Okay, so I am totally freaking out. The weather forecast? For tomorrow?
SNOW.
As in, you know, the flakey white cold stuff that comes down from the sky (at least, that’s what I think happens–I’ve seen snow all of twice past the age of four). Yeah, that’s supposed to happen. Here. Tomorrow.
I will refrain from talking about that anymore today. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. I promise pictures if it snows. Now, in the meantime we’ll talk about food because that’s about all I can think about these days. That, and work work work, which is not a bad thing. But food–first of all, the other day we had this, only we were out of dried thyme so I used ground thyme, which I thought was fantastic. I’m not sure I’ve used it before, or at least I don’t use it often. We used a little less of the ground thyme than we would have the dried. And we had a huge pile of the sweetest, tastiest green beans I’ve had in a long time. The best part? Everything was on sale, and the meal for the both of us cost less than $5! The thighs were on sale and were a little over $2 for the package of four (organic and free range, even). And the green beans (also organic) were on sale as well. They were frozen, which I normally am not over the moon about, but the thighs ended up needing a lot more oven time than the recipe called for, so the beans ended up cooking quite a long time too, which made them much tastier than usual (I just had them in the pan with butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper).
I’m really wanting to find some good humanely raised pastured meats from a local farm, so I’ve been doing a little web hunting and have come across this farm that just so happens to be looking for a co-op in Wilmington. So, anyone game? I’m not done with my research, so I’m not sure yet that I’ll be going with this particular farm, but I’m looking for others who want some healthful meats you don’t have to feel guilty about. I’ve felt more urgency about it since we went to West Virginia and on our way up passed a couple of trucks carrying crates of turkeys–their feathers were nearly pecked off, and, in their open crates on the backs of the large tractor trailers, they were completely exposed to the cold winter weather. Go to YouTube and find clips of Jamie Oliver’s “Fowl Dinners,” but be warned, it’s graphic.
Because I’m going link-happy right now, here’s a podcast you simply must watch because Jamie Oliver is awesome, and the recipes here are quick, easy, and tasty: Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food (you can watch videos here, or you can go to your iTunes store and search in the podcasts for the videos). And here is eatwild.com’s Grassfed Basics.
Um, snow. Snow!
4 Comments
If you try to check out farms, and I try with you, I will forbid you to eat any meats from those farms. I may buy all the animals, though.
Oh, those poor animals.
…yay snow! But it will not come. Because I brought work home for tomorrow in case it does. Which means it won’t. Just like packing an umbrella… pack an umbrella? It won’t rain.
Low in Orlando today? 30 degrees–unbelievable!
And great blog!
I was actually stopping by to drop you a link to localharvest.org, so now you’ve made my comment relevant. Click on the CSA tab and put in your zip code. I just found a local (for me) farm where I can get chicken and pork directly from a family farm, and they look to be very well organized with their sales to the community. Even as a very small “household,” I can order eggs by the half dozen and buy 1 pound birds. Chicken guano for my own garden, if I want it. Also, the scrap parts, in the event that I ever do want to take up cat food-making. Pretty cool stuff. I bet you have some good options in your area too!
I’m definitely going to check that link out. How exciting about the extra bits for cat food and the fertilizer for the garden! If you want a good book on making pet food, look for Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Cats and Dogs. (http://www.drpitcairn.com) That’s the book my vet recommended. There are other great ones as well. We’re still going back and forth on the whole cat food thing. We had made one recipe that Gracie loved, and then we tried a new one (this time with beef and millet) and she either won’t touch it or throws up when she does. So, I guess this batch is going to Oliver and I’ll have to go back to the chicken-and-cornmeal one.
Kirsten, can you believe it’s actually snowing? When I woke up this morning and it wasn’t snowing, I thought it wouldn’t happen. And now it is!! Also, if you are an animal lover, then you’ll be especially interested in learning about farms like this one. Do a little research about factory farms, and then we’ll talk.