chickensense

After 16 years in the boonies, I’ve moved from my Mississippi homestead to a cozy apartment in Memphis. There are people EVERYWHERE!  It’s driving me crazy. And it is sooooo noisy—planes, trains, and cars all day and night. The only good thing is that it is less than 5 minutes to the grocery store, as opposed to 25 minutes from where I used to live.

After much searching I found a cute little complex with lots of huge trees all around. The buildings are old and made of brick, and most of the apartments have wood floors. The buildings are arranged around a large grassy courtyard with lots of trees. You can hardly tell I’m practically in downtown Memphis. (Except for all the noise of the planes, trains, and cars.)

The tiny little kitchen took some getting used to.  My old kitchen was almost as big as this whole apartment. Still, it is much easier to keep this little one clean. There’s a lot less clutter simply because there is no room for junk.

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I’m cooking today, literally!  I went shopping yesterday after dropping Jesse a school so I was at the store at 8:00 a.m.  Never having shopped that early I was surprised to find different kinds of meat on sale because they were almost at the expiration (use or freeze before …) date.  I found a beef rump roast, large package of cube steaks, and 5 lbs of ground beef all of them from $2 to $4 off the normal price. I am excited to have gotten such good deals, but now I’ve got to cook them all, ASAP.

I’ve never cooked a rump roast before so I searched out recipes online. I found a luscious recipe with the rather in-elegant name of “Roast Beef in Crockpot.”  (See below.) This morning the house smelled so good from the meat cooking all night. When I got up, I just poured it all into a large bowl, let it cool, and put it in the refrigerator for dinner tonight.

This morning I cut up half the cube steaks to use in “English Beef Pot Pie.” (Recipe below.) It’s cooking in the crock pot right now. This will be tomorrow’s dinner. I’ve still got half the cube steaks to do something with. I’m not sure what yet…

Finally, I have to deal with the 5 lbs of ground beef. I’ll use half for meatloaf (see “Seasoned Ground Beef” recipe below), and fry some up to freeze in Ziploc bags to be ready for any recipe calling for cooked ground beef, and make some into meatballs.

That’s enough cooking for a while!

                        Roast Beef in Crockpot

-= Ingredients =-
3 medium potatoes
2 large carrots
1 onion ; sliced (or chopped)             (I omitted this)
1 (2-3 lb.) boneless beef rump roast
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup

-= Instructions =-
Put vegetables in bottom of stoneware. 

Salt & pepper meat, then place in pot on top of vegetables. 

Add liquid. 

Cover and cook on LOW 10-12 hours. (HIGH: 5-6 hours.)

                         English Beef Pot Pie

-= Ingredients =-
2 pounds beef round steak ; cut into 1" cubes
3 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
2 medium carrots ; pared, sliced
3 medium potatoes ; peeled, sliced
1 large onion ; thinly sliced
1 can whole tomatoes - (16 oz)

 
~~ === BISCUIT TOPPING === ~~
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt
3 cup milk

-= Instructions =-
Place steak cubes in crock pot.  Combine flour, salt, and pepper; toss with steak to coat thoroughly.  Stir in remaining ingredients except Biscuit Topping and mix thoroughly.  Cover and cook on LOW setting for 8 to 10 hours.

One hour before serving, remove meat and vegetables from crock pot and pour into shallow 2 1/2-quart baking dish.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cover meat mixture with Biscuit Topping.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Biscuit Topping:  Mix dry ingredients.  Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Add milk all at one time; stir well.  Pat out on floured board; roll out to cover baking dish.

                         Seasoned Ground Beef

Recipe By: Betty Crocker Cookbook c1986 (modified)

-= Ingredients =-
5 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
2 egg
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
3 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

-= Instructions =-
This will prepare enough for a few different meals. Mix all the ingredients in a very large bowl.

For meatloaf, spread 1/3  the meat mixture in a loaf pan. Spoon the ketchup over the top. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Remove from pan, wrap in foil, label, and freeze until needed.

For meatballs, add spaghetti sauce if desired; shape 1/3 of the mixture into meatballs; place on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Cook until done (It will depend on the size of the meatballs.). Let cool. Freeze for 2 hours on cookie sheet. Place the meatballs in Ziploc bags and freeze until needed.

For hamburgers, shape 1/3 of the mixture into patties. Place on cookie sheet, not touching each other and freeze for 2 hours.  Wrap patties individually in plastic wrap or foil and place in ziplock bag. Freeze until needed.

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I love cookie cutters. Over the years I’ve collected quite a few including a roller skate, a musical note, and an umbrella.

Today we’re making Halloween sugar cookies. I didn’t want to wait while the dough chilled, and I didn’t have any shortening either, so I tried a different recipe. I like this recipe because it is simple, but the cookies did come out dry. They definitely need frosting, but Jesse didn’t want to wait and is gobbling them down.

Sugar Cookies - Wilton Recipe

With no chilling time necessary, these cookies can be made quickly.

-= Ingredients =-
1 cup Butter ; room temperature
1 cup Sugar
—————————–
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 ea Egg
—————————–
3 cups Flour ; sifted
2 teaspoon Baking powder

-= Instructions =-
Preheat oven to 400.  In a large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until well combined.  Beat in vanilla and egg.

Sift flour and baking soda together.  Add to creamed mixture, one cup at a time, mixing after each addition.

Dough will be very stiff.

DO NOT CHILL DOUGH!

Divide dough in half.  On floured surface, roll dough about  to 1/8 thick.  Dip cutters in flour before each use.  Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet on top rack of oven for 6-7 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Makes 2-3 dozen cookies.

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Today I found 2 pints of blueberries that had apparently gotten lost in the refrigerator for more than 2 weeks. They looked a little shriveled but they tasted ok so I thought I’d try them in a new muffin recipe and see what happens.

The muffins are delicious! I love blueberry muffins and this is the first recipe I’ve found that I’d say is good. Yum!

                  Blueberry Muffins (Betty Crocker)

-= Ingredients =-

1 3/4 cups Flour
1/4 cup Sugar
2 tablespoons Sugar
2 teaspoons Baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Egg; beaten
3/4 cup Milk
1/3 cup Cooking oil
3/4 cup Fresh or frozen blueberries

-= Instructions =-

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   

In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and  salt. Make a well in the center.

Combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg  mixture all at once to flour mixture.

Add blueberries and stir just till  moistened; batter should be lumpy.

Grease muffin cups or line with paper  bake cups; fill 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or till golden. Remove  from pans; serve warm.

Makes 10-12 muffins

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We made goat milk ice cream once but we weren’t too happy with the results. I don’t remember the recipe I used (sorry), but knowing me it would have been something extremely simple with few ingredients.  We don’t have any goat milk right now so I can’t test this out for you, but mississippisnowdog, from the Off Grid Living and Homesteading Yahoo group, has developed her own recipe (below) and she told me it is very good. You can also find a more complicated goat milk ice cream recipe here: www.countrysidemag.com.

If you make these recipes, come back and leave a comment letting us know how it went and whether you liked it enough to do again.

(Don’t have an ice cream maker? No problem, check out the truly hand made ice cream recipes on our web site: http://www.chickensense.com/icecream.asp)

Goat Milk Ice Cream

“I make goat milk ice cream at least twice a week and we love it. I didn’t want to make it too fattening, so I had to figure out a way to do it without adding extra cream. Here’s what I came up with.”

5 1/2 cups goat milk
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
flavor, about 1 teaspoon (vanilla extract, mint, etc.)

Heat 5 cups of the milk until it looks like it has a skin on top that is cracking. Stir the cornstarch into the remaining 1/2 cup milk until dissolved. Add to heated milk. Add sugar. Heat at a low to medium temperature until it coats the spoon. Keep stirring or it will scorch. (Might be better to do this in a double boiler.)  Add your flavoring (vanilla extract, mint, etc.) and pour into your ice cream maker.

Mix and freeze, following your ice cream machine’s instructions, until done. Transfer the ice cream into a chilled container. After putting in the freezer (your refrigerator’s freezer), be sure to stir it in about an hour or it will get hard and impossible to scoop. Depending on the type, you might need to stir it again at two hours.

Variations–

For mint chocolate chip, use mint extract and grate two regular size Hershey bars (or peel with a potato peeler). Put the grated chocolate in the freezer till hard, crunch into smaller pieces, and add to ice cream when almost done churning.

For chocolate– eliminate sugar. Add a king size Hershey bar to the mix after removing from heat. Stir until melted.

For fruit flavors (peach and strawberry) add 1 cup chopped fruit when the ice cream is almost done churning.

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Is it true? Home-baked bread every day with just 5 minutes effort, and all you need is an oven and a refrigerator? It sounds too good to be true so I tested it for myself.

On the left is the dough mixed and ready for the fridge. (See the recipe at Bread in 5 Minutes a Day - Master Recipe). I mixed it all in a plastic container, let it sit on the counter for a couple of hours, then refrigerated it for 2 days. (Each additional day you let it stay in the refrigerator the flavor is supposed to really improve.) This is not like a sour-dough starter, you don’t “feed” it each time you use it. You simply cut off a hunk, let it sit out for a couple of hours, then bake. Once you’ve used all the dough you just make another batch.

On the right side, here it is ready for the oven after sitting out a couple of hours to come to room temperature. Nothing seems to be going right for me, though. First I put the bread on the baking stone to sit out and rise, which was wrong since the stone needs to pre-heat before the bread is placed on it. So I moved the bread to a plate (since I didn’t have a pizza peel). That was messy. Then when I slashed the top of the dough it was so wet it just all went together again. Finally, it stuck to the plate despite the cornmeal, so it got on the pre-heated stone upside down. It’ll be a miracle if it is even edible.

I haven’t bought the book (Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day) yet, but the recipe and instructions are available in several places online, for example: Bread in 5 Minutes a Day - Master Recipe. On the author’s web site there are several other variations, one of which is a sweet dough they call a brioche. I’ll be testing that next.

I’m not sure this is any better than using a bread machine. The machine takes less than 5 minutes to pour in the ingredients, but then it bakes it without any user intervention. No pizza peels, cornmeal, preheating, etc. The downside to the bread machine is that it only makes one small loaf. With this recipe you can make 4 or 5 loaves, and more if you double the recipe.

Hmmmm… pretty pitiful looking. It is very flat and the crust is very hard. The inside looks good, with some nice big bubble/air pockets. The whole thing tastes faintly burnt, even though it isn’t. Strange. I think that may be because the baking stone had the residue from the dough (that I had to move to a plate) and the residue did burn. I guess it flavored the whole loaf.

The bottom line: the texture is great, the taste is ok (needs a bit less salt), the crust is too hard, and the whole process was a pain. I’ve got plenty of dough left so I’ll try again, doing things the proper way this time. If there is a big improvement, I’ll update this blog entry.

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I’m not too short: both my feet reach the ground.  :) 

Still, I do have trouble reaching top-shelf items in my cabinets. So I was pleased today when I discovered an unexpected benefit of using plastic ice cream tubs to store my flour, sugar, salt, dry milk, and cornmeal. My long spatula can hook the handles and pull the tub right off the top shelf for me. Cool tool!

These tubs are much easier to use than the Rubbermaid tubs I used to use. The tubs can be heavy when full, but the handle keeps them easily manageable. I keep a working supply handy in the tubs, and store the large bags in the chest freezer or pantry. Even things that don’t come in large bags are easier with the handles, such as dry milk and salt.

The tubs are not air-tight however, so keep a small bag of desiccant (silica gel) in with the salt and sugar to prevent lumps.

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Fantastic! These both came out so delicious!

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Recipe By: www.grouprecipes.com

-= Ingredients =-

• 2 Tilapia Fillets
• 1/2 cup Bread crumbs ; plain or seasoned
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Egg
• 2 pats Butter
• Cooking spray

-= Instructions =-

1. Make egg wash.
2. In shallow dish, combine crumbs and cheese.
3. Dip fillets into egg and then into crumbs.
4. Spray pan with cooking spray.
5. Place fillets in pan and top with butter.
6. Bake 425 degrees until fish is flakey.

Skillet Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are cooked in the skillet with brown sugar and butter.

