Yogurt Cheese and 'Boursin'

Yogurt Cheese is simple... just line a strainer with finely-woven cheesecloth, dump in a large container of plain yogurt, cover, and drain for 24 hours. I used Dannon plain, not low-fat or non-fat, and had a creamy cheese spread the next day. I saved the nearly 2 cups of whey that drained off to use for fermented vegetables, as it contains live cultures.

Here's 2 easy recipes for a homemade Boursin-style cheese, substitute yogurt cheese:

Homemade Boursin
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chives
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese or yogurt cheese
1/4 cup pitted & drained black olives

Chop the garlic & herbs in a food processor. Add the cream cheese and blend until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and chill.
 

Homemade Boursin-style cheese

2 garlic cloves
8 ounces butter, at room temperature
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (the real stuff, and freshly-grated)
1 tablespoons fresh dill, minced or 1 teaspoons dried dill weed, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon chives
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
(all herbs minced or crumbled)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Have cheeses and butter at room temperature.
Crush garlic. Mix cheeses, butter and garlic.
Add remaining ingredients, mix well.
Pack into a container just large enough to hold the boursin and store in refrigerator.
To serve: For best taste, you must bring it to room temperature (because of the butter). Serve with crackers.

Another thing you can do in a pinch is add some of a dry salad dressing to taste, like Ranch Dressing, although I don't buy those anymore.

Preserved Grape Leaves

Preserved Grape Leaves are expensive to purchase, and I have a grape vine... so I decided to try my hand at fermenting some at home, for a dolmades recipe. 

The fermenting recipe is easy. (I'll post the dolmades recipe when I make them.)

Wash the leaves well. I found the leaves repel water under the faucet, so I put them (individually) down flat in a 9 x 12 baking dish of water, where I could run my fingers over both sides, reducing the surface tension, then they gave up more specks rather than just under running water.

Place your stack of leaves in a solution of 1 tablespoon sea salt, 4 tablespoons whey (mine was from draining yogurt to make yogurt 'cheese') in 16 ounces (2 cups) filtered, non-chlorinated water.  If you don't have any whey (please don't use packaged whey), double the salt. Salted water encourages the lactobacillus present on the grape leaf skins to begin the ferment, and keeps the pathogens at bay. (The whey has live lactobacillus in it which jump-starts the fermentation.) Fully submerge the flat leaves in a dish for an hour or so, with a weight on top to keep them submerged. Pour the brine solution over them. This helps soften the leaves for rolling. If you don't have enough brine, just make more. I had to double the amount of brine solution for the size of my soaking pan.

After about an hour, stack a few leaves (I used 6), cut the stems off, and roll them into a tube shape. The leaves will roll better with the pale underside of the leaves on the inside. Repeat with remaining leaves. Place tubes in a wide-mouth quart jar and cover with the brine you had them soaking in, making more brine if necessary. I ended up using a half-gallon jar because the leaves I picked were just a bit too wide when rolled to fit in a quart jar. I won't make that mistake again! (Besides, the younger, smaller leaves are more tender.)

Place a lid and ring on the jar and store on the counter at room temperature for 3 or so days. Be sure all the leaves are fully submerged. You should open the jar every 24 hours to smell it, and to let any fermenting gases escape. After several days (maybe 5-7) you can place the jar in a cool, dark place (40-50ºF is ideal) or the refrigerator to continue fermenting, although the cold refrigerator will really slow down the fermentation. At warmer storage temps (but cooler than room temps) they should be ready in a couple of weeks. 

In fermenting anything, your own taste preference is important. Longer fermentation translates to tangier flavor. This happens more quickly in warm temperatures than in cool ones. If you start a ferment at harvest time, in the autumn, as temperatures are dropping, it can ferment for six months or longer. When you first begin fermenting, taste at maybe a week, and again at 3 more days, and again at 3 more days... and so on... until you get an idea how tangy you like your ferments. Be sure to note how long something fermented to a taste you like, but be sure to be aware not all vegetables will ferment at the same speed.

