Bulk Beef - On the Hoof

Black Angus Cows
July 2, 2009

Sadly in today's times of mega supermarkets many people are quite distanced from where their food actually comes from. Some of our friends and family who are elementary school teachers (JK, primary) have told me that many of their students when questioned about food think that their food simply comes from the grocery store rather than farms and orchards. Most people have become accustomed to buying whatever produce and meats they want regardless of the season without considering the distance the food has travelled. The average food travels 1,500 miles from the farmer to your table. This is not eco-friendly at all! Compounding the problem is the recent surge in food contaminated with pathogens like Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella as well as the use of hormones when raising meats. More so now than ever it is important to get to know your food source by purchasing locally within a 100 mile radius of your home. Doing so not only supports local farmers but ensures you a real connection and greater appreciation of food.

I have often mentioned purchasing meat in bulk on the hoof on this blog. This is a term widely used in rural areas but people living in urban areas, purchasing all their meats in handy ready-to-use packages often as what buying on the hoof is. Pictured above is the small herd of Black Angus cattle (5 cows) our friend is raising. Aren't they gorgeous? We have already spoken for two cows that will be ready in spring 2010 so it is bought on the hoof while the cow is still alive. These Black Angus are pasture fed spring to early fall then supplemented with hay and corn in the winter months. They are raised hormone free using excellent animal husbandry skills which very important to us!

We along with three other couples pay for the cow(s) in late winter. The meat is divided equally amongst the couples. The cow is taken to an abattoir for slaughter, hanging and cutting. The cow hangs in a controlled temperature cooler for two weeks before it can be cut. Hanging ages the beef which causes tenderization of the meat through the release of enzymes in the muscles that cause a further breakdown of the connective tissue. The aged meat is then cut to our specifications, packaged and froze ready for the freezer. This spring we had the cow cut front to back then divided into quarters so we ended up with cuts from both the front and hind quarter. We paid $2.35/lb across all cuts for 220 lb of beef which works out to enough beef to serve 1.3 lb per day for 6 full months for our family. We of course do not eat beef daily so this is just to illustrate how long this beef would last.

Enjoy!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Kitchen Quick Tips - Steam Your Vegetables

Steaming your vegetables uses less water and less energy to cook than boiling. Steaming gives a nice texture and flavour to vegetables while retaining more of the nutrients.

Enjoy!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Birthday Oh Canada! 142 Years Young!

To all our fellow Canadians here and living abroad especially our troops I hope you have a wonderful Canada Day filled with great fellowship, beautiful fireworks and abundant food! May you continue to enjoy the peace, harmony and freedoms we as Canadians are so richly blessed with.

Enjoy!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Hubby's Weekend Cooking

I have often mentioned on this blog my husband's wonderful cooking skills. He makes one of the best burgers you will ever taste but his real signature dish is his breaded pork chops! This past weekend he decided to take over the kitchen! Here's what he came up with.

Rib Roast

Thursday morning I was rummaging through one of the chest freezers holding our new supply of organic, hormone free beef. I wanted ground beef but as I was looking for that I spotted a rib roast that somehow had two corners torn. This does happen with bulk meat purchases from time to time with the transporting from the abattoir to home freezer. It was hot and humid not really nice roast weather day so I put the roast into the refrigerator to thaw.

Saturday my husband wrapped the roast tightly and cooked it on the grill (method here). At the same time he cooked potatoes seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper then wrapped in foil on the grill. The side vegetables were cauliflower with a little butter and nutmeg, sliced tomatoes and cucumber quarters. It was a lovely meal that kept most of the prep heat out of the house.

Breakfast

Yes I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day but I have to admit that during the week we very seldom eat breakfast especially a cooked one. I'm quite happy with a bit of homemade yogurt with my coffee or latte while my husband occasionally enjoys a toasted bagel. When we are on vacation or on the weekends we make up for it by having a hot breakfast.

There were left over potatoes from Saturday's roast dinner and half a ream of frozen bacon left from the omelet made the weekend before. In true frugal fashion he fried the bacon on the indoor griddle then set it aside to warm the potatoes. When the potatoes were warmed though he put the eggs on while I made the toast. Once plated we sat eating and chit chatting while watching the beauty of the water.