Recipe By: By Diana Rattray, About.com
Serving Size: 4

-= Ingredients =-

• 1/2 cup Brown sugar
• 1/3 cup Water
• 1 tablespoon Butter
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 3 medium Sweet Potatoes (I used canned sweet potatoes)

-= Instructions =-

In a heavy skillet, combine brown sugar, water, butter, and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add sliced sweet potatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes, turning frequently.

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In the past I’ve written of my Easy Canned Beans method using a pressure canner, but I found a just-as-simple way to ‘can’ beans for your freezer without a pressure canner at www.Menus4Mom.com.

I signed up for Menu4Mom’s FREE weekly menu email: Basic Weekly Menu. I got so excited when I found the site, but I soon found that they try to charge you for practically everything. (I’ll save my ranting on that subject for another post.)

Below are the instructions. Enjoy! (free of charge, of course.)

Menus 4 Moms

Dried beans We regularly cook a bag of dried beans and freeze the beans in their own juice to use in place of canned beans. Dried beans are easy to cook and can be done in a slow cooker. They are far less expensive that canned beans. If you do not have any beans in your freezer and would like to stock up, use this recipe: * 1 bag dried beans (black, pinto, kidney, etc.) * water Rinse beans in a colander and check to be sure there are no stones or other debris. Place beans in a dutch oven and cover with water so that the water is twice as deep as the beans. Overnight soak: Leave beans in water overnight. Quick soak: Heat to boiling and boil for 2 minutes. Turn heat off and cover, let sit for 1 hour. Drain beans in colander and rinse pot. Place beans in slow cooker and cover with water, making sure the water is twice as deep as the beans. Cook on Hi for 5 hours or Low for 8-10 hours. Drain beans, reserving liquid (place colander on a lg. pan or bowl then pour beans in). Separate beans into 2 cup servings in freezer bags. Cover beans in each bag with some of reserved liquid.

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It’s been a very long time since I’ve made meatloaf. I’m not sure why, since we all love my recipe. I guess because it is so messy to make, and I usually freeze my hands while mashing it all together.

Tonight, though, I made meatloaf. I’ve learned some things to watch for: get the pan out and prepared, and all the ingredients out before you start, otherwise you’ll smear hamburger all over you cabinet handles.

I thought I’d get clever today and try to save washing a large bowl. I added all the ingredients right inside the plastic tray the hamburger comes in. It seemed like a good idea, but in reality it was a bit small so hamburger kept spilling out as I mixed. Still it was nice to be able to just dump the tray in the garbage when I was done.

(These meat trays are actually very handy. I run them through the dishwasher, then reuse them for all sorts of things. They are just the right size to hold 9 jiffy pellets for planting seeds. I also sometimes punch some holes in the bottom and use them as seed starting trays. I’ve even used them for storing messy leftovers. Once the food is gone there is no bowl to wash.)

                      -= Exported from BigOven =-

                              Meat Loaf

Based on Recipe from Betty Crocker Cookbook c1986
Serving Size: 6

-= Ingredients =-
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup ketchup

-= Instructions =-
Mix all the ingredients except the ketchup. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Spread the meat mixture in the loaf pan. Spoon the ketchup over the top. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

** This recipe can be pasted into BigOven without retyping.     **
** Easy recipe software.  Try it free at: http://www.bigoven.com    **

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I have had lots of trouble over the years getting loaves that aren’t “gummy” inside when using my bread-machine. I’ve written before of my joy when I found I had over-looked the “super rapid” setting on my machine while accidentally using recipes intended for “super rapid.”  Pressing that magic button at the right time helped immensely, but all loaves were still at least a little gummy in the middle (usually more than a little).

I finally found, from several sites online, that bread that is undercooked and gummy inside is bread that didn’t rise sufficiently. After some experimenting, I found a couple of things I had been doing wrong:

1. I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour, which doesn’t rise as well because it has less gluten and because of some chemicals they add to the bread flour (see note).
   

   fix: compensate by using 1 tablespoon vital gluten per cup of flour

2. I keep my whole wheat flour in the freezer so it is very cold when I add it to the ingredients, which I’ve realized hinders the action of the yeast.
   

   fix: set the timer to begin the bread in 1 hour to give the wheat time to get room temperature

3. For recipes that have any whole wheat flour at all, I wasn’t using the “whole wheat” setting, which allows extra rising time. (I thought they meant to use that only for 100% whole wheat bread. Oops.)
   

   fix: always use the whole wheat setting if there is any whole wheat flour in the recipe

I am now always careful to use vital gluten (available in the flour section of your super-market), especially with wheat flour; I always set the delay-timer to allow whole wheat flour to come to room temperature before mixing begins; and I am more careful to use the proper buttons on my machine: whole wheat if there is any whole wheat flour in the recipe, and super-rapid if I have used a super-rapid recipe.

(If you don’t have any vital gluten but want to use all-purpose flour in a recipe for white bread, you can compensate for the poor rising attributes of the flour by setting the machine to the whole wheat setting. This setting allows extra rising time, which is what all-purpose flour needs.)

Hopefully now my bread will continue to come out as nice as the last few loaves have. No more anticipating and salivating only to have to loaf come out as an inedible gummy mess.

(The photo is of the honey wheat bread I made tonight.)

My Honey Whole Wheat Bread (2 Lb Loaf)

(Based on a recipe from my Gold Medal flour bread machine recipe booklet)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 or 5 tablespoons vital gluten
• 2 tablespoons butter (or shortening), chopped
• 2 tablespoons dry milk
• 1 teaspoon yeast

Instructions:

Place all the ingredients in the order above into the bread machine pan. I put half the vital gluten after the all-purpose flour, and half after the whole wheat flour, which I hope helps it to incorporate better.

Use the 2 lb Whole Wheat setting on your bread machine. If your flour is frozen or refrigerated set the timer to start in an hour to allow the ingredients time to reach room temperature before they come in contact with the yeast.

When finished remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack. To more easily slice bread, use a serrated knife and a gentle back and forth sawing motion.

NOTE: Bread flour is a high-gluten flour that has very small amounts of malted barley flour and vitamin C or potassium bromate added. The barley flour helps the yeast work, and the other additive increases the elasticity of the gluten and its ability to retain gas as the dough rises and bakes.

