Contented Cows?

"Comox Valley Beef, raised on pasture and finished with grain from Surgenor's Brewery."

The above quote is taken from a packet of stewing beef that I picked up at Brambles Market last week.  Some day I'm going to have to find out about the grain they feed these cattle.  Is it a by-product of the brewing process?  Does that mean it's been fermented?  If so wouldn't it still contain some alcohol content?  Talk about your contented cows!
 

Dairy Police

Was out with friends last night. During the course of discussion, one women revealed that she has access to unpasteurized milk. I was teasing her, calling her a scofflaw, and asking if she was worried about being arrested by the dairy police. Another friend pointed out that it wasn't illegal to drink raw milk, though it is illegal to sell it in Canada. Odd. You'd think law enforcement officials would want to quash the demand and therefore wipe out the need for a supply. Don't they use the same logic with drugs and prostitution? Shouldn't there be a similar branch of police work devoted to investigating illegal milk users? I imagined undercover cops dressed like cows trying to entrap raw milk addicts. There was even a brief enactment of how such a scenario might go down. Did I mention I have rather silly friends? 


For a more serious look into the pros and cons of raw milk check out this CBC News article.

“We’ll Make Great Pets”

I saw this trailer for "Daybreakers" a while ago. I haven't seen the film, but the clip shows vampires farming humans for their blood in a rather horrifying facility. No green pastures for us! Kind of makes me think about factory farming in a new way. Maybe we should be setting a better example for whatever comes after us. When it's our turn to be exploited as a food source, we're going to wish we'd modeled more humane practices.

Note: The title is a quote from Pets by Porno for Pyros.

Five Dollar Brambles Challenge

Hello and a very belated Happy New Year! 

I haven't written in so long I feel like my writing muscles have seized up.  In an attempt to ease myself back into a routine without injuring myself,  I've decided have a little fun with this first post of the decade.  


Retail sales tend to slump in January, as people suddenly become frugal after over-indulging in December.  Downtown Courtenay businesses have been hit particularly hard this year.  Media coverage of local flooding, while providing us with some impressive photos (my favourite is of people canoeing across a baseball diamond), has shoppers thinking twice before heading into town.  This made my shopping yesterday particularly easy, as I had the stores pretty much to myself, but it left me rather concerned about some of our local retailers.


In an effort to generate some business for my favourite downtown Courtenay shop, I'm challenging those of you in the Comox Valley to brave the (receded) flood waters, take five dollars from your change jar and head to Brambles for a little grocery shopping.  I'm willing to bet your biggest challenge will be limiting your spending to five bucks. 



Now here's where the little bit of fun comes in.  I'm making this challenge into a little contest.  Go to Brambles, spend your five dollars and leave a comment here telling me what day you were there and what you bought.  Make sure you include a name or a nickname with your comment, because I'm going to randomly select one person and send them a five dollar Brambles gift certificate.  (I told you it was a little contest.)  I'll choose my winner on February 1, 2010, so make sure you do your shopping and leave your comment before the end of this month.  If you visit Brambles more than once between now and January 31, feel free to leave a comment after each visit.  


Now go, empty those pockets, scrounge under your sofa cushions and dig to the bottom of your purse.  Do whatever it takes to scrape together your five dollars and get shopping.  I look forward to seeing your comments here soon.

Do the Mashed Potato... Soup - Sister's Soft, Moist Sunday XVI

 I made this soup while at my sister's last month.  It was my attempt to use up the leftovers in her fridge.  I had made chicken pie, mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli for dinner the night before.  The potatoes and broccoli were items I thought my sister could eat after her jaw surgery.  Unfortunately, she was having swallowing problems that night, so she went with a smoothie instead.  As a result, we had a lot of potatoes and broccoli left over.  I just can't stand to let food go to waste, thus the Mashed Potato Soup.  It turned out quite well, and my sister was able to eat it.  Bonus.  She liked it too.  Double bonus, particularly since the leftovers made a lot of soup!

This Week's Soft Moist Selection

Mashed Potato Soup

(There are no measurements for this one, as I don't know how many leftover mashed potatoes you have.  I just went with what looked right when I made mine.  At the time, I thought I was making something truly original.  I felt like the queen of the kitchen. Since then I've discovered several recipes for mashed potato soup on the webbernet.  If you need measurements, go have a look at one of them.  Otherwise, wing it, and imagine you're the queen of your kitchen.)


Butter or oil
Chopped onion
Minced garlic
Leftover mashed potatoes
Leftover steamed broccoli
Broth
Salt and pepper Your favorite cheese (gouda or cheddar work well.)

• Heat butter/oil in your soup pot.
• Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent.
• Add mashed potatoes, broccoli, salt and pepper.  Add enough broth to cover the veggies.   Simmer for a while.
• Blend with immersion blender until smooth.
• Add cheese and heat.

Lovely Local Lemons and Kiwis

Take a close look at the upper left corner of the photo.  See that?  There's snow in the mountains.  About 190cm of snow.  That's not unusual.  It is December after all.

Now take a look at the fruit in the foreground.  Those lemons and kiwis all came from within 50km of that snow.  I kid you not.  Both are Island grown - Vancouver Island that is.  I purchased the lemons earlier in the week at Brambles.  These luscious yellow beauties are from a grower in Deep Bay and were picked by Brambles' owner and her kids last weekend.  

The kiwis are from the Black Creek garden of one of hubby's co-workers. Once they're ripe enough, we'll cut them in half and eat them with a spoon. (The kiwis, not the co-workers.) Mmmmm.  Breakfast.  The lemons, on the other hand, require a bit more preparation.  Though they are delicate-skinned with a sweet perfume, they're still lemons.  After much deliberation, I decided the best way to serve them would be with brandy.

Local Lemon Hot Toddy

Serves 1

1/2 lovely local lemon
1 1/2 ounces brandy (rum is good too)
2 generous tsp local honey
3/4 cup hot water

• Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a mug.  Once you've picked out the pips, toss the spent lemon into the mug too.
• Stir in honey and brandy.
• Top up with hot water.
• Enjoy.

If I had been thinking ahead, I would have picked up a bottle of Phrog Gin and made this a totally local beverage.  Maybe next year.  Unfortunately it will be that long before the lemons are available again, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

 


 

Just Call Me Jethro

I had my first experience with local food here in North Carolina last night.  There was a possum in the back yard.  I understand they're good eating.  Of course, I could be wrong.  I believe I got that bit of information from reruns of The Beverly Hillbillies.  Doesn't really matter. I'm pretty sure that even if I managed to catch the little guy, I wouldn't have been able to prepare him in a way that my sister could eat.  Her jaw surgery went well, but she's still surviving on liquids until she's all healed up.

Though I was able to find possum recipes and instructions for catching and cleaning possums online, I wasn't able to find anything about possum smoothies.  Thank goodness.  I left the little fella to wander along the fence and enjoy the moonlit night.  

(What would be the correct word for preparing a dead possum for cooking?  Cleaning? Skinning? Butchering?  Whatever it is, that last link is my favourite.  Note that it's even a website from North Carolina!)