US meets UK

I really didn’t know another way to put that… I mean, other than the obvious statement. My friend raised ducks and then he needed help with the slaughter.

When I first became a vegetarian I felt that I was “better” in many ways than any other type of carnivores. Meaning, better than a lion, or tiger, or bear – because I could choose to not eat meat. There were many reasons that I chose to be a vegetarian at 15, and continue it till recently. Now? I currently buy 99% of my meat from local, responsible farms – the vast majority of which I have personally visited. That 1%? Typically comes from meals eaten outside of our home, and even then I tend to eat vegetarian.

Recently, I felt that I was ready to accept personal responsibility in my meat eating – because I think that for myself, if I am not willing to kill an animal – then I shouldn’t eat them. It was important to me to participate in the slaughter, because if I couldn’t do it; then to me, it would be a sign to stop eating animals.

Once you make the decision that you’re able to accept the responsibility that comes with meat eating it’s hard to find a responsibly raised animal and participate in the process of “animal to meat” or  I suppose “farm to table”. It’s probably illegal for most farmers to allow you to participate, and for larger animals  it’s the law that they must be processed in a plant.

This post so far has been about my decision to participate in the slaughter, which Nick would prefer I refer to as  “taking care of the ducks”.  For me personally, I need to refer to it as a slaughter – because that is the truth. For the ducks it was quick, and for me? A bit less so.

I did not take any photos of the slaughter. I brought my camera, but decided that it was ultimately something I did not want to document at the time. The process and images are burned on my brain, and that’s enough for me. I woke up that morning so nervous that I didn’t eat breakfast for fear that I would vomit while participating. I didn’t get sick… but I also didn’t eat till 3pm that day.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to write about the day on here… but I think I will. I’m still processing the whole event, because killing an animal takes a lot out of me (as I think it would anyone).

Om nom. Holy moly these are good. We were pretty tired after our fourth of July weekend and I wanted to make something quick and easy with whatever we had on hand. Which happened to be a few peaches, green onions, jalapenos, garlic, and some limes. and some coconut oil.

Spicy Peach Marinade:

Grocery list- 2 peaches, 2 green onions, 1 jalapeno, 2 limes, 3 garlic cloves,

Put 2 peaches 1.5 green onions (I mostly used the white part and a little bit of the green), 1/2 the deseeded jalapeno, 1/2 a peeled lime, and 2 garlic cloves in a food processor and puree.

Squeeze the 1.5 limes and chop the rest of the jalapeno, single garlic clove, into a bowl and pour the puree from the food processor.Set aside a 1/4 of a cup to brush on while on the grill.

Let your coconut oil heat/cool to liquid stage and pour 1.5 tablespoons in to the bowl with the majority of the marinade. Stick your peeled shrimp into the bowl, cover and marinate for an hour or 2.

Pop them on the grill and grill till you see the first side begin to get pink and flip. Brush the marinade on the newly grilled side and remove once all is pink.

We like to put the vegetables all on one set of skewers and the meat on another since they cook differently. In this case, the veggies take a bit longer than the shrimp.

Enjoy!

The only perk I can see, is that I don’t have to do the dishes. Thankfully, if I cook – Nick will do the dishes. So, we’ve nipped that problem in the bud.

In reality, there are many reasons, perhaps the largest being that our skill has outpaced our budget. We’ve gotten pretty gosh darn great at cooking meals, but at this moment in time I wouldn’t want to drop $50 per person for a meal. Now that I’ve started to cook meat, we’ve really out paced ourselves. It used to be that we’d go out to dinner and Nick could get all the things that I didn’t know/wouldn’t make at home. Now? I cook the steak, and we’re both eating the same meal.

The other issue, is that for the most part I don’t know where the restaurants are getting their meat from. There are a few restaurants, that will tell you where it comes from, and for that I’m grateful because it prevents me from having to rely on the vegetarian option. Places like the Abbey in Baltimore, or the Founding Farmers in DC supply you with that information. So when I’m home I eat steak, but when I’m out I’m constantly getting the salad or whatever the non-pasta vegetarian option is.

Which brings me back to the beginning – if I can make steak at home for less than I pay to go out and eat vegetables… why should I?

We rented Julie & Julia from Redbox the other night, and I was sorely disappointed. As much as I love Amy Adams and Meryl Streep, I couldn’t love the characters. That’s unfair, I liked Julia Child and I identified with her as a trailing spouse and an expat – but i couldn’t stomach Julie Powell.