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It may be a surprise to some, but fortified non-fat dry milk, also called powdered milk, has a relatively short shelf-life, only about 18 months. If you can find the un-fortified version, shelf life increases to 4 years.** The difference is caused by the vitamins added to fortify the milk. Vitamins A and D are not shelf-stable, meaning that they break down quickly.

Purchase dried milk in containers of a size that makes sense for the size of your household. If you buy large packages and do not use much at one time, consider repackaging into smaller containers at the time of purchase. After opening a package of dry milk, transfer the powder to a tightly covered glass or metal container (dry milk can pick up odors from plastic containers) and keep it in the refrigerator.

If you wonder which milk powder to buy, the instant milk powder is called “high temperature” and refers to the manufacturing process that the milk is put through to make the milk powder “Instant”. The regular milk powder is referred to as “low temperature” as it usually takes longer to reconstitute and is frequently the milk powder of choice for cooking and baking. (I’ve never been able to find anything but instant, non-fat, fortified powdered milk in my area.)

Storage
Vitamins A & D break-down quickly in the presence of heat and light. The area where your powdered milk is stored should be kept as cool as possible. If the storage container is transparent or translucent then it should be put into a second dark container, or stored in a cool, dark room.

Oxygen will also speed the vitamin break-down. If powdered milk can be canned with nitrogen or carbon dioxide to replace air, it will keep longer. Vacuum canning also decreases the available oxygen, and so it increases dry milk shelf-life. Dry milk will absorb moisture and odors from the air so storage containers should be air-tight and water-proof. The drier it is kept, the better it will keep.

If the dry milk purchased was not packaged for long term storage when you purchased it, then it should be repackaged right away.

Cost
Stephanie at the MakeItFromScratch blog has, literally, done the math for us. She has “busted” the myth that powdered milk is less expensive than fresh. These days dry milk is more expensive than fresh milk. So we will stick with fresh milk for everyday use, and dry milk for emergency food storage.

Making Your Own
In case you were wondering, it is not feasible to make your own powdered milk at home. For more details, visit HowStuffWorks.com.

Using Powdered Milk
1 cup whole milk = 1 cup nonfat dry milk + 2 teaspoons melted butter
1 cup whipping cream = 3/4 cup whole milk+1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup light cream = 3/4 cup whole milk+3 tablespoons melted butter

Curds, Cottage Cheese, and Ricotta*
First you make curds. Bring 1 part powdered milk and 2 parts water to a boil. Remove from heat and drizzle about a tablespoon of vinegar for every cup of water. Stir lightly and let stand. You will see the milk separate, and you should have a clear liquid and white curds. If the liquid is still milky, add more vinegar, stir, and let sit again. Pour the mixture through a cloth to retain the curds and rinse them in cool water.

For ricotta, simply blend the curds until smooth.

For cottage cheese, add some yogurt or evaporated milk and stir.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* Recipes from www.wisebread.com
** According to the USAid government web site.

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Presto is a toy. All American is real, i.e. professional.
Anything with rubber gaskets is not what you want

The comment above was made recently at an online homesteader/organic gardening group.

I am always amazed when I encounter this type of reaction. Some people may be able to afford $300 canners, but many more of us simply cannot.

My canner cost me more than I could afford. My choice was a Presto canner versus NO canner. My canner is 20 years old, true, but it is in excellent condition, sturdy, with gasket, dial, and weights all functioning properly. I fully expect it will last 50 more years with no problem except occasionally replacing the gasket, which costs less than $10, and is simple to do.

Here are some tips regarding pressure canner use and safety. These tips have been gathered from personal experience, manuals, the internet, and books, not to mention the advice from fine online groups.

Before Use

Check the rim of both pan and lid to make sure there are no nicks or damage to the interlocking tabs.

Make sure the safety pressure release (usually a rivet-like rubber plug) is still present and soft and moving freely in its slightly oversized hole. Make sure the pressure vent is clean and open, and that the seat for the pressure release weight is smooth and fits well.

Check the gasket that goes between pan and lid for cracks or hardening. If pressure from a thumbnail leaves a permanent dent in the rubber it may be too brittle for use. The gasket will really let you know when it needs to be replaced–it will spit steam and you will not be able to build up pressure. This is not dangerous, except that you don’t want to be burned by escaping steam or liquid. If your cooker is old and the gasket seems to be leaking, give it a few minutes as it may expand and work fine as it warms up.

Replacing a gasket:

You can find replacement gaskets at most hardware stores. Just write down the model # from the bottom of the canner and match it to the label on the gasket at the store.

Before you heat it up the first time, wash the gasket with warm soapy water, dry it, then lightly coat with mineral oil or Vaseline to condition the gasket. Insert gasket into its groove in lid. If it is either too shrunken to fit to the edge, or too stretched to lie smoothly in the lid, it should be replaced.

You should always have extra gaskets on hand. You can vacuum seal spares for long term storage. Put them in something first to preserve their shape… don’t compress them, as otherwise them might deform over time.

For emergency or disaster preparations, you can make your own gaskets from readily available materials such as neoprene, gum, hard rubber, or gasket rubber purchased in sheets. Use your old gasket as a template to cut the new one.

Risks of Exploding

The difference between our grandmothers’ canners and the ones today, is the pressure relief plug.  Modern canners, whether Presto, Mirro, or All America, have very little chance of building enough pressure to explode mainly due to improvements in the pressure relief valve system.

Cultivate the habit of checking the plug before every use.

(information from www.stason.org)
- If it is a metal alloy or composition metal plug that screws into the lid, do not try to remove it.
- If it is a rubber plug, use the thumbnail test to see if the rubber is still pliable enough. If pressure with thumbnail leaves a permanent dent in the rubber it is too brittle for safe use and should be replaced.
- If either type of plug has been blown out by overpressure in the canner, it must be replaced by a new plug. Do not try to reuse the plug that blew out.

Canner Storage:

(information from www.stason.org)
- Turn the lid upside down and rest it on the canner. The weight of the lid should not be resting on the gasket during storage as it could deform it.
- For long-term storage at the end of the season, wash and dry the canner well. Be sure all the parts (safety weight, rack, etc.)
are in the canner. A few crumpled newspapers in the canner will absorb moisture and odors.
- If you unscrew the gauge or vents, coat the threads lightly with petroleum jelly to prevent rust and make them easier to replace.
- Coat the gasket very lightly with petroleum jelly or oil.