Results:
Day 1, contents bubbling slowly, leaves taking on a 'cooked' color. Need a weight to keep top edges of leaves submerged. Used the glass top of an old small sugar bowl, inverted. Just fits, with slight room for juice to come up and over it...
Day 2, jar bubbling slowly, but spilling over a little. Contents multi-colored, smells fine.
Day 3, bubbling slowed.
Day 4, no noticable bubbling. Smells fine. Tightened lid and stored in bottom of closet.

ps, I also started a pint of sugar snaps fermenting, just out of curiosity to see what happens. I used half a tablespoon kosher salt and 4 tablespoons whey added to the snaps and topped with water. Within 4 hours they had built up a bit of pressure inside the lid, so obviously they are 'working'.

Moderating 'Comments'

I have switched to ALL comments being moderated because the site is being hit with anonymous comments advertising things like viagra and porn sites. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Pickles, Lacto- Fermentation or Old-Time Fermentation

Free Pickles at a sandwich bar, photo from frankh's photostream

In the last few years, we have become focused on probiotics, and a spot-check of many refrigerators will find a container or two of yogurt, along with real cheese (naturally fermented; processed cheese is not) and maybe some wine, also naturally fermented. There might even be a bread box with some sourdough bread (which is naturally fermented). We all know that eating yogurt will increase the good bacteria in our intestines. As a cost-saving and ingredient-control, many of us even make our own yogurt, kefir and kimchee for the health benefits of the good bacteria cultured in the batches we make.

Why then, did we discontinue the old-time method of fermenting pickles, sauerkraut and other vegetables, which were probiotic? That older method is what today is known as lacto-fermentation or lactic acid fermentation (and sometimes called wild fermentation), the very same fermentation process that takes place in turning milk into yogurt. This process was known by earlier generations merely as 'pickling' and most general stores had a barrel of pickles where for a pittance you could spear one to eat.

Today, many of the same folks that are focused on eating yogurt and kefir for the good bacteria, are still making pickles with vinegar and heat-processing them, killing all the good bacteria, vitamins and enzymes in the process, and leaving the ingredients tasting of vinegar. Why? Lacto-fermentation is the simplest type of fermentation, and produces a superior tasting and healthier product. No canning necessary!

"The prized cultures of a San Francisco sourdough, or the finest Bleu cheese, have their roots in someone's kitchen or farmhouse long ago." ~Sandor Katz, Wild Fermentation, The Flavor, Nutrition and Craft of Live-Culture Foods.

When we 'lost' this old method of food preservation, we lost the incredible health benefits that came with it. Canned sauerkraut and pickles, whether home canned or store-bought, simply do not give us the same healthy benefits.

The pickling method our grandmothers used was easy: put your cukes or sliced cabbage or vegetables in a crock in layers with salt (which draws out the vegetable juices and becomes a brine), weigh them down with a plate and a jug of water, cover, and ignore. Pretty soon they had tasty pickles or sauerkraut, loaded with beneficial bacteria. Over time, recipes evolved for different tastes in their pickles... garlic, dill and mustard seed come to mind. Adding fresh grape leaves or fresh horseradish leaves produced a crunchier pickle. Sauerkraut might include caraway seeds, or juniper berries... or even cranberries. They found they could pickle all sorts of vegetables including carrots, cauliflower, radish, beets and even pickle eggs and pigs feet. Soon they had a whole cellar-full of healthy eating stored for winter.

The brine serves as a protection against the growth of putrefying microorganisms, and favors the growth of desired strains of bacteria, Lactobacilli. Fermentation breaks the nutrients down into more easily digestible forms. For example in making yogurt, Lactobacilli transform lactose (milk sugar) into easier-to-digest lactic acid. (Many meat products like salami are also fermented, although today it may be a chemical imitation rather than the real thing.) These bacterial cultures also create new nutrients – B vitamins, including folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, and biotin. Lactobacilli create omega-3 fatty acids, essential for cell membrane and immune system function. Some ferments have been shown to function as antioxidants, scavenging cancer precursors (free radicals) from the cells of the body. No matter how you look at it, it is simply this: Fermentation makes food more nutritious.

There are many ways to preserve besides the brine method. Vegetables can be submerged in whey, or wine instead of a salty brine. There are dry-salt methods used around the world for foods such as lemons, anchovies and salt cod. However, an easy way to start is with vegetables in a brine. The only trick is to keep everything submerged as the bacteria work in the absence of air. My mother kept a big pickle crock in the unheated garage. You could dip out a few into a jar (with some brine or just added water to keep them from drying out) and refrigerate them for weeks, and as long as what remained in the crock was submerged in the brine, the pickles or sauerkraut would keep all winter.

