Last Big Roast and My Favorite Herb Rub.

This is the last big roast from our local 1/2 beef we bought.  No worries.  I just recently set up a good replacement for our freezer full of local meat.  I'll be talking about this soon.

It's a big roast; 4 lbs or maybe more.  I think it is fun and interesting how different the locally butchered beef looks compared to meat you can buy at Safeway, Albertson's, etc.  But I can't go back.  Meat from the butcher is better.  

My favorite herb rub came from Taste of Home way back.  Probably 10 years ago.  It makes a nice crust and flavors the meat well.  We've enjoyed it over and over.  I've rubbed it on ribs and pork chops, let stand, and then sauced them for barbecue.  It has flavored many types of meat.

Herb rub for a 2 lb roast. 

2 t. salt

1/2 t. powdered garlic

1/2 t. celery salt

1/2 t. dried rosemary, crushed

1/4 t. each pepper, onion power and paprika

1/8 t. dill weed

1/8 t. rubbed sage

Combine seasoning.  Rub over roast.  Cover and refrigerate for at least hours.  Or not, but it improves it.  Place the roast on a rack in a roasting pan.  Bake uncovered until 160 degrees internal temp by a meat thermometer. 

I meant to roast it on the weekend when I had like a reasonable period of time to like do it, but I didn't.  Early in the week, I decided to come home at lunch time and start it.  I got a new Electrolux stove the summer of 2010 as part of the forced remodel.  It has a feature where you put the food in the oven and program the oven to come on when you want it to and go off when you want it to.  I haven't tried it yet.  It shouldn't be that hard.

So, I'm home cooking spaghetti and reheating pasta sauce for our lunch.  Can I do this?  I'm not computer illiterate, but this sucker has a lot of buttons. 

I want it to come on at 2 p.m.  It's 11:20 or so. 

I'm not clear when it will be done, but I set it come turn itself off at 5 p.m.  I'm pretty sure I'll be there ready to supervise the situation by around 4 or 4:30.  

Press start.  Wish me luck.  I grab my pasta and reheated sauce, some fruit, cookies and nuts.  Back to work I go.  

I return home to a nicely done roast.  The meat thermometer reads right.  The slice taken in to Husband gets approval.  Potato and green vegetable and we are ready to eat. 

Remember to do things differently sometimes and don't be afraid. 

Braised Beef Shank

I was going to cook on Sunday, but something came up.  Actually, someone needed babysitting so that his parents could have a date.  And I mean, can you blame me? 

So Sunday afternoon.  Dude (formerly known as Baby) and I were curled up on his parent's couch in their new place watching a kid movie.  

No this waited just fine on Monday - Beef Shank.  It was new to me out of our local meat.  I want more.  It is a poor cut.  Tough and hard to cook.  But delicious if you have the time.   It needs to be braised.  To braise, add good oil to a heavy pot and get it screaming hot.  Add the meat with tongs.  An onion well chopped.  Be careful.  Move it around a bit so that it doesn't stick and brown it on all sides.  Don't worry about cooking it in the middle.  And, now is the time for the Ove-Glove. 

Just cook it hot and fast on the outsides, turning it with tongs or other tools.  Once browned remove it and you have the most delicious stuff. 

Chefy people call the next part deglazing, but it isn't rocket science.  Use a spoon to loosen any stuck parts from the bottom of the pan. They are flavor.  Add a cup of good beef stock, a can of tomatoes and a can of tomatoe sauce, a t. salt. 

So I find myself home and cooking somewhere around early Oprah.  A rare thing.  I put the meat back in.  Use the spoon to break up the tomatoes and set it for a slow simmer.  Husband comes in and says it smells really good.  Kisses my neck.  I'll give you a couple months to stop that!

I'm cleaning out the freezer because I tend to stock it in the spring and summer.  I freeze the most interesting things.  This is a cup of small white beans.  I cooked a whole bag back in December for some soup or stew and froze this cup for later and here we are.   

Add the white beans.   I was about to add more seasoning, maybe some Italian Seasoning, but I'm glad I waited.  It really didn't need it.  Put the lid on and simmer on low for 2 hours.  

Let's see. What should I do with this delicious looking bone?

 

Oh, no. Look what happened. 