Helpful Web sites:

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Storing eggs for 6 to 12 months or more is actually very simple.

In The Freezer

To freeze whole eggs, beat them just until blended. Pour them into a freezer container, seal tightly, label with the number of eggs and the date, and freeze. To use, substitute 3 tablespoons thawed whole eggs for 1 large fresh egg. Or, beat one egg at a time and pour each into a cup in an ice tray. Freeze, then pop out the egg cubes and store in freezer Ziploc bags. One cube=1 egg.

Egg whites can be frozen “as is.” Pour them into a freezer container, seal tightly, label with the number of egg whites and the date, and freeze. To use, substitute 2 tablespoons (30 mL) thawed egg whites for 1 large egg.

Egg yolks will thicken or gel when frozen and therefore cannot be used in a recipe unless they receive special treatment. To prevent thickening, beat in either 1/8 teaspoon (0.5 mL) salt, or 1-1/2 teaspoons (7 mL) sugar or corn syrup per 1/4 cup (50 mL) egg yolks (about 4 yolks). Label freezer container with the number of yolks, the date and whether you added salt (for main dishes) or sugar (for desserts and baking) and freeze. Substitute 1 tablespoon (15 mL) thawed yolks for 1 large fresh yolk.

It is best to thaw eggs in the refrigerator and use them as soon as they are thawed. Use them only in dishes that will be thoroughly cooked. Eggs should not be frozen in the shell.

Without Electricity

There are a couple of ways to store eggs without refrigeration. They require cool temperatures, however. A cellar, cool basement, or cool room in the house will suffice. The cooler the better the chance that your eggs will last longer.

One method is to coat the eggs with a non-toxic substance, sealing the pores in the shell and thereby sealing out oxygen and moisture. When no oxygen is present, bacteria can’t grow, thus eggs don’t spoil.

To use lard or shortening to coat the eggs, first melt the grease and cool it til it begins to solidify again. Dip each egg in the melted grease individually and set them on a paper towel to dry. When the shortening or lard is dry on the eggs, rub the eggs with a clean towel, removing excess solid grease. Rub gently and buff each egg. Now repeat the process, before the shortening solidifies. Work fast, allowing the shortening to get almost solid before re-heating it.

Line the bottom of a flat box with a clean soft towel. Place the eggs in the box in a single layer. Cover the box with either a lid or another towel. Place the box of eggs in a cool, dry environment. Eggs prepared this way will last up to 6 months, although I have heard people say that they have kept eggs this way for 1 year if they are kept very cool.

A product that can be used to coat eggs in the same way, but that is supposed to keep the eggs fresh longer, is K-Peg. The eggs are coated with this product much the same way they would be coated with the shortening, and prepared for storage the same way.

A second method to store eggs works on the same principle: cover the pores and keep the eggs cool. However, in this method the eggs are kept immersed in a solution of Liquid Sodium Silicate, also known as liquid glass.

This non-toxic substance will cover the pores of the egg shell so well that you will probably be able to keep fresh eggs for up to 2 years! You can buy it as Sodium Silicate Solution at any pharmacy, however they may not have it on hand and have to order it for you.

Sodium Silicate, is a pale yellow, odorless, syrupy liquid. It is diluted in the proportion of one part of silicate to nine parts of distilled water or sterile water. In any case, the water should be first boiled, and then allowed to cool.

Place clean, fresh eggs in a ceramic crock. Pour liquid sodium silicate over the eggs until the eggs are covered and completely immersed in the solution. Have at least 2 inches of the solution over the top of the eggs. Do not add too many eggs as the ones on the bottom may get crushed and crack, which will spoil all the eggs.

Place a towel over the crock and tie it into place. Place the crock of eggs in a cool, dry place and don’t disturb them until you are ready to use them. To use, just take out as many eggs as you need, wash them off in plain water and use as you normally would.

Liquid Sodium Silicate Storage Tips

Only store eggs with clean shells. Washing an egg with a soiled shell lessens it keeping quality. The protective, gelatinous covering over the shell is removed by water, and when this is gone the egg spoils more rapidly.

The shells also must be free from even the tiniest crack. One cracked egg will spoil a large number of sound eggs when packed in liquid sodium silicate.

Earthenware crocks are good containers. The crocks must be clean and sound. Scald them and let them cool completely before use. A crock holding six gallons will accommodate eighteen dozens of eggs and about twenty-two pints of liquid sodium silicate.

Eggs preserved in this manner can safely be used for soft boiling or poaching for several weeks. Before boiling such eggs prick a tiny hole in the large end of the shell with a needle to keep them from cracking. After the first couple of months, stored eggs should be used only in dishes where they will be thoroughly cooked, for example, omelets, scrambled eggs, custards, cakes and general cookery.

As the eggs age, the white becomes thinner and is harder to beat. The yolk membrane becomes more delicate and it is correspondingly difficult to separate the whites from the yolks. Sometimes the white of the egg becomes tinged pink after very long keeping in liquid sodium silicate. This is due, probably, to a little iron which is in the sodium silicate, but which apparently does not injure the egg for food purposes.

In Cooked Foods

Another way to store eggs is to use them in recipes that can be frozen. These two recipes below use the whites and the yolks from about a dozen eggs. They both freeze wonderfully so you can make plenty during the egg laying season, and save extras for when eggs are less plentiful.

Angel Food Cake

Preheat oven to 375°

1 1/2 cups of egg whites brought to room temperature
1 1/2 cups sifted powered sugar
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. almond extract

-Sift powdered sugar and flour seperately once. Measure correct amounts as stated in ingredients and sift together 4 times.
-Place egg whites in large bowl. add salt, cream of tarter, vanilla and almond extracts.
-Beat on medium speed till soft peaks form
-Continue beating and gradually add sugar 2 tablespoons at a time.
-Beat at #8 till stiff peaks form but not dry peaks
-On lowest speed. Add powdered sugar/flour mix, a small amount at a time.
-Remove from mixer and finish mixing by hand with a spatula by folding over carefully.
-Pour(spoon) into ungreased 10″ tube pan.
-With a knife or spatula, carefully cut through batter in circular motion six times to release large bubbles.
-Bake on lowest rack of oven, for 3-5 to 40 min. or till golden brown.
-Invert pan until cool. Loosen with knife or spatula to remove.

