Louisa Enright's Blog

Turkey Tracks:  March 22, 2012

Robb Wolf’s Reaction to the Red Meat=Cancer Study

Son Michael sent me Robb Wolf’s Reaction to the red meat=cancer study recently released by Harvard.

Robb Wolf is a biochemist who decided to blend his knowledge of nutrition with healthy exercise.  I wrote about his book in my last Tipping Points Essay (No. 41) and will use his analysis to discuss the dangers of eating grains and legumes.  That information is in many reputable places now, so I’ll also include some of them.  But Robb does a really good job of simply explaining the issues.

What I like about Robb’s reaction is that he goes to some lengths to explain that it’s NOT ok to use badly crafted scientific studies that support your personal belief system.  He references some bad studies that support low-carb diets to illustrate and calls for a return to using solid science that searches for accuracy and, dare I say it, “truth.”

Here’s Robb’s reaction:

http://www.robbwolf.com/2012/03/14/red-meat-part-healthy-diet/

And, here’s Robb’s book:

Turkey Tracks:  March 4, 2012

Beet Salad

This picture of a beet salad has been waiting to be discussed since the Christmas holidays when Mike, Tami, and the kiddos were here.

It was too good to just move on and ignore it, so here it is.

It all started when we ha some roasted beets…

Just wash some beets, put them into a covered pan, put the pan into the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour.  Less for small beets; more for larger ones.  A knife will slide right in when they are done.  I also put about a 1/2 cup of water into the pan just to prevent the oozing beet juices from burning.  Let the beets cool.  The skins will slip off easily if you rub the beets with a paper towel.  If the beets are still too warm to handle, stick a fork in each beet, hold it up, and rub the paper towel of the surface while protecting your fingers from the heat.

Lay out a bed of spinach and put the chopped beets (bite sized) over.  We had some of our dried cherry tomatoes, so those went on.  Diced, fresh are also nice.  We had some leftover cooked string beans, so they went on.  Sliced onion.  Red onion would be even nicer, but I’d never make a special trip to the store for one ingredient as I tend to cook with what I have on hand.  Blue cheese crumbled over all.  And the dressing is a very mustardy, sharp, garlicky vinaigrette–lovely with the sweet beets and onion.  Salt and cracked black pepper.

There wasn’t a piece left at the end of the meal.

The picture does not really do this salad justice.  It’s fabulous for a dinner party.

PS:  The tablecloth is a hand-crocheted piece with butterflies in the pattern that I bought at our Coastal Quilters fall auction for, I think, $30!!!!  It has lived on the table since and washes and dries easily.   Thank you, thank you to whomever put this piece into the auction.  It is loved and cherished now.

Turkey Tracks:  February 24, 2012

Maine Sea Salt

I’ve been emailing with Stephen Cook of Maine Sea Salts, and he assures me that he does not heat his seawater in any way to make his salt.  The white color is because he is solar drying sea water that does not, itself, have coloring ingredients.   He told me that the colors in salt (grey, pink, black) come from the clay deposits where salt is harvested.

The url I saw that shows water being heated in large, wooden half-barrels dates back to the late 1990s.  He no longer uses that method.  He totally uses solar drying methods now.  Stephen is working toward getting that reference and picture removed from the internet.  I had a feeling that “old” internet entries was the problem, so I am happy to report that Maine Sea Salt will have all the many nutrients salt should have.

Go Stephen!

Turkey Tracks:  February 9, 2012

Cheryl Wixson’s Homemade Ketchup

In our Cheryl Wixson’s Kitchen CSA last month, we got some homemade ketchup:

I keep thinking about pouring some into a spoon and just eating it.  Seriously, this ketchup leaps into my mind on a regular basis.  I find myself thinking about what I can cook that I can put it on.

Next year, I’m definitely going to try to make some for our winter eating.  But, I doubt mine will ever be as good as this one is!

Eat your heart out Kelly Enright!

PS:  Cheryl just sent the list of goodies in our February box which I’ll pick up next Tuesday at the Belfast Coop.  I can hardly wait!

