Tonight's Menu: "Modified Larb"

Photo Credit

Paul and I love Thai cuisine. One of Paul's favorites is a beef salad called Larb (pronounced Laab). Larb has a potent tang to it due to the lime juice...and if there's one thing I love, it's lime juice! I don't usually like to follow recipes too closely, so for tonight I'm improvising on this tasty dish to utilize what we have in the fridge and pantry:

1lb ground beef

2 Tbsp Sesame oil

a couple cloves of minced garlic

1/2 a red onion finely chopped

1/2 cup Lime Juice (Divided)

1 tsp hot chile oil

1 bunch Scallions (chopped)

1 bunch Cilantro (chopped)

1 Cucumber (peeled and chopped finely)

Thai rice noodles broken into pieces and cooked

Spring greens mix

Mix in the garlic, red onion, chile oil and half the lime juice in the ground beef and let sit for a couple minutes. Put some sesame oil (or another kind of oil) in a wok or skillet and heat until your wok is nice and hot. Add the beef mixture until browned. Turn off the heat and mix in the rest of the lime juice, scallions, cilantro, cucumber and cooked noodles. Serve in bowls over a bed of fresh spring greens.

Enjoy!

Thankfulness in the Kitchen: Free Range Turkey for Dinner

So many, many things to be thankful for this November night. Seasonal blessings and farmyard bounty brought to the kitchen and shared at the mealtime table sit high on the list. (As does the annual Cranberry Apple Chutney; see recipe below.) The 2009 Food Groups, Farm Finds, and delicious celebrations of nourishment and life have urged my heart to praise a Creator who so intricately designed a system of sustenance, renewal, and the joy of harvesting the delicious fruits of labor...

The story of this year's heritage Thanksgiving turkey began many months ago when, Genevieve, our raw milk source, informed me that they would be raising free range fowl on their farm... I placed my order right there on the spot, and over the course of the spring and summer, I returned and found the little ones growing into mighty fine birds. (Benjamin Franklin would have been proud.)

When this afternoon's table was set and the turkey served up alongside the traditional holiday fare, my thankfulness extended toward our friendly farmers who raised the bird, the sun and rain that grew the grass, the soil that (temporarily) hosted the grubs before they became a turkey snack...and ultimately, the One who first placed us in a garden and called all things good...

A Turkey Year in Review
Visiting the little guys early on...

We didn't choose any one turkey in particular (nor were there names involved!)...but collectively they were a hilarious sight to behold.
A genuine "Spring Chicken"
And oh, the funny sight of adolescent geese.
They reminded me of me at thirteen.
But there must be hope:
A return in the late summer revealed elegant, graceful birds in place of the original gangly, awkward flock...

Pokrov Farm
Sandy, Oregon

And here, the turkeys have reached their awkward adolescence. Spring Chicken no more...

Autumn came, and came to a close...likewise the turkey's life of free ranging on the farm. However, I am grateful to know that the end came not at the expense of a quality life for the bird; respect for Creation and care of living things go hand in hand with the the thankfulness for the nourishment they provide. I can't explain the silly excitement in my chest when I carried the butcher paper wrapped turkey out to the car the night that Ted and I drove to the farm to make the pick-up. A short two weeks later, we celebrated!
Thank you to my father in law, Dave, for his delicious brining and masterful grilling on the Traeger , and thanks to my husband, Ted, for the carving skills... I can't wait to report back on the turkey stock magic I plan to work tomorrow...

***

Cranberry Apple Chutney
(From the Williamsburg Manor Bed and Breakfast)

1 lb. fresh cranberries
1 C. sugar
1/4 C. red wine vinegar
1/3 C. sugar
1//2 t. cloves
1/2 C. chopped walnuts
1 C. water
2 green apples
2 T. lemon juice
1 T. cinnamon
1 T. grated ginger

In a saucepan, combine the cranberries and one cup of the sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Peel, core, and cube the apples and place them in another saucepan along with the vinegar, lemon juice, 1/3 C. sugar, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and walnuts. Lightly cook the mixture until the apples are soft.

Combine the apple and cranberry mixtures and allow to cool. Refrigerate.

My leftover food for thought: I love using the extras on turkey sandwiches...but best of all is this: spread heaping spoonfuls over a wedge of brie, crumble brown sugar around the sides, and broil until it's just the right texture for spreading on apple slices or bread... Mmm. Heaven!

***

~Bethany

Grass Fed Beef for sale!!

Hi Everyone,

One of Paul's professors raises grass-fed beef as a hobby and is looking to sell some! Here is the email I recieved about his grass-fed beef:

"The beef is virtually organic (but not certified as such): it is all pasture and hay fed (year around), with some grain in the hardest winter months. There are no hormones or other sinister additives. I use no herbicides or artificial fertilizer on the pastures. The present beef (Hereford) available is half of a beef weighing 487 pounds (it was a big cow!) hanging weight. I’m selling at $2.45 per pound (which is about .14 below retail) and is the total cost per pound (I pay for wrapping). The meat will be custom cut in about 10-14 days, according to the customers’ orders. The half may be split in two; or someone could choose the front quarter and someone else the rear quarter. The other half is already sold. The end result of trimming off fat will bring down the total weight of meat taken home. I estimate the space needed will be a little less than 3 cu feet per quarter (or half of the half).
I’ll be slaughtering another beef in about 6-8 weeks; it will weigh about 600 pounds hanging wt., with a half being about 300 pounds. Let me know if there are any who are interested. I usually deliver to the customer; the cutting and wrapping is done at Shy Ann Meats in Oregon City."

If you are interested in purchasing a half or quarter of these cows please email me at sustainablefoodforthought@gmail.com. First come first served, priority will be given to Food Group members! For those of you who don't know, hanging weight includes the fat and some bone, so the actual price per pound will average out higher than $2.45 per pound. Usually 75% of the hanging weight is the actual meat. This is a great price considering the butchering, cutting, and wrapping is included! If you have questions, I'd be happy to talk with you.

~Emily

Mmmm...

Paul and I recently made delicious burgers out of some of the ground beef from the 1/2 a cow we purchased early in the year. They were delicious! We garnished our burgers with tomatoes and lettuce from our CSA. Next I need to learn how to make homemade buns!

I JUST HAD A COW...

Well, not really...but I DID just buy 1/2 of a cow! This past week I started looking into buying a grass fed cow from local sources. Many ranches and farms will butcher a cow and sell it by quarters for a set price per pound. Often times it tends to be more economical, the only issue is if you have enough freezer space!

After emailing several ranches and farms I came across a man selling a cow up in Brush Prairie. He was selling it for the cheapest I've seen because the cow wouldn't breed and was just eating him out of house and home (or barn and field!) Anyways, after talking with him on the phone for a good while, I asked if I could come check out the cow in person.

After going to the Portland Farmers market (and getting some yummy items) Paul and I along with Ted and Bethany drove up to see our potential cow. Not only was the farm beautiful and expansive, it was very well maintained and healthy. The cow was HUGE! It stood as tall as a horse and was definitely the alpha cow. We talked more with the farmer and then amongst ourselves and decided to go for it!

I really enjoyed the whole process. Not only did I learn a bunch about the beef industry, but I really learned what questions to ask. Questions like: Does your price include the butchering/processing/wrapping fee? Has your cow had any injections, if so for what? How long does the meat last in the freezer without freezer burn? etc...

Overall it has been a really educational experience... and we're going to have meat for a long time!

Can't wait to see you all at our next meeting, Wednesday March 25th at 7pm.
~Emily