I was however, inspired to attempt boeuf bourguignon. The reason cooking beef and other meat dishes is difficult for me is that I have no frame of reference. I’ve never had boeuf bourguignon, so I have no idea how it’s supposed to taste, or what the final product should be.  I wanted to use the Julia Child recipe, but I also wanted to cook it in a clay pot. Clay pots (romertopfs) are amazing, if you cook meat (or even veg) you should certainly invest in one. It cooks the food faster, infuses it with more juice and in general enriches the flavor of your food.

(source)

Which is how I came to make the boeuf bourguignon as if Julia Child were actually from Africa, and used a clay pot. I also put more veggies in than she called for, one carrot?! Pish posh, put in three.

(not my boeuf bourguignon… my carrots were smaller…)

So, in case you want to make my franken boeuf bourguignon this is how it goes. There are no pictures, because I was too concerned about messing up to take them. I also used cornstarch instead of flour because my mother can’t consume gluten. So, feel free to change that. I made the beef stock the night before, using 3 lbs of soup bones, some carrots, carrot tops, leeks and onions that I roasted before sticking in a slow cooker, I may have added wine to it as well, I can’t remember anymore!

In case you’re getting into making your own stocks you should know this. Chicken stock is waaaaaay easier to make than beef stock. It isn’t that beef stock is complicated per say, it’s just that Chicken is easier. Or rather, that beef is more involved-you need to be involved with your beef stock.

So,  let’s pretend your stock is made and skimmed and in the fridge awaiting your return. And yesterday you put in your 3lbs of beef cubes in a bag with red wine. Or do it that morning because your forgot… it’s your choice. You’ve also soaked your clay pot for at least 20 min.  Grab a burgundy wine or, a pinot noir, pour yourself a glass.

Clean and chop your carrots into little circles, and strip your pearl onions of their skins. Rub your mushrooms, remove the stalks and chop in half. Put the carrots and onions to the side, put the mushrooms to the side, but separate.

Cut your bacon into tiny strips, Julia says to take the rind off, but this caused me to massacre the bacon, in the future I won’t be derinding. Cut them into lardons, aka sticks. Pat your beef with paper towels and then in small batches powder them with cornstarch (or flour). Plop in 2Tbs of olive oil to your pan and bang the bacon, with some of the powdered beef cubes in as well. Let them brown on all sides and remove to your clay pot. The flour/cornstarch allows the beef to create a little crust.

Once you’ve finished with the beef braising, toss your onions and carrots into the pan you’ve just been using.  Add more bacon fat or butter as needed. Season your beef with salt and pepper. Add tomato paste to the clay pot/beef, about a 1/2 tablespoon. Crush 3 cloves of garlic, and add a teaspoon of fresh thyme to the pot. Crumple a bay leaf while you’re at it and pop a clove in.

Once you’ve browned all the onions and carrots add them to the clay pot. Repeat with the mushrooms, but use more butter instead of bacon fat. Pour in 2 cups of the red wine, and 1 cup of the stock.  If you have room, add a bit more stock – I did not have room. So now I have lots of extra beef stock, gluten free french onion soup perhaps?

Stick it in the oven at 450 for an hour and half. Julia Child’s recipe calls for several hours, but I’m into instant gratification and an hour and half is about all I could wait for. Nick roasted potatoes, my mother made a fantastic field greens/berry salad and a brilliant pavlova to accompany the meal.  Our Sunday Dinners have stepped up to a new level.

What is a recipe you’ve challenged yourself with lately?

I couldn’t stop making them. First I tried them the “That Wife” way, and they were good. Then I tried them the Brownie Points way, and they were (surprisingly) even better! It’s the covering of the pot that makes the difference for the sugar. I made a few for my bee friends:

(bee cutter available at Sur La Table)

Then for Baking Gals with Amy I made a vanilla batch and a peppermint batch. I *may* have used too much peppermint extract, it turns out I needed peppermint oil instead and didn’t run out to buy any. Whoopsies….

But they were pretty and delicious! I made 4 batches in 2 weeks. I think I’m over marshmallows for awhile. Have you ever made them? What’s your method?