Oh well, the sous chef has been very good. 

With spaghetti, a little braised beef shank, a little sauce, a glass of wine.  You know what I'm saying?

  

Meat, Mom and Mayham

1.  If you are interested in local meat from a good source in the Vancouver, Portland area, let me know.  It would mean taking at least 1/2 a cow, but the quality is good and you can go look the cow in the eyeballs, if you want to.  Let me know if you have questions about how this works.  I'm getting some experience I'd be happy to share.

2.  This is my Mom and Sister.  I've blogged some about my mom being in an assisted living facility and us moving her when we found she was not receiving the care we had hoped.  I'm pleased to report that she is mentally clearer than I've seen her in a while and I think it is because she is getting her basic needs met better.  I asked the administrator what percentage of the people in her facility have family involved in their care.  She said 50%.  She said she has clients with family close by who never come see them.  She has one client with a restraining order against her own child.  And one client whose child has taken her money and house and is currently being investigated for it.  She has clients whose children have "grudges."  Heck, I've more than one grudge.  Who cares?  That doesn't mean I'm not going to take as good of care of my mother as possible.  Love You, Mama.  As you get older, take care of your parents.  I'm Serious, People! 

3.  Step Grand Daughter's favorite thing is a lavender and pink unicorn pillow pet. 

The unicorn's name is Polly.  Polly is a female unicorn.  I asked her what the unicorn does with her horn.  I thought she'd say "do magic" or something.  She said Polly "pokes bad people" with her horn, but her horn is "soft."  Not sure what to make of that.  Any ideas?

   

Don't get creeped out by this.  Brilliant Baby's favorite thing is a talking Elmo.

His other favorite thing is Sister's favorite thing. 

I'm pretty sure that choking a unicorn is bad luck, Right?

Remember to be nice and get along.  This is really important, People! 

Pumpkin Cookies to Take to School

First things first.  Happy Birthday to my little sister, Melinda Bennett.  She is not the same person as Melynda who comments regularly here.  Hi, Melynda!  Actually, I'd say hi, Melinda, but I haven't gotten my little sister very interested in computers.  Last time I asked her, she hadn't yet visited.

Why is it so hard to take a picture of a fire in the fireplace?  Well, you'll have to take my word for it. 

Next, are we ever really thankful enough?  Today, I'm more than usually thankful for a warm house and a full pantry.  The washing machine is swishing away getting our clothes clean for the coming week.  What a lucky girl I am.  Remember to take a moment and be grateful for what you have, whatever that is.  Things could be worse.  Gratitude is something very powerful and essential in our lives and getting more scarce in the secular and materialistic world we live in.

On that happy note, Husband is busy playing with his new DVD player.  And by the way, when did DVD players need to be hooked up to the internet and where was I when this happened?  And what is Blue Ray, again?  Seems like only yesterday when Dad was recording the season fanale of Dallas for Mom, because she has a class that night and she didn't know how to time delay the video tape machine.  Yes, children, that was before DVD players were conceived of or imagined.

Now to the important stuff:  My assignment for this afternoon is to make pumpkin cookies with Step Granddaughter that she can take to a school event tomorrow.  Another thing to be thankful for.  I've found a canned pumpkin that says it is packaged in Corvallis, OR, which is near were I was born, so local enough for me.  I've seen it at Freddies and Safeway. 

Oh, and here is my inspiration for this.  http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2010/11/pumpkin-spice-thumbprints-and-csn.html


Pumpkin Cookies
2 sticks of butter, softened
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. packed bown sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 c. rolled oats
1 t. baking powder
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1 1/4 c.  AP flour
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
Some where around 40 Hersey's Kisses, one for each cookie
Melted chocolate for drizzling.

In one bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients.  In another bowl, combine the next 6 ingredients.  Add one bowl to the other and stir to combine.  Preheat the over to 350 degrees.  Drop teaspoons full on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non stick spray.  Bake for 12 minutes.

Straight out of the oven I pressed a Hersey's Kiss into each cookie and drizzeled with a little chocolate syrup.  Okay, so this was more fun for me than her.  But she humored me.  And we got cookies to take to her event.  She ate enough that she won't want her dinner.  Hope I'm not in trouble again.

Remember that the details count for something.