Golden Sponge Cake

(Uses up the yolks left from the Angel Food Cake)
Preheat oven to 350°

Egg yolks of the dozen or so eggs
3 cups cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. lemon extract or orange extract
1 cup cold water

-Sift flour and sugar seperately one time before measuring.
-Measure flour and sugar. Sift 3 times together, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt
-In mixing bowl, beat egg yolks on #8 till fluffy and thick.
-Gradually beat add and beat in sugar.
-Turn to #2 speed(low) and add flavorings, and cold water.
-Gradually but quickly add the flour mixture while beating on low speed. Scrape bowl. Beat only enough to blend, about 2 min.
-Pour batter into an ungreased tube pan.
-Bake 1 hour or till golden brown.
-Invert cake to cool.
-Loosen sides with spatula or knife to remove.

(Recipes from Organic Homesteading Gardening Group at Yahoo.com)

Tips for using stored eggs

When you use eggs that have been in storage without electricity, crack them in a cup, not directly into your food. Otherwise you might get an awful surprise and ruin a dish.

Practice these storage techniques before you think you might really need to store eggs. Practice makes perfect!

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Did You Know?

• Baking powder does not have a long shelf life.
• Baking soda cannot be substituted for baking powder.
• Most commercially-produced baking powder contains aluminum.

Due to its short shelf life, baking powder is not good for storing with emergency food supplies.  However, the main ingredients of home-made baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar, will remain good almost indefinitely if they are stored separately.

Many people avoid baking powder with aluminum because they believe it gives food a vaguely metallic taste, and because it has been suggested that there may be a link between aluminum consumption and Alzheimer’s disease. Studies have not proven this, however. Home-made baking powder does not contain aluminum.

Home-Made Baking Powder

Ingredients:

• Two parts baking soda
• One part cream of tartar
• One part cornstarch (If you will not be using the baking powder immediately)

Preparation:

Mix the baking soda and cream of tartar together until well combined. Use immediately, or add cornstarch and store in an air-tight container.

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Green beans, also called snap beans, used to be called string beans. These days they are usually stringless, and come in a variety of colors.

Growing Beans

Green beans’ peak season is May to  October. Pods are picked young and tender, before the seeds inside have fully developed. Most popular varieties have been bred to have stringless pods, but some gardeners prefer the flavor of the old-fashioned ‘string’ types.

Beans are generally planted directly in the garden. Seeds will rot in cool, damp soil, so it is critical not to plant them too early. To get an earlier start, you can put down black plastic before-hand, to warm the soil.

There are 2 types of bean plants, bush and pole. Bush beans begin producing before pole beans and usually come in all at once, making them ideal for canning and freezing. You can plant every couple of weeks to stretch out the harvest, if desired. Pole beans need time to grow their vines before they start setting beans, but they will continue producing for a couple of months.

Cooking Beans

For cooking, choose slender beans that are crisp, bright-colored, and free of blemishes. Store green beans in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped in a plastic bag, for up to 5 days. Before cooking, wash beans and break off the stem ends.

TIP: The fewer beans in the pan, the quicker they cook and the better they taste. If cooking more than one pound at a time, use separate pans.

Recipes

There are few vegetables I’ve hated worse than green beans—until a friend introduced me to her Southern Fried Green Beans. Now green beans can go from “yuck” to “yum” in a snap.

Southern Fried Green Beans
Recipe by Lindsay Gaut

Fresh or canned green beans
Bacon (uncooked)
Bouillon cubes (chicken or beef)
Salt

Trim and discard tips of beans; set aside. Fry a few pieces of bacon in a sauce pan over medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Add green beans and cook on low, but do not stir. Instead shake the pan gently to mix the beans. Add 1 or 2 bouillon cubes, which will slowly dissolve, and salt to taste.

Cook on low about 40 minutes, shaking often, until the beans have shriveled, and look a bit crispy and brown.

What could destroy a healthy vegetable quicker than frying? Frying it with beer, of course.

Beer-Battered Green Beans
Taken from clipping out of the Philadelphia Inquirer

1 lb. fresh green beans
1 cup beer (lager works well)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil for deep frying (about 2 cups)
Tomato sauce for dipping (optional)

Trim and discard tips of beans.  In a bowl, whisk the beer, salt and lemon juice into the flour until smooth but still foamy.  Dredge the beans in the batter.

In a large deep skillet, heat oil until it sizzles when a bit of batter is dropped into it.  Fish out the beans from the batter, shaking off excess, and fry about 10 at a time.  Cook until golden brown, flipping the beans over with tongs.  Repeat to cook all of the beans.

Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with additional salt if desired.  If using, heat the tomato sauce and serve on the side with the beans.

(serves 4-6)

(recipe and photo from straightfromthefarm.net)

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Hubby took Jesse fishing yesterday for the first time. Jesse was so excited! He caught 2 fish all by himself. He was so proud.

David showed him how to clean them, then it was up to me to figure out how to cook them. (I love fish, but I’ve never cooked it myself before.)

I ended up cooking them using a recipe I found for Trout. I don’t think I cooked them enough in the oven so we put them in the microwave for a couple of minutes, but I still think they were a bit underdone. Oh, well. As I told Jesse, I’m just learning how to cook fish.

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I popped out and snipped the rosemary fresh from my herb garden, and I used organic butter, garlic and lemon. Delicious!

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Grilled Montana Trout

“Trout is stuffed with lemon, garlic and herbs before being wrapped in aluminum foil and cooked over the coals of the campfire.”

Ingredients:
2 trout, cleaned and head removed
3 tablespoons cold butter, thinly sliced
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, halved and thinly sliced

Directions:
1. Place each trout onto a square of aluminum foil. Open them up so that the flesh is facing upwards. On one side of each fish, season with salt and pepper, half of the garlic, half of the chopped rosemary and half of the parsley. Top each fish with thin slices of butter, 3 rosemary sprigs and a few slices of lemon. Squeeze one of the remaining lemon slices over each fish. Enclose the seasoning inside each fish and wrap securely with the sheet of aluminum foil. Wrap each fish in an additional piece of aluminum foil.