Do you know what a pavlova is? It’s Nick’s favorite dessert, and I attempted to make it for him a few months ago. This is what a pavlova should look like:

This is what mine looked like before it went into the oven:

This is what it looked like when it came out of the oven:

Pavlova FAIL. Instead of attempting it myself again, I’ve farmed out the work to my sister and mother. Both of their (non chocolate) pavlovas have turned out great. I’m still gun shy though – I don’t want to fail so hard again!

What’s been your biggest dessert (or cooking) FAIL?

It was a bad, bad idea. It was great meat from Polyface farm, grass-fed and pastured from a responsible farm. A few friends, Nick and I all journeyed down to Polyface 2 months ago (perhaps I should blog about that…) and toured the farm before grabbing some meat to take back with us.

I really wanted to go to the farm and I was pleased everyone agreed to go, but this post isn’t about the farm – it’s about the burger. We also picked up steak in addition to the ground beef from the other night and I thought I should try a burger before attempting a steak.

I managed to eat half before I felt sick, then attempted to eat a quarter more and eventually I had to quit. Then I went upstairs and wished I had just stayed mostly vegetarian*. Since the burger day, I have tried to eat a steak (also from Polyface) and it was the bomb. So, I’ve decided that steak > burger.

*by mostly vegetarian I mean that I eat mostly vegetables and sometimes fish. Recently, I tried bacon on my veggie burger.

I’ve been converted. When we returned home after the snowpocalypse  we (of course) made s’mores. Since Nick went shopping for the s’more materials he returned with these

and these

and oddly enough, strawberry marshmallows.  I didn’t feel like waiting for marshmallows to harden if I made them, so he tried to buy them at Harris Teeter – but they were all out! Except for Strawberry or Tutti-Fruti flavors and he wisely chose strawberry.Which lent an interesting, but not horrible flavor.

mmmm, decontructed posh s’more.

What do you consider your necessities for a s’more?

If you’re looking for a quick, last minute favor idea I have the recipe for you!  I tried my friend’s mother’s Peanut Butter and Chocolate fudge last week and it was so great I begged for the recipe right then and there! Lucky for me, it’s so easy you can remember it. It’s quick to make and really the only requirement is that you have a bit of patience and some upper body strength.  I have a 4th of July cookout today and forgot to make something – luckily we had all the ingredients in the house because I was feeling a bit too lazy to go to the store right before a holiday.

Start by melting your butter and peanut butter in your pot. Yes, it looks gross. No, there is no way to justify this as a diet treat.

Then add your sifted cocoa powder and vanilla extract.

Next, sift your confectioners sugar into the pot a bit at a time, mixing it completely each time. This is where your upper body strength and patience comes in handy.

Mix it ALLLLL together and stick into a 9×13 pan.  Place paper towels on top and weight with light objects (I used two boxes of crackers).  Replace your paper towels every so often once they’re full of oil, I did it about 3 times.  Let the fudge sit for 2 hours before cutting up.

OM NOM NOM.

Here is the tiny version:

Since we’re considering Mrs. Kitten’s lavender bud throw project it looks like we’re going to have an serious excess of glassine bags.  Which would be perfect for these fudgy favors or OOT treats!

Have you pondered making your own favors?

There’s a twist to this edition of “Miss It, Make It”, it’s sort of in reverse.  I know much of what I’ve posted has to do with things I miss in the US that are difficult to acquire in the US.  This time though, I wanted to figure out how to recreate one of my new favorite treats from the UK to eat in the US.

The naked bars are delicious! I’m not 100% sure I can or can’t get them in the US, but I attempted an at home version anyway.

I found the recipe here, after finding it on Food Gawker – after finding Food Gawker from That Wife.  Did you follow? Would you like a tip guys? It’s called READ THE RECIPE. Simple I know…However, I did not read the recipe the whole way through.  Instead of saving the cinnamon to roll these balls of deliciousness in I put all 4 tablespoons into the mix. Can you see the large layer of cinnamon?

They still taste delicious even though they’re a bit (okay, a lot) on the cinnamon-y side. From mound of chocolaty goop:

To neatly rolled balls of deliciousness.

OM NOM NOM.  Nutritional info available here, although it says they’re high in sugar Calorie Count forgets that it isn’t high in refined sugar. Woo hoo!

What should I call these? “Raw cinnamon truffles” and “balls of deliciousness” just isn’t cutting it for me…