Milk - Or Does It Matter

I'm giving more consideration to our food choices.  Having been raised in a family of cooks and eaters, I've always been interested in good food - good taste, good quality, trying new things.  My recent interest is to support local food production much the way I already support local hardware store owners and so forth.  When I recently bought some furniture, I shopped as much as I wanted but I bought from Main Street Furniture, Vancouver, WA and purchased from the owner of the business.  Then I called Husband on my cell phone and asked him to bring the truck and trailer to get it.  Being the good Husband that he is, he did so immediately and with minimal grumbles.

But part of me says, "hey, I work 9 or 10 hours a day and I keep a busy household!"  I need it to be easier!  Why can't I live in a world where small business owners, such as myself, are easily accessible and carry the products I need.  I mean, sometimes the stuff I need is at Home Depot, not at Grover Electric and Plumbing.  What's up with that?

So I'm on a milk thing, right now.  I've been buying Darigold, which is distributed out of Seattle.  The Portland metro area has a local Dairy - Alpenrose.  It has a long history in the area and family owned.  But none of the stores I normally shop at carries it.  

To their website I go. http://alpenrose.com/pages/index.html
I find that Albertson's carries Alpenrose.  I'm not normally an Albertson's shopper, but there is one in my community.  They carry only gallons, but that's okay, since I make yogurt out of it, too.  So, now I've decided to buy Willamette Farms Eggs from one place, produce from Diane's and Gateway Produce, I have a bread source at another place.  Safeway carries Santiam Cannery and Nor Pac canned and frozen vegetables.  But am I really going to make several stops per week for basic staples?

Have I mentioned that I work 9 or 10 hours a day and I keep a busy household?  There must be a way to support local food producers without this much work.  Is it a commercial idea to start a business that carries only locally produced food?  Don Pancho tortillas, Willamette Valley Cheese Company cheese,  local wine, Tillamook products.  There must be others.  It wasn't really that hard to buy 1/2 a cow, so why doesn't some store carry local meat?  Probably not a workable business plan for this or someone would be doing it.  The entrepreneur in me is staying awake at night thinking about it.

Remember to buy local.        

Santiam Cannery

I've blogged about Santiam Cannery before. 

http://dinnerattheosbornes.blogspot.com/2010/04/santiam-cannery.html

My grandparents were farmers near Stayton.  They grew beans, corn, wheat, peppermint, strawberries and other crops.  Every year, Grandpa negotiated a contract with the "cannery man."  Grandpa agreed to plant certain numbers of acres of the crops they wanted and the cannery agreed to buy the entire crop at an agreed upon price per pound. 

When the crop was ready, they hawled it in two ton farm trucks round the clock to a cannery in Stayton owned by Santiam Cannery.  I drove some of those trucks a couple years.  The Santiam Cannery brand is still out there, but now it is owned by Norpac.  Norpac has its corporate offices in Lake Oswego, Oregon.  Norpac also owns Flav R Pac. 

So there you are.  My brands for frozen and canned vegetables through the winter.

Tater Tot Casserole

The hamburger from the 1/2 cow we bought is awesome, lean and pretty.  Clearly a quality improvement over grocery store hamburger. 

Click here for that story.
http://dinnerattheosbornes.blogspot.com/2010/08/local-meat.html

Tonight I'm cooking one pound of my hamburger, a chopped shallot and a good tablespoon of my elephant garlic from Diane's Produce Market 

Preheat the oven to 350.  Into the cooked hamburger, I'm adding 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup and 1 can of Santiam brand green beans, drained.  Salt and pepper to taste.  You can turn it into a big casserole dish or start with a large oven safe skillet. 

Arrange 1 package (28 oz) frozen tator tots on top.  Bake 60 minutes or until the tator tots are hot and crispy.  Okay, so it's not gourmet, but it smells good and reminds me of happy things.  Husband comes through the kitchen saying he is looking forward to eating it. And just tell me that the kids won't eat that!  I wouldn't tell on you if you put catchup on it.

Remember to play with your food.