I will be posting how to make a variety of fermented vegetables as my vegetables mature in the garden throughout the coming months, and it can be done in canning jars if you don't have a crock. Right now I am fermenting grape leaves to be used for the Mediterranean foods known as dolmas, or dolmades. Look for it soon.

Update July 7, 2010
After more trials and a few errors, I am refining my fermentation procedure, away from open crocks although I have 2 of those going right now too. I will start posting my newer methods in about 5-7 days, so stay tuned.

Braised Short Ribs

 Short Ribs from Machine is Organic's photostream

(Mine looked the same, but camera was charging)

In my first pastured meat order last month, I included some short ribs, but didn't get around to preparing any until yesterday. Actually I only started yesterday; they will be tonight's dinner. 

Since I found the pastured beef (for most cuts, so far) does better when braised, I wasn't sure what to expect for short ribs, so I first simmered them in water an hour. (That was probably totally unnecessary but they were pretty fatty.) The skimmed fat went in the fat can and there's still plenty of fat on the meaty bones to assure a good flavor.

The BIG problem was a sauce, since I refuse to purchase stuff with a paragraph of chemical additives on the label. I wanted a barbecue flavor, and an internet search turned up several alternatives. I made my own sauce by taking some of the best-sounding ingredients and mixing them up. Most of them called for some ketchup, and I don't buy ketchup either. But, I made some ketchup, too... again a mix of recipes. Now, I cannot say the ketchup I made tastes anything like the chemical and sugar-laden store variety, because I simply have not eaten ketchup in years.

To cook the short ribs, I browned them in butter, coated them with the BBQ sauce I just made, and roasted them in a slow oven for an hour. Then I put them in my crockpot (on low) with a can of crushed tomatoes and about a cup of beef stock. I think a cup of a hearty red wine would have worked as well, in place of the beef stock, for an alternative. I did deglaze the pan with a bit of red wine after browning the ribs. The only reason to roast them in the BBQ sauce before braising was a hope of imparting a different flavor to the ribs. The sauce turned out very tasty after the ribs cooked several hours on low, so I can't complain.

Be aware... this sauce will not caramelize in the oven like most BBQ sauces, due to the lack of sugar. I haven't tried it yet on the grill.

Homemade Ketchup, Chemical Free, Low Sugar

1 6oz can organic tomato paste
¼ cup Bragg's apple cider vinegar (more or less) to taste, start with less
1/3 cup water, or to thickness desired
1 Tbs dark brown sugar, optional (You could also use molasses, I think)
1/8-1/4 cup onions, minced, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp grey salt, to taste (or any non-iodized salt)
Pinch ground allspice
Pinch ground cloves
Add pepper to taste

Combine ingredients in food processor and blend until the onion and garlic disappears. Adjust thickness by more or less water and vinegar. Spoon mixture into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

Homemade BBQ Sauce, Chemical Free (almost, just a tad in 2 ingredients)

1 onion (minced)
1-2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 6oz can organic tomato paste
1 tsp liquid smoke or to taste (Use Colgin's, it’s the real deal compared to others)
¼ cup Bragg’s apple cider vinegar, more or less, to taste, start with less
½ cup water
¼ cup homemade ketchup (recipe above)
2-3 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce, to taste (I only had a tamarind Worcestershire)
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch cinnamon
Hot sauce to taste, or home grown hot peppers

You could slow-cook this mixture (I did not, and should have) 30 minutes for a smoother flavor, but you may need to add more water and vinegar. After cooling, blend well in a food processor. Store in the refrigerator in a container with a tight lid. I will perhaps want to keep tweaking it as I make more, but it's a start to junk-free ketchup.

No two people have the same taste in BBQ sauce, so if you make your own, make a small batch and experiment, until you get a taste you love! I will certainly make it again, and probably experiment more along the way... not just for improvement, but also a change of taste. The short ribs were sweet, tender and succulent! YUM!