Turkey Tracks:  February 2, 2012

Lee Burdett’s Blog:  Well Fed Family

I’ve added Lee Burdett’s blog, WELL FED FAMILY, to my links below.  Take a look.  She’s got some great recipes on that blog, with really good pictures to help you see what’s what.

Enjoy!

Turkey Tracks:  February 2, 2012

Preserving Garlic

Some of our garlic is starting to go soft and to mold–especially the really big bulbs.  It’s that time of year.

Last year, I jollied the bulbs along by putting them into the refrigerator.  I swore then that I’d take the time to clean them and do SOMETHING with them next year.  For those of you who don’t grow things, one plants garlic in the fall, it winters over in the ground, sprouts in the spring, grows all summer–giving you fresh garlic scapes just when you’re hungry for fresh garlic taste–and one harvests in the early fall when the plants start to turn brown.  After pulling up the bulbs, one dries them in a warm dry place, which makes the true, strong garlic taste develop.  After that, one cuts off the stalks and stores the bulbs.  They need cool, dry storage.

Also, EAT GARLIC!.  It has the most amazing chemical properties which can build up your immune system, drive off colds and infections, and keep you generally healthy.  It didn’t get the reputation for vampire protection for nothing!  If you start coming down with a cold, mash a fresh garlic clove into some butter, spread it over a cracker or something like that, and eat it.  Salt helps.  Three times a day.  You’ll notice that help is occurring almost right away.

So, this year, I brined a jar of garlic, which took care of about half of our crop.  You can see what I have left to do.  You can also see the dusky blue light outside my kitchen window

I used a recipe from NOURISHING TRADITIONS since it uses whey.

Brining Garlic

In a quart Mason jar, place the peeled cloves of about 12 heads of garlic.  (If you roll them under your hands or in a towel, the cloves break free easily–all except for the pesky little ones.)

Add 2 teaspoons of dried oregano (I used a savory herb mixture with a Mediterranean base), 2 teaspoons sea salt, 2 Tablespoons of whey.  If you don’t have whey (you drip it out of yogurt), use another 2 teaspoons of sea salt.  Add water to cover, but leave a good inch free at the top.  You’ll notice I have my jar sitting in a saucer to catch drips if the fermentation process gets going in earnest and bubbles start going over the top.

Leave the jar on the counter for about three days, turning it upside down and shaking it a few times a day to distribute the juices.  Then, put it in a cool place.

You can use the garlic like fresh.  The juice is great in salad dressings.  Or, I suspect, a little would jive up soups.

I’m also going to make some GARLIC ELIXIR–from a recipe in WELL BEING JOURNAL, Jan/Feb 2012.  They took it from Doug Oster’s TOMATOES, GARLIC, BASIL:  THE SIMPLE PLEASURES OF GROWING AND COOKING YOUR GARDEN’S MOST VERSATILE VEGGIES.  Sounds like a good book.

Garlic Elixir

1 cup of garlic cloves, peeled

1/4 cup parsley

1 teaspoon salt (sea salt please)

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

Olive oil (1/2 to 1 cup)

1 tsp. black pepper

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

optional:  chopped black olives or capers to taste

Process garlic and parsley in a blender until chopped fine– put optional ingredients in first before blending the garlic and parley if using.  Place in a mixing bowl.  Add salt, vinegar, pepper and lemon juice, stir in olive oil.  Place in a glass jar and cover with thin layer of olive oil.  Will store in refrigerator for up to a month.

Wow!  I’m guessing some of that added to salad dressing would make some fabulous salad dressing.  Wonder if one could freeze it…

Push the cloves do

xxx

Turkey Tracks:  February 2, 2012

Using Dried Zucchini Slices

The zucchini slices I dried last summer have been a great success this winter.  Here’s a pic–with the 2012 Moon Maggy in the background I see.