Linked with Simple Lives at Sustainable Eats

http://www.sustainableeats.com/2010/10/14/simple-lives-october-14-2010/

Diane's Produce & Roast Potatoes

If you are local to Vancouver, WA, you really should check out Diane's Produce Market.  It is owned by Diane, go figure, who is in the store every time I'm there.  This is the type of business I want to shop at.  She is making a go of small business ownership, like me.  She is local.  She remembers me when I go there.  Okay, it isn't like going to the produce section at Freddy's or Safeway, but I'm starting to really not care.

You can find Diane's at 7702 NE 94th Avenue.  On the corner of 76th Street and 94th Avenue, just South of Padden Parkway, East of 205.

 
Here's what I bought there yesterday.

Elephant Garlic.  I haven't used it much, but I've got some that needs to get planted right now.  This one had just a little oniony smell which is very nice.  I'm looking forward to my early summer crop, assuming I get mine planted.

Red potatoes. A 15 lb sack.  It says number 2 on the sack, but they are nice and round and firm and clean.  The sack says they were distributed by a company in Sherwood, OR.

Willamette Egg Farm Eggs.  I'm becoming convinced that this is my egg source for now.  It is clear that I'm not going to do the backyard chicken thing.  The neighborhood association would flip.  But also, I have about as much responsibility as I can handle right now.  If one of them died, I'd feel horrible.

Grape Seed Oil.  I have bought olive oil from her, but she didn't have any.  I've had this stuff before.  It is not as distinct a taste as olive oil, but it is nice.


And I bought some apples which I'm going to use to make my mom's recipe for Raw Apple Cake, a fall thing for me.  I live in, well near, apple country.  Eating apples in the fall is natural.  Buying apples which were grown in Australia isn't.  I'm really getting so off of the Granny Smith thing.

Roast Potatoes are a nice change, tasty and special.  It starts with scrubbing the potatoes within an inch of their lives.  If you don't have a vegetable brush, I recommend one.  If you find a spot that you don't want to eat, now is the time to remove it with a small paring knife.

And some of that good garlic, finely chopped.

The potatoes get cut up and put on a large flat pan lined with two layers of foil.  I recommend cutting the potatoes fairly small.  You want a lot of potato surface to season and to get browned.

Add good lot of the oil, then a little more.  If you use good quality oil, don't think of it as a bad thing.  And salt and pepper.  Go ahead and season it well, unless you need to cut back on those types of things.  It's good.  Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.  Or fresh Rosemary finely chopped, if you have it.

Into a 450 oven.  Yes, this is hot, but it gets you the texture of roast potatoes.  Crispy some places, soft to the bite.  And here is the important part.  Take it out every 10 minutes or so and turn the potato pieces as much as you can.  Flip them over, move them around, then back in the oven.  You are looking at about an hour depending upon how many potatoes you have and what size you cut them.

You want the crispy browned edges.  That's what this is all about.

This together with a big chuck roast from our frozen stash of local beef made a feast and a good reward for my hard working man.

Remember to look your food in the eyes.

This post was linked to Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.  Check it out.

http://amoderatelife.com/2010/10/hearth-and-soul-hop-volume-18/

Sustainable and Local

I just love food.  I love restaurants.  I love places where food can be purchased.  I never really applied my business values to food, well, just because.  But recently I've been reading about sustainability, local food, and "slow food."  While I agree with many of the basic principles, there is so much, well I don't know, - Off-The-Deep-End-ness. 

The whole Save The World Thing goes right over my head.  Responsibility for my actions, I get.  I'm just that kind of gal.  But can I Save The World by re-using my bath towel the second night I stay in a motel?  No, my dears, this is called Marketing.  It saves the motel money, which isn't a bad thing.  The environmental impact must be just minute.

No, I'm not into Saving The Planet.  I'm into saving my own little piece of it, my business, my household, my small community, my fellow small business owners, my family and friends.  And yet, the ideas of sustainable, local and real food, which sounds so fresh and pithy, so new and cool, so hip and trendy, would make perfect sense to my old Grandpa, the farmer who could barely read the paper and lived through the Depression (the one in the 1930s). 

Buying locally, keeps your hard earned dollar in your community.  It allows local business people who risk everything to be in business, who hire employees, who buy products, to stay in business.  It is these folks I want to support, because I want my business supported.  It is the web of life.  The people I employee have wives and children.  They keep households, make mortgage payments, and yes buy food.  If I can not keep them working and can not make my payroll, they can't keep doing these things.  The providers of food and other necessities see less revenue.  Sound like anything you've seen recently?