Making Ghee and Canning Butter

There are many posts all over the internet on 'canning butter' for long term storage. The use of the word 'canning' is not appropriate in all these posts because it isn't really canning. The true process of canning involves placing the jarred items in a high heat environment like a water bath or a pressure canner for a period of time to kill any bacteria spores, with the jars sealing as they cool.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation is the best source for current research-based recommendations for most methods of home food preservation. The Center was established with funding from the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (CSREES-USDA) to address food safety concerns for those who practice and teach home food preservation and processing methods.

The Center answered the questions about the safety of those directions for 'canning butter' here. They state: "In conclusion, with no testing having been conducted to validate these methods, we would NOT recommend or endorse them as a safe home-canning process, let alone for storing butter at room temperature for an extended period."

What I understand from those posted directions on canning butter is that that those methods have not fully eliminated all the water in the butter, which is about 18% or more in purchased butter (isn't it fun to pay $3-$4 a pound for that much incorporated water?) ... nor have they strained out all the milk solids (proteins, sugars and salts) which make up about 2% of packaged butter.

Ghee, on the other hand, is a much safer choice for canning and storing, although the government safe canning recommendations do not cover ghee at all. Unlike butter, ghee can be stored for extended periods without refrigeration, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation, and remains moisture-free. 

Ghee, for those unfamiliar with the term, is the Sanscrit word for clarified butter. Clarified butter has had everything removed but the golden-yellow butterfat. Ghee still contains all the fat-soluble vitamins like A and D but has had the lactose and casein removed. It has a higher smoke-point than butter because it no longer contains the protein and milk sugars, and I love using ghee to sauté because it has such a clean taste. Ghee can be used in any recipe that calls for butter, except it doesn't make good pie crusts (real lard is better than butter anyway), and cookies have a slightly oily texture.

The color, texture and taste of ghee depends on the source of the milk from which the butter was made, and the cooking temps to clarify it. Traditionally unsalted butter is used for ghee, and I recommend using organic butter from grass-fed cows so the nutritional content is higher, plus you are assured there are no herbicides, pesticides or antibiotics in the butter. Commercial unsalted butter is more delicate and has a shorter shelf life than salted butter, so manufacturers have to use fresher cream... which results in a better tasting butter.

Making ghee

One pound of butter will yield about one pint. I prefer to use half-pint jars (I generally cook just for myself) so I have a smaller amount opened when using it, although I have never had any become rancid like table butter sometimes does.

Melt butter over low heat in a saucepan, and slowly increase heat to medium as the butter begins to melt. When the water begins to cook off, the liquid will begin to foam. Reduce the heat again to the lowest setting, and stir occasionally. It may take 20-30 minutes or more to reduce the butter to a clear top layer and a layer of sediment on the bottom, depending on temperature. Too much heat and you will scorch the butter. When there is no longer any fizzle or foam when stirred, you can assume all the water has evaporated. This step is critical because any remaining moisture may reduce the storage time by attracting bacteria. If you cook it a bit longer, the bits in the bottom turn a darker brown and the ghee will take on a nutty flavor, preferred in some baking recipes. Overcooking will result in a bitter taste.

Put 2-3 layers of fine cheesecloth or butter muslin over a sieve or metal strainer and strain the contents of the saucepan into a warmed or heatproof container. I use a warmed 4-cup pyrex measuring cup to make pouring into canning jars easier.  Depending on the fineness of the cloth, you may need to strain it twice to remove all the solids (caramelized sugars and proteins). I save the solids and add to pet food for extra protein.

The liquid will be very hot, so handle carefully!

Unless I am going to use this ghee right away, I put it back into a clean saucepan and re-heat on low. Meanwhile I have sterilized canning jars simmering in hot water, and lids simmering in a small pot of water. Remove a hot jar from the water with a jar lifter, be sure there is no water inside the jar, and carefully fill with hot ghee to within 1" of the top. Use a funnel to keep hot ghee off the rim; if you do get some on the rim it won't seal. Use a paper towel dampened with vinegar or lemon juice to clean the rim. Place the lid on top and screw the ring down tightly.

At this point, you could place the filled jars in a water bath canner and process for 10 minutes (or more, depending on elevation), as a safety factor. Be sure the jars are covered by at least 2" of water before boiling. 

I do not water bath ghee, as the pure fat (if I have cooked all the solids and water out) is a type that keeps well without oxidizing, just as rendered lard or tallow will keep in a cