Category: Meat

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Growing Bunnies 06.12.17

 

 

According to some quick Internet research these little fellas are probably close to three weeks old.  They’ll be hopping away soon.

The summer after the terrible tomato plant project I tried growing cucumbers.  That didn’t work out too well either.

But bunnies?  I can grow bunnies.

 

 

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Semi-Organic Beef Vegetable Soup

  • 1 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 C sweet onion, diced
  • 2 large carrots,peeled and diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 small Yukon Gold potatoes, diced, skin on
  • 1 medium green squash, diced
  • 1 to 1 1/4 pound top blade roast
  • 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes with juice
  • 4 large white button mushrooms, thick dice
  • 1/2 C frozen corn
  • garlic powder, to taste
  • pinch dried parsley
  • pinch dried thyme
  • 1 quart organic beef broth
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Makes about four healthy servings.

  1. In a small stockpot heat olive oil until hot.  Salt and pepper the roast.  Brown the beef on both sides over medium high heat.
  2. Add the celery and onion.  Reduce heat to medium and saute for several minutes.
  3. Add garlic powder and thyme.  Add enough broth to almost but not completely cover the roast.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer.
  4. Simmer slowly for two hours.
  5. After two hours, remove the roast to a cutting board and allow to cool.
  6. Add the rest of the beef broth and tomatoes to the pot.
  7. Add the potatoes and carrots. Simmer for 30 minutes.
  8. After 30 minutes add the squash , mushrooms and corn.  Simmer for another 30 minutes.
  9. When the roast is cooled, trim any excess fat, cube and add to the soup.
  10.  Adjust your seasonings.  Add parsley.

My meals since Friday evening have been soup, cereal, soup, soup, toast/banana, soup, and soup.   The jeans are getting a little loose.  I cannot remember a weekend of such healthy eating ever.  Yes, The Boss is still sick.  Friday I made chicken soup.  Last night I made Vegetarian Vegetable Soup.  Today I decided upon Beef Vegetable for a change in pace.

A high quality beef vegetable soup is the end result of the right cut of beef and some high quality broth.  This recipe is semi-organic because most of the ingredients were organic but some were not.  The beef broth was hand selected store bought prepared organic broth.  I used top blade which IMO makes a big difference  due to the cut and marbling.

Tips

I remembered the mushrooms.   Use vegetables you have on hand.  I also decided to leave out peas because peas are not one of my favorite vegetables.  The corn adds a touch of sweetness.  Note the roast is braised whole for several hours, cooled, cubed and returned to the soup.  The beef stays tender this way.  You won’t end up with tiny hockey pucks.

A salad on the side and crusty bread would make this a meal.

So would a three pound top blade roast.  But with that much beef you might as well make Pot Roast.

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Turkey Ragu 2

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This recipe is Tiny Taste Tester Approved.

One of the more interesting aspects of capturing your recipes online is seeing how your recipes change over time.

“I made your sauce.  I followed the recipe but it doesn’t taste the same.”

So I look at my original Turkey Ragu recipe.  Sure enough, I made it differently today.  Too many episodes of Food Network in your head changes your recipes.  Just my opinion but I’m sticking with it.

So I look at The Boss and say, “How about a fresh batch of meat sauce?”

And this is how I made it today with the changes from Ragu One in bold.

Turkey Ragu 2

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced plus 1/2 to 1 T garlic granules

1/2 cup sweet onion, diced

1 medium carrot, fine dice

1 celery stalk, fine dice

1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 fresh green pepper, finely diced

1 pound ground turkey (use 93/7)

2 T dried basil

1 T dried oregano

Pinch of Thyme

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup white wine

1 28 oz can tomatoes diced San Marzano style with juice

1 28 oz can tomatoes, crushed

1 6 oz can tomato paste

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Brown sugar

1.  Heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over high heat in a large saucepot.  I prefer the taste of Spanish olive oils and Borges is my favorite.  If you can’t find Borges look for the Star brand which is made by the same company.  Substitute your favorite regular olive oil if desired.

2.  When the oil is hot, add the garlic, onion, carrot, celery and green pepper.  Saute for a few minutes until limp.

3.  Add more olive oil to prevent sticking and add the ground turkey.  Break up the meat and brown.  Add basil, oregano, and thyme and continue browning until the herbs become aromatic.  With the heat still on high, add the wine and cook until the wine is almost completely evaporated.