To recap, when the glut of zukes comes in, I’ve tried to shred them and freeze them for winter soups or to put into the dog food.  But, the frozen shredded zukes develop this metallic taste.  And, the bits are positively slimy.  So, this past summer I tried slicing and drying them–having had great success drying halved small tomatoes.

One can just eat the zuke chips or use them in dips.  But, what we’re finding is that they are terrific thrown into soup in about the last five minutes to reconstitute.  They hold their shape and texture, are a delicious addition, and hold up to reheating soup.

Success!

We’re down to our last handful of tomatoes.  I dried a TON of them last summer before the late blight hit.  MORE next summer.

Turkey Tracks:  January 23, 2012

Blue Hubbard Squash

I bought a Blue Hubbard squash in the late fall to roast for the winter.

Blue Hubbards are HUGE.  And they are legendary for being really, really delicious.

I tried to grow them last year, but it just wasn’t a good squash year in my garden.  I’ve already ordered the seeds to try again next year.

I put the squash next to other items in the kitchen so you could tell how big it it.  John had to take it to the garage and slice it into two parts with a saw.  The seeds are also supposed to be terrific, and I love to roast squash and pumpkin seeds, but I didn’t this time around.  Too much going on with everyone here for Christmas.  A missed opportunity I now regret.

Here it is cut in half.  It has beautifully orange flesh.

I put each half cut side down in a large pan coated lightly with coconut oil or olive oil and roasted about an hour.  You can tell from the smell when they are done.  And, you can check for sure by piercing with a sharp knife.

I scooped out the flesh and froze it in serving sizes for us.  And, of course we ate it that night.  I put it in a pot, heated it, mashed it, and added some cream, some butter, some maple syrup, some salt, and some cinnamon and nutmeg.  Delicious!

Add some eggs, and you’d have a great pie filling.

xxx

Turkey Tracks:  January 20, 2012

Some Favorite Pictures

Bryan took this picture on their visit in September.  It took me a while to pry it out of his camera, but it arrived not too long ago.

We had our house trim painted in September–thus the ladders next to the rock wall.   And you can see how social our chickens are.  They’ll come get in your lap if you let them–which Ailey is clearing worrying about.  Chickens are especially friendly if you’re eating anything.  In this pic they’re after the millet treat next to us.

Here’s another favorite picture–taken over Christmas when Mike, Tami, and the four kiddos were with us.

Talula and I were making stuffed green peppers–using the meatloaf recipe that’s already on this blog.  Here’s another view:

Here’s a pic of the stuffed green peppers ready to go into the oven.  They are topped with the roasted tomatoes I made last August and September and froze in mason jars.  That recipe is on the blog as well.  It takes about 45 minutes at 350 degrees to cook them.

Tami or Mike took this pic of John and Penny, who is the most affectionate dog.

Maryann came over Christmas and spent hours and hours playing with the children, who truly love her and her gentle ways with them:

Kelly came to us with a VERY loose tooth.  It took days and days with all of us periodically checking “how loose is it now,” but eventually it came out.  To our surprise, he lost the OTHER ONE the next day.  The tooth fairy only had a $5 bill found late at night after everyone else was in bed and, so, was completely broke after two nights of lost teeth.

Here are the kiddos at the Snow Bowl, which is walking distance from our house.  We signed them up for a week of ski lessons while they were here, and to our amazement, by Friday, the boys were riding the T-Bar lift alone and Talula had mastered the Mighty Might Lift and the beginning slope in fine fashion.  Wilhelmina made progress, but kept running out of energy and would fall and lie down in the snow.  (Skiing is hard work.)  Her teacher told Tami the following:  “This little girl won’t come up out of the snow.  She told me she’d get up if I gave her chocolate.”

And, of course we got a Christmas tree.  And of course it’s Maine grown.

We put it outside on the upper porch and decorated it with white lights and pine cones.  We never did slow down enough to string popcorn and cranberries for it.

Turkey Tracks:  January 18,, 2012

Cheryl Wixson’s Kitchen CSA Postscript

Here’s our January CSA order:

How Cool is THIS!