2. Place fish in the coals of a campfire or on a grill over a flame and cook for about 7 minutes on each side. If you can easily stick a fork into the fish, it is done. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your fish and the fire. Allow to cool for a few minutes before opening to serve.

Printed from Allrecipes.com 5/18/2009

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Today was much cooler than it has been here in NW Mississippi, highs in the upper 60’s instead of the 80’s, and finally not raining. It is also breezy and sunny– a Beautiful Day!

Rose and Mealy Cup Sage

Roses
First my much neglected roses needed dead-heading (removing the faded blooms). I tried to prune out some of the tangled branches on the floribundas too. It has rained so much the last month, as it always does here in May, that I haven’t gone outside much to enjoy the garden.

You can see in the photo that some mealy-cup sage (salvia) is growing right next to the rose. I planted those seeds 5 years ago and they keep coming back, even though they are supposed to be annuals. Guess they are self-seeding. They’re so pretty.

Queen Elizabeth Hybrid Tea Rose

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My Queen Elizabeth rose (a hybrid tea) is recovering from the very late pruning I did in April. (Hybrid teas need a hard pruning in late winter to look their best.)  She is even blooming already. On the left are Daylilies that I grew from seed (from Park Seed), and some Lemon Balm that is getting almost out of control.

I Hate Onions
I planted onion bulbs I bought a couple of weeks ago. Some have sprouted a bit, some are shriveled and dry. I am curious to see which ones actually grow. I’ve never grown onions before, since I dislike them except as onion rings (go figure). I am trying to eat slow, organic, local, healthy foods now, so I found I actually bought onions to try in some recipes. If I’m going to eat them, I’d rather they be my own pesticide-free, chemical-free onions.

Onions Planted

Zucchini and Squash
I also planted zucchini and yellow squash from some old seeds I had. I hope to get a lot of zucchini to use in zucchini bread, etc. I’ve never had yellow squash, though I have grown it lots, but I’ve got some recipes now so I want to try it. I may even try frying some of the blossoms–they are supposed to be good to eat. I have spaghetti squash and acorn squash seeds to plant also later on. I just have to find a spot. (Hmm. Zucchini is a squash. Why is it called zucchini?)

Fried Bacon, Squash & Potatoes

6 bacon strips, sliced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium yellow summer squash, diced
1 tablespoon fresh minced dill or 1 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to paper towels; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings.

Add potato to drippings, cook and stir until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, zucchini and yellow squash. Cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Return bacon to skillet; sprinkle with dill, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for about 1 minutes.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

From Taste of Home: The Market Fresh Cookbook

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To Hell with Housework - Retro Eclectro

I love aprons! I have a whole page on my website devoted to apron tutorials and links. I also have a post on how to make my favorite empire-waist patchwork apron.

Using Google’s Image Search I found these funky aprons designed by Retro Eclectro. I just love the skulls apron named “To Hell with Housework.”  That’s my motto!

Visit my apron page at www.chickensense.com for a ton of apron photos, tutorials, and links.

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soaking beans

We finally found quart-size canning jars at the store. The first thing we are canning is beans. Today, we’re doing pinto beans, and red beans.

We’ll fill the pantry with canned items rather than relying on frozen things because we  lose power whenever there are storms. These will be the first jars in our pantry this year.

We used the Easy Soak Beans method we found a while ago. The jars are cooling on the counter, and we can hear the pings as the lids seal on.

Easy Soak Beans

1. Add 1 cup dry beans to each quart jar, and add enough tap water to fill to the neck of the jars. (The beans will expand as they soak to almost fill the jar after a few hours.)
2. Let the beans soak overnight. In the morning, drain the water, and refill with fresh tap water. Add one teaspoon salt to each jar.
3. Screw on the lids and place the jars in about 2 inches of water in the pressure canner.
4. Process at 10 to 15 pounds pressure for the times listed below. (Start timing when the canner reaches the correct pressure.)

Cooking Times:

* small beans 45 minutes
* brown beans 1 hour
* chick peas or soy beans 1 1/2 hours

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It was a little embarrassing at Whole Foods Market the other day because it seemed that everyone there spoke a different language. I decided to bone up before I went shopping again. Perhaps you’d like to follow along…

Balsamic Vinegar

According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, balsamic means “of, relating to, yielding, or containing balsam.”  Containing balsam?

Again, according to Merriam Webster, balsam means “an aromatic and usually oily and resinous substance flowing from various plants; especially: any of several resinous substances containing benzoic or cinnamic acid and used especially in medicine. Also a preparation containing resinous substances and having a balsamic odor.”  That does not sound too tasty.

Finally, Balsamic vinegar is “an aged Italian vinegar made from the must of white grapes.” Ah ha! Simple–as long as you know that must is “the expressed juice of fruit and especially grapes before and during fermentation; also: the pulp and skins of the crushed grapes.”

Vinegar with oily, aromatic, and resinous grape juice.  If you say so.

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I’m having a few problems as I try to stay away from processed foods with chemicals and additives. The biggest is that I don’t always have time to cook. I haven’t figured out things to have around that are easy to grab and go. On the 3 days that I had to work last week all I had for lunch was pretzels, an apple and a banana. Breakfast was toast with fruit spread and a banana. I’m happy that these were healthy, safe foods, but I got really hungry by late afternoon. (Being short of funds makes this worse since I can’t buy too much food yet.) On the plus side, I magically lost 10 pounds in the week since I changed my food. <Doing the Snoopy happy dance>

I don’t expect to have to leave home to work next week, and Friday will be pay day so things should get easier soon. But I still have to figure out what to buy. It’s a whole new world.

I’ve been advised to purchase fresh fruit and veggies at the farmer’s market instead of Whole Foods Market, it is supposed to be much cheaper. We’ll be going to the farmer’s market at the Ag Center in Memphis for the first time on Saturday, if it doesn’t rain. There is a fairly new farmer’s market in mid-town Memphis on Saturdays too. It is supposed to be very nice, so we’ll try to swing by there on Saturday also.