4.  Add the can of diced tomatoes with juice.  Toss in the bay leaves, mushrooms, and green pepper.  Stir until well mixed and lower heat to medium.  The sauce ingredients should be bubbling mildly.  Leave uncovered until the tomatoes release their juices and the liquid in the pot is mostly evaporated.  This step concentrates the flavors and will take 15 to 20 minutes.

5.  When the sauce becomes thickened, add the can of crushed tomatoes and the can of tomato paste.  Stir to incorporate well.  Partially cover, turn the heat to low, and simmer for a minimum of one hour.

6.  Taste for seasonings and add more basil or oregano if desired.  Salt and pepper if you must but there is plenty of salt in the canned tomatoes.  If the tomatoes are highly acidic, add brown sugar a half teaspoonful at a time until the acidity is reduced to your liking.  A little bit of sugar will cut the acidity and add smoothness to the ragu.

7.  Find some cooked pasta and plenty of grated cheese.  Eat!

 

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What’s In Your Hot Dog?

Source: What’s in your hot dog? A histological comparative analysis | Medical Journal of Australia

Where do we begin? The results of this study were surprising to these authors. Although the absence of identifiable squamous mucosa definitively refutes the oral and anal mucosa hypothesis, the truth, if possible, seems much worse. The surprising lack of skeletal muscle may have been depressingly expected; however, the wide variety of tissues present and the extensive amount of fat making up the majority of the specimen were not. And as stated before, the origin of the recognisable vegetable matter does not bear thinking about, but one result of this study is that these authors may never eat hot dogs again.

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The Unoriginal Chili Lime Rub

The Unoriginal Chili Lime Rub

Wet –
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
fresh-squeezed lime juice from 1 lime
Several dashes of your favorite hot sauce (I used Frank’s)

Dry –
1 teaspoon each of the following:

chili powder
brown sugar
oregano

1/2 teaspoon each of the following:

ground cumin
paprika
onion powder
garlic powder
sea salt
ground pepper

It is summer and it is hot. We’ve had several 100 degree plus days already and when the heat is on I think about grilling. Don’t heat up the kitchen and minimize the mess. Fearing the Rut I began to think about the limes I had in the fridge and thought “I wonder if there are any chili lime marinade recipes on the Internet?”.

There are literally dozens of chili lime recipes on the Internet. So I looked at several and while different they were all basically the same. They all looked like taco seasoning with oil and lime juice tossed in. So for the record, I didn’t steal this rub. But since they’re all very, very similar I’m calling this stuff The Unoriginal Chili Lime Rub.

The recipe makes enough rub for a little over a pound of animal protein. If you are cooking for a crowd doubling or tripling this recipe should work out fine. I made boneless chicken breasts to test the rub and the meat turned out well. Unlike marinades, just rub on the rub and let the protein sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes. Grill until done. Eat.

  1. Mix all dry ingredients together.
  2. Add the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.  You should have a wet rub with the consistency of a loose paste.  If the rub is too thick, add a touch more oil.  The hot sauce can be omitted or kicked up to taste.
  3. Slather (like this word?) your animal protein with the rub, making certain the entire surface area is SLATHERED.
  4. Allow the protein to sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes before hitting the grill.

Tips:

The rub was so tasty The Boss and I decided it was a keeper.  I’m looking forward to using this rub on chicken thighs, beef, and pork.  NO FISH.  Really, no fish.  That could get ugly.  TOFU?  You try that first and let me know.

 

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Tri Tip – Tip #3

The gang was coming over for dinner.  I wanted something simple and tasty.  The weather was perfect.  I had just purchased a full tank of propane.  It was time to grill again.  For decades our go to marinade has been the Iki Marinade.

My next thought was chicken.  But the local store was selling tri tip steaks for $4 a pound.  So I bought a package.  If you’re familiar with  this particular cut you know you typically get irregular pieces of steak in any given package.  Butchers are smart.  They will flip a piece of meat so that the side facing the buyer looks awesome.  You buy, take the package home, and open only to discover one of the pieces is really, really small and someone will get the pipsqueak.   When you see a picture of this steak you’ll  understand what I’m talking about.

Irregular shaped steaks are a pain in the ass to cook.  So I cut each steak in half and pounded the hell out of them until they were about a half inch thick.  The flattening helps tenderize the meat and grill more evenly than when left whole.

You’re welcome.

 

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