Barbeque Rib Roast Pizza

The rib roast dinner on Saturday had been an unplanned meal. It was a larger roast as well so there were left overs. Saturday night as we watched a bit of television a commercial for a steak pizza came on. That became the inspiration for a different way to use up some of the rib roast.

I put in a batch of pizza dough (recipe here) just after 3 PM. With the heat and humidity the proofing went a bit quicker. My husband took it from there. Instead of a tomato pizza sauce he used Diana Sauce® for the sauce. After spreading a even layer of Diana Sauce® he layered on thin slices of the roast beef and chopped onions then topped with mozzarella cheese. This mouthwatering pizza tasted every bit as good as it looked! What a wonderful and unique way to use up roast beef!

Enjoy!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Ingredients

By popular demand the Frugal Kitchens 101 will remain a regular feature of this blog. Thanks so much to all who voted. You're input is greatly appreciated!

If you have been following this blog for any length of time you will notice that I do specify certain types of ingredients. Mind you this is very different that ingredient brands. A couple of weekends ago we hosted a larger event and one of our long time friends asked me about my choice of sugar. I did not give a full answer at the time due to other distractions so I'm going to address this issue in a bit more detail here. I know she reads this blog so will see the answer.

To me frugal means getting the very best value for your money. In some cases this means you might have to pay a bit more but the additional cost is worth it. In other cases it means you simply will not compromise on what you want. Yet again it also means saving money and in our case it means being eco-friendly. If I specify a type of ingredient (eg. white vs unbleached flour) or a brand it is because there is a specific reason for using that ingredient. It means that is a superior ingredient that while it might cost a bit more in some cases it is well worth it. So here are the explanations for some of the ingredients I insist on.

1. organic/hormone free beef - We buy beef on the hoof that is organically raised and is hormone free. On average we pay $2.50 per lb across all cuts so while we pay more for ground beef we are paying significantly less for roasts and steaks. Organic means the farmer is using good animal husbandry practices including refraining from using hormones like GTH. In this case the price of our beef is cheaper than store bought yet far superior and we are supporting local farmers.
2. free range eggs - I don't think I've ever really specified the eggs I use other than saying I buy them from a local farmer. Again we are supporting local farmers. Depending on the price of store bought eggs I save 25¢ and more per dozen by buying higher quality eggs.
3. organic vegetables - I try to grow as much as I can then shop for the rest. I'm very lucky that we are smack in the midst of farmland. Last year a nearby certified organic orchard was selling their produce 10 - 20% less than the chain grocery stores!
4. sea salt - Regular table salt is iodized and may contain fillers to help keep the salt free flowing. Both will interfere with the canning process causing clouding and possible discolouration in some homecanned products. I honestly feel that natural sea salt is better for you. We use a salt mill to grind non-iodized salt for table use and I use bulk non-iodized sea salt for canning and cooking. Sea salt has a milder flavour that adds a sparkle without the harshness of regular iodized table salt and you really do need less. In terms of cost sea salt is more expensive than regular salt.
5. organic sugar - Organic sugar means from start to finish the sugar is organic - no pesticides, no herbicides and no bleaching. Organic sugar does look a bit different in that the grains are not sparkly white and that is because the molasses has not been bleached out. It gives organic sugar a richer, deeper flavour somewhat in between white sugar and light brown sugar but it is a flavour not just a sweetness. Organic sugar does cost more depending on where you buy it with Sam's Club being the cheapest.
6. unbleached flour - White flour (aka bleached flour) has to be one of the worst things you can put in your body. First bleached flour has been stripped of all nutrients leaving basically calories. Second it contains alloxan, a contaminant that can cause diabetes. Years ago when I switched to unbleached flour it was difficult to find. Now nofrills® in Canada sells a 10 kg (22 lb) bag of unbleached flour for the same price as bleached flour so it really becomes a matter of personal choice.
7. local honey - Local honey is a must for anyone with allergies. The reason for this is the person has already been exposed to local allergens so is less likely to react to the local honey. At the same time local honey is not pasteurized so you are getting a far superior product. Prices will vary depending on the beekeeper and time of purchase but it general local honey is slightly cheaper than store bought.
8. butter - Butter is a natural dairy product. It packs a lot of flavour to any dish but that doesn't mean you have to use a lot. I use butter as an accent and for cooking certain dishes. You can even make ghee from the butter to use for flavour without the milk solids. In general I use salted butter for regular use and unsalted butter for baking
   
9. pure vanilla extract - I firmly believe you cannot make quality tasting anything using artificial ingredients! Pure vanilla costs a bit more but you use less and the flavour is top notch.
   
