matter, a re purposed jar and no big expense.
The recipe:
1 medium cabbage,shredded
1 tablespoon caraway seeds or dill weed ( I used caraway)
1 tablespoon sea salt ( I used 2T. of sea salt and no whey)
4 tablespoons whey (if not available, use an additional 1
tablespoon salt)
Follow the directions above and you will have delectable coleslaw!
So -- you might be asking what is whey? It's the liquid that gathers in your yogurt. It's also a by product of making cheese. If you take any plain yogurt with live cultures you can easily harvest whey.
Here's how to harvest whey in the simplest way I know how:
You'll need a jar or catching container or bowl, a paper towel, old clean knit shirt, or a few layers of cheesecloth (if you wanna go all chef-like), some sort of colander or fine mesh strainer, and some plain live culture yogurt.
1. Put the catch bowl on the counter
2. Inside that put the colander or strainer that is lined with the paper towel or other item
3. Fill the colander with yogurt
4. Let it strain a couple of hours in the fridge
5. The clear liquid that gathers in the bowl is the whey and can be frozen or used for lacto-fermenting
**There are of course other ways to do this but this is what I do. Oh yes - and so you know the yogurt left can be spread or used like cream cheese or eaten like a Greek yogurt so don't you dare toss it!
Go forth and make sauerkraut!