Tonight for supper, we started with a simple salad with Newman’s Oil & Vinegar dressing. I didn’t like the dressing–it had a bitter aftertaste to me. Then we had organic chicken drumsticks and thighs oven-baked with home-made “shake-n-bake.” (The recipe is below.)  It was incredibly good. I don’t know if it was the organic/free-range chicken, or the “shake-n-bake” recipe, but it was the best chicken I’ve had in a very long time. Along with the chicken, we had organic potatoes with a little butter, wrapped in foil and baked along with the chicken. Even the potatoes were incredibly good, probably from using real butter instead of poison-chemical spread–I mean margarine.

Easy Shake and Bake Chicken

Recipe From http://allrecipes.com/
Serving Size: 6

-= Ingredients =-

• 3 pounds chicken ; cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon sage
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup butter

-= Instructions =-
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

1. Mix flour, salt, paprika, sage and pepper together in a bag. (I used poultry seasoning instead of the salt, paprika, sage, and pepper.)
2. Add chicken parts in a bag and shake until well coated.
3. Melt butter/margarine in a 9×13 inch baking dish in the preheated oven.
4. Place chicken in the baking dish skin side down and bake for 30 minutes.
5. Turn pieces and bake another 30 minutes until tender and juices run clear.

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Email from Shawn Dady - the Nashville WAPF Chapter leader. She has worked tirelessly to promote raw milk legalization in TN. Read on for her exciting news…
==============================================
Hi friends,

Well this is an historic day. Rep. Frank Nicely called me this morning to let me know that the Raw Milk Cow-Share bill has passed both the TN state house and the senate, and has gone to the governor. It is on his desk, and Rep. Nicely explained to me that if he just lets it lay there, and doesn’t sign it, it will become law. If he does sign it, it will become law sooner than 10 days of course, but the only way it can not become law is if he vetoes it. Since it passed unanimously in the House Ag. Committee as well as unanimously on the house floor, and has the support of the Farm Bureau and the Ag. Department of TN, it will likely become law in 10 days or sooner. The Governor has no reason to veto it.

Here is it’s simple and small, yet extremely powerful language below. Notice that it says PARTIAL owner, and ANY hoofed mammal. What this does is declare cow-shares, goat-shares, sheep-shares, ALL shares of animals, completely legal. They were legal to begin with based on contract law in our Constitution, but this absolutely declares it and puts it out there–it re-establishes it. Wow. Seriously this is huge. All farmers should keep a copy of this bill in their barn displayed on the wall to show anyone who questions them.

This doesn’t mean that everyone can now go out and buy raw milk in retail stores or restaurants. But what it does mean is that farmers can now start up cow-shares, goat-shares, with no worries of legal hassle. It is completely above-board, and as long as we are in a cow-share program, a contract with a farmer, we can obtain our own raw milk, and other dairy products. We are the second state in the union to declare cow-shares legal, following the state of Colorado. Truly historic.

It’s a good day.
Shawn Dady
www.tennesseansforr awmilk.com

Agriculture Committee 1
Amendment No. 1 to HB0720

Bone
Signature of Sponsor

AMEND
Senate Bill No. 1114 House Bill No. 720*

by deleting all language of the printed bill after the enacting clause and by substituting instead
the following:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 53, Chapter 3, Part 1, is
amended by adding the following language as a new, appropriately designated section:
§ 53-3-119.

Nothing in this part or any other provision of law shall be construed as
prohibiting the independent or partial owner of any hoofed mammal from using
the milk from such animal for the owner’s personal consumption or other
personal use.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare
requiring it.

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Sorry all, due to work, and due to major drama yesterday (our babysitter was beat up by her boyfriend in front of my 10-yr-old) we just had grilled cheese again. I also forgot that I skipped buying the swordfish until payday. I did buy a beautiful organic chuck steak which I’m cooking today in a electric skillet, since I don’t have to work.  I make a goood pot roast.   :)    (I did go to the library after work and got several cookbooks that may help.)

Just FYI: I don’t like most vegetables–never have. This makes finding recipes that I’ll eat much more of a challenge, especially since most people seem to think that if you avoid meat you must love vegetables, and they go out of their way to add vegetables to the dish. Also, I am not even close to being a chef.  I just follow the instructions in a recipe, omitting veggies, or substituting ones that I like, or at least tolerate.

This is going to make our journey to healthful eating even more difficult.

Chickensense Pot Roast

1. Add 2 tablespoons oil to an electric skillet and turn the temperature pretty high (I use 400 degrees).
2. Sear the roast on all sides. Don’t use a fork or pierce the roast as it lets the juices escape, use tongs to turn the meat.
3. Turn the temperature down to 250 or 300 and add 1/2 a cup of water. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cover and let cook for 2 to 3 hours depending on the size of the roast. Add water as needed.
5. Add some sliced carrots, and some potatoes chopped into 1 to 2 inch chunks, about an hour before the roast is done.

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Yesterday we visited Wild Oats/Whole Foods Market in Memphis, in our new quest for safe, natural, cruelty-free food, after we were scared out of our wits by the tales in the book, Fast Food Nation.

It was a whole new world that we never knew existed. We took our time going up and down all the isles, reading labels and asking questions of everyone we saw. We found organic and local produce; additive free ketchup, breads, salad dressings, and peanut butter; natural cheeses, and even pure maple syrup. It took us almost 2 hours to get through the store!

The meat department guy had read Fast Food Nation so he understood what we were looking for. He took us in hand and explained that they have their own fish packing plants one right on the Atlantic, and one on the Pacific ocean. He also explained their relationship with their meat and poultry suppliers, how they buy directly from the farmers and ranchers so they can be certain of the treatment of the animals and the cleanliness and purity of the products. He helped us choose the type of fish to try first, and even the best cheeses to get.

We still have no idea of what to buy or how to cook it, so, in addition to the fish, we got a couple of items that we were sure we could cook and that we’d like: chuck steak (from organic, grass-fed cattle), and organic chicken. We plan to eat a lot less  meat and a lot more fish, but we felt we should just dip our toe in the water, before diving in headlong.

So we’re going to cook sword fish, with organic salad and balsamic vinagrette (spelling?), and organic potatoes with real butter.  Sword fish wasn’t what the guy recommended for beginning fish eaters, he recommended some of the less strongly flavored fish, such as halibut, but Jesse (10 years old) was intrigued by the idea of eating sword fish so we went for it.

We’ll have the sword fish tonight (though I haven’t found a recipe for it yet)…

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