10. ClearJel - This modified corn starch is currently the only approved thickener for canning. This is the non-instant ClearJel and in most cases has to be ordered online but it is inexpensive and gives lovely results. It gives a superiour product!
11. Pomona's Universal Pectin - Anyone who has made jam know they need pectin and up to to recently commercially prepared pectins like Certo® or homemade pectins were the only available. The problem many canners faced is the pectin has a relatively short shelf life. Compounding the problem was the necessity of sugar for the pectin to gel. In any given batch of jam 7 c of additional sugar was not uncommon. A couple of years ago I discovered Pomona's pectin that does not require sugar for gelling. Instead it uses calcium water for the gelling. The monocalcium phosphate comes with the Pomona's so making the calcium water is very easy. What this essentially means is you can greatly reduce the sugar content even substituting it with other sweeteners and you aren't bound to a specifc recipe. You can easily create you own recipes. Pomona's is shelf stable forever and is considerable cheaper than other forms of pectin.
    

Enjoy!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

It is a standing joke with both my family and friends at how many excuses I can come up with to not go to the grocery store. By far a very, very small portion of our food dollar is spent in a regular grocery store. That means I really don't get to see the food trends other than online. Last one of our friends visited with his little 8 yr old who had a package of mini muffins for a snack. There were 6 mini muffins in the package. That idea made a lot of sense to me because sometime you just want a snack and not a whole muffin. So I was off to buy a mini muffin tray. I chose a non-stick Wilton® 24 -cup mini muffin tin to use for mini muffins, cupcakes and tarts.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Banana just pairs nicely with chocolate so I decided to make banana chocolate chip muffins in between storms today. This muffin is easy to put together quickly and is a good way to use up any very ripe bananas. These muffins have a cake like texture and a lovely flavour!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
adapted from: Company's Coming, Muffins & More. 1983. Pp10.

1¾ c unbleached flour
½ c organic sugar'
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
½ c semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 egg
¼ c cooking oil
¼ c milk
1 c mashed bananas

Measure the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly with fork. Make a well in the centre. Beat egg until frothy. Mix in oil, milk and bananas. Pour this mixture into the well. Stir only to moisten. The batter will be lumpy. Fill the lightly greased muffin tins ¾ full. Bake at 200ºC (400ºF) for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Enjoy!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Truly Canadian - Butter Tarts

A lot of readers have likely been wondering when I would write about another truly Canadian treat - butter tarts. For those who do not know what butter tarts are they are a gooey, sweet filling inside a rustic flaky pastry crust. They are available commercially but trust me on this they are considerably better homemade.

Tart Shells

The basis of butter tarts is the crust. I was always told that cold hands make the best pastry as well as meaning a warm heart. Pastry crust must be flaky! My favourite recipe (recipe here) works nicely for this recipe. The important thing to remember with any pastry dough is to not overwork it as that will make. You want to get the dough just to the point that it hold together. Roll the dough on a chilled surface if possible or use a chilled marble rolling pin. Cut the dough into 4 - inch circles (left). Hold the circle using both hands. With the thumb and forefinger pinch lightly together forming a cup then lightly push into the muffin tin. Lightly push the sides to fit the opening. Do not trim the crust! The crust should look wrinkled, uneven and rough.

Butter Tarts

Once you have your tart shells prepared you need to prepare the filling. If you have not tried butter tarts you are in for a real Canadian treat! Just look at how gorgeous these tarts are!

Butter Tarts
adapted from Kate Aitken's Canadian Cook Book, 1965. Pp. 230

pastry for 12 lg tart tins
1 c corn syrup
⅔ c brown sugar
2 eggs slightly beaten
¼ c butter
¼ tsp sea salt
⅔ c raisins
½ c vanilla

Prepare pastry and line tins. Pre-heat oven to 232ºC (450ºF). Mix corn syrup with brown sugar in saucepan. Cook over medium low for 5 minutes. Cool slightly. Pour over slightly beaten eggs, beating continuously. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Fill unbaked tart shells ⅔ full. Bake at 232ºC (450ºF) for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 180ºC (350ºF) and bake 15 - 20 minutes or until filling is set.
Yield: 12 tarts

Enjoy!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009