by Catherine Haug
A teacher I know insists that her students get in the habit of reading food labels. After just a few labels, they all swear they’ll stop eating. “Don’t stop eating altogether, just stop eating THAT,” she tells them.
Do you read labels? Do you know how to interpret them? (more…)
Eggs with Orange Yolks
by Catherine Haug
(photo, right, by Keith Blaylock)
By now we all know the truth about commercial eggs: the hens are confined to tight and unclean spaces, with little or no access to the outdoors, and they produce eggs of inferior nutritional quality (see my post Eggs: A Buyers Guide). But what about Organic eggs – can we trust the Organic label?
The Cornucopia Institute recently published their review of 77 Organic egg producers/labels across the country, based on 22 criteria across 9 categories, then ranked the brands from 1 to 5 eggs See:
You will be happy to note that Mission Mountain Eggs from Ronan MT ranked 5 eggs, their highest rating (these are sold at Bigfork Harvest Foods).
Unfortunately, Cornucopia researchers found that: “Some of the factory farm operators literally raise millions of birds (both conventional and organic) with as many as 85,000 “organic” hens in single buildings.”
Remember that if you don’t raise your own, the absolutely best and freshest eggs come from a neighbor who raises them in pasture. See Who Is Your Farmer? (Farm Hands)? (more…)
Setting up the press
by Catherine Haug
Today was a gorgeous fall day, just perfect for pressing cider. Jeffrey F. arrived about 10 AM with his pressing apparatus. With several helpers we had it all set up on the deck of La Provence (which we shared with the “Chocolate Desserts” table) before 11 and began pressing.
In the photo, right (by C. Haug), Marc Guizol looks on as the equipment is set up on his deck.
We had lots of helpers which made it a fun time, and pressed at least 44 gallons of cider for 8 different ‘customers’! We packed up and had the deck washed off by mid-afternoon.
One of our helpers, Kathy L., blogged about the event on her Two Frog Home website. She also took many of the photos shown in the remainder of this summary. (more…)
Corned Beef & Veggies: Served
Text and photos by Catherine Haug
Originally written 9/24/10. Updated to add photos: 10/2 for first rinse, & 10/3/10 for braising.
Earlier this week I purchased a 5-pound frozen locally-raised beef brisket from Meats Supply in Kalispell (400 Kienas Rd; 755-6819). I want to corn half of it for corned beef, and use the other half for braised brisket (without corning). So I thought it might be fun to take photos along the way and write this up as a post.
Corning is an ancient method of preserving meat, either a dry cure by surrounding the meat with coarse salt, or a wet cure by soaking it in a flavored salt brine. The term ‘corn’ comes from the old English term for grains of salt.
The salt brine draws moisture out of the meat, making a less favorable environment for bacterial growth. As the moisture is drawn out, salt is drawn in, deeper and deeper into the meat, drying it out and preserving it. Do NOT use iodized salt–the cured meat will taste bad. Your best choice is Koshering salt (Kosher Salt).
While some recipes indicate using a large metal saucepan, my preference is a porcelain-coated stock pot, large glass bowl, or stoneware crock or casserole dish (non-lead glaze) for the brining. A heavy stainless steel pot in good condition will work in a pinch. Do not use an enameled pot that is chipped, nor an aluminum pot.
Read on for list of ingredients and instructions with photos to corn a brisket:
by Catherine Haug
While I think most of us have a passing awareness that livestock are routinely given feed laced with antibiotics to make them grow more meat faster, I wonder how many of us actually let this knowledge sink in, and avoid commercial meats like the plague?
I’m talking about beef, pork, and poultry from the meat counter at Harvest Foods, Costco, Walmart, Safeway, Albertsons, Rosauers, and so on. Also those served in most restaurants.
Do we truly understand the implications of consuming antibiotic-laden meat? And what can we do about it?
by Catherine Haug
At our September Gathering on Natural Dyes, these common household substances were discussed. As an adjunct to that discussion, I’d like to expand a bit on each. (more…)