So I've determined to find local food products to buy.  I want best quality and modest prices.  We can do this.  And you know what I found?  My area of Northern Oregon/SW Washington produces a lot of food.  Yes, I already knew that.  I grew up in a farming family.

But really.  Did you know there is a family owned business called Don Pancho, out of Salem, OR which produces tortillas and chips and the like?  And I can buy them at my local grocery store?  I'm finding local sources for so many things.  More about this later.

Local Eggs

I've been toying with the idea of keeping a couple chickens and a small coop at our business property.  I'm not serious, really.  I've got enough projects that I'm not getting done well enough.  The idea of more live animals depending upon me really isn't a good idea.  It's an interesting dream that has lead me through so research and planning.  But how to keep the Doberman Pincher who occupies the same property from torturing them?  And what if they get sick or die?  I don't buy cut flowers because they last only a couple days and then die.  It is such a shame and a waste.  If a chicken died, I'd feel terrible. So it really isn't going to happen unless another member of my family takes it on. 

I've bought local organic brown eggs from a couple sources.  I try not to let the $4 per dozen price stop me.  I'm sure it costs that.  And $4 one way or the other should not be a problem.  But I was raised frugally and I worry about these things.

I've been doing some research.  I live in Vancouver, WA, but I lived in the north and mid Willamette Valley in Oregon most of my life.  There is a commercial egg farm in the North Willamette Valley.  They claim to be Antibiotic free and Hormone Free.  And they are out of Canby Oregon, just South of Portland.  Around 30 miles from me.  I bought a cartoon at Diane's Produce Market today for $1.99.  More research to be done, but this may be the answer. 

http://www.willamette-egg.com/

Local Meat

For some time now, it has been my plan, my intention, my goal to change our eating habits.  More local food and more fruits and vegetables.  We really need to stop importing food from Peru and China.  No offense to those who live in Peru and China, but we really used to be good at feeding ourselves and others.  We used to be a land of abundance.  Back then, farmers and ranchers could make a career and life supporting themselves and their families.  But then we got too smart for our own good.  Kids earning money in the summer by picking strawberries and beans - Just isn't happening any more.  And we aren't better for the change.  The kids I know aren't better off sitting at home texting each other between video games and movies.  I'm just completely over that whole thing.

So the absolute truth is that I haven't made a lot of progress towards my goal of feeding us better.  The forced remodel didn't help any.  Not that we do that badly, really.  Compared to most people I see in the grocery store, we eat almost no food from the freezer aisle or from boxes, ice cream and cereal excepting.

I have my excuses.  I have a job and always had.  I don't have all day to do these things.  All those stay at home moms who are now mad at me, I'm sorry and I really don't mean it.  When I come home, I'm hussling around doing those things that I think are necessities.  But wait a second, maybe eating better is a necessity.

There is one fundamental change that we have made.  Meat.  My husband eats meat and insists on continuing that, so I can just give up any ideas of eating less of it.  The next best thing is to take more responsibility for it.  We decided to eliminate the whole hormone and antibiotic thing, which can't be good for anyone, including the cow.  Standing in front of the meat cooler at the grocery store wondering what we are going to eat this week is a habit I want to break. 

So here is what we did.  We bought a 1/2 cow from a local rancher some months ago.  We discussed with her what they will feed the cow, confirmed that there would be no hormones and antibiotics, discussed their plans to fatten it and butcher it.  We paid a $200 at that time to put a hold on that meat.  When butchered, our 1/2 cow had a hanging weight of 345 lbs, for which we paid $1.95 per pound.  We also paid 1/2 of the $75 kill fee.  Our total cost was $707.75 to her. 

It hung at the butcher for a week.  We went there and made decisions with them how they would cut it.  How much would be hamburger, what size the roasts and steaks would be, how much would be stew meat and cube steak?  We paid the butcher $194.27 for her work.  (Yes, both the rancher and the butcher were women and I didn't do that on purpose.)  Our total cost was   $902.47 / 345 = $2.61/ lb on average. 

Do you want to see 1/2 a cow looks like?

Isn't this cool?  No pun intended.

Remember to look your food in the eyes when you can.