Meat Holiday...

I'm in the middle of reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver and I came across a quote regarding the eating of animals that does a good job expressing how I feel about the matter.

"I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable in order to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it to be from an animal that has lived a pleasant, uncrowded life outdoors, on bountiful pasture, with good water nearby and trees for shade. And I am getting as fussy about food plants."

Wendel Berry

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a coworker regarding the shooting of animals while hunting. Although he, like I, had gone hunting in his teenage years and shot and killed a deer, he said he disagreed with the idea, saying it was cruel to kill an innocent animal in the wild. I, on the other hand, think it cruel to farm animals, equally as innocent, in a factory manner and then kill them, leaving their lives devoid of any purpose or meaning.
If we all had to kill a mammal or bird for our meal just once in our adolescent or adult lives, we would have a new respect for the food we eat and the people that provide that food.
It's certainly not easy to kill, but is it easier to live without eating meat?
I think not. In fact, I think living completely dependent on vegetables is as destructive as living with meat, if not more so.

This will shock most people, as it goes against the grain (most think that if we were all vegetarians we'd be better as a society), but animals allow farms to be sustainable and self reliant, not depending on fossil fuels for fertilizer, tilling and pest control. There are farms near where I live that use horses as draft power, use manure to fertilize fields, and use symbiotic relationships between animals to keep pests under control.

Animals are also able to make use of non-arable land that may either be too hilly, not fertile enough, or even land that doesn't have enough people to do the work it takes to harvest acres upon acres of plant foods.
Animals, especially ruminants, are able to eat grasses that grow in nutritionally poor soils and convert that energy into manure for plants and food for people. In fact, humans can obtain much more nutritional density from animals than from grains, fruit and vegetables. We're really good at digesting fat and protein but no good at digesting cellulose.

My family eats humanely raised meat several times a week but not every day. We rotate between fish, poultry and mammal, and we're thankful for what we have. I've done the dirty deed several times in the past and it has taught me the value of life.

Needless to say, it's been way long since I last wrote.
I'm not really used to the blog thing. I stopped keeping a diary when my handwriting became so bad that I couldn't figure what I'd been writing, and that was over 15 years ago.

***

I love to cook but have been finding it difficult to find the time to make really good long and slow meals like stew, beans and soup. So the wife and I got a slow cooker after reading it would improve our lives, i.e. more time with each other and less time cooking.
We ended up with the All Clad ceramic 6.5 QT. It's great. I have nothing to compare it to but it's made a few really good meals so far.

I've been experimenting with the different settings, low and high, and the amounts of time on both.
My best successes have been the following recipes:

Ingredients:

1 lb beef chuck for stew

1 lb boneless short ribs (you might want to skip the chuck and just use two lbs short ribs... they were awesome)

(I cut the meat in 1-2 inch cubes)

1 med onion, chopped coarsly

1 turnip, 1 inch cubes

3 carrots

1 potato, 1 inch cubes

1 cup mushrooms

2 Tblsp flour

4 cloves garlic, chopped coarse

3 sprigs thyme

3 bay leaves

1 Tblsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tblsp cider vinegar or red wine vinegar or malt vinegar (don't use rice vinegar... too strong)

1 cup red wine

1 bottle beer

Method:

Salt and pepper the beef liberally.

Brown the beef in a Dutch oven. The meat has enough fat that you don't have to add any if you don't want. Also, the burned bits on the pan bottom are good, they'll add flavor later.

Brown until meat is no longer red and juices are running.

Add all the chopped veggies (except garlic and herbs) to the pan with a few good, hefty pinches of salt. The salt helps draw moisture out of the veggies and helps to start deglazing the pan.

When the veggies begin to sweat, add two tablespoons flour. Stir well to coat and cook about 2 minutes.

When heated through and the flour is sticking/burning to the pan bottom, add the wine and vinegar along with the garlic and herbs.

Scrape the pan bottom to loosen browned bits.

When all bubbly, add the beer.

Stir well. When all comes to a simmer, transfer to slow cooker and go low and slow for 10 hours.

I cooked this stew on low for 10 hours and the meat, especially the short ribs, were succulent and fell apart in the mouth. The root veggies were not too soft and the flavors were deep, sweet, tangy, earthy and warm. It snowed today too, which made the evening ideal for beef stew.

I also tried my hand at a beef and bean chili, which wasn't what I thought it would be.

Chili recipe for slow cooker

Ingredients:

1 lg onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped (1/2" pcs)

1 lb ground beef (I used 85%)

4 cloves garlic

3 Tblsp chili powder

1 tsp oregano

2 Tblsp flour

1 cup red wine

1 cup tomato (canned whole, sauce, fresh, whatever)

1 1/2 cup water (I used close to 3 but I think that was too much)

1 cup dried red beans, kidney or similar, see below for how I prepare them*

salt and pepper

Method:

In a large Dutch oven or similar over medium high flame, saute beef until uniformly brown and rendered.

Add celery and onions and two good dashes of salt (this helps draw some water out of the veggies, caramalizing them and concentrating their flavors). Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until transparent/translucent. Add garlic, chili powder and oregano, stir and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, incorporating thouroughly and mixing continuously so the flour cooks and doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan; cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add wine and stir well. Mixture should begin to thicken. Add water, stirring continuously and turn heat on high. Add tomato and beans and bring to boil.

At this point you can transfer to the slow cooker or set it aside to cool and then place in the refrigerator until the next morning.

I cook on low for 10 hours.

Serve with shaved cheddar as a garnish on the chili and hearty bread on the side. Beer works well too.

*I prepare the beans two days in advance as follows:

Day one- Soak them overnight in enough clean water to cover the beans by 2-3 inches (they'll expand).

Day two- In the morning, pour off the water and rinse the beans. Let them sit in a bowl all day and add them to the recipe by day's end.

This preparation neutralizes phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors and helps breakdown difficult to digest complex sugars.

I think the problem with this chili was the beans were old. The didn't get soft like slow beans should get. There was also too much liquid in the pot. the flavor was pretty good but the texture could have been a little silkier with more body.

***

Thanksgiving should be interesting.
I usually don't get along well with my brother in the kitchen but I always get sucked into helping out with the meals, especially the big holiday meals.
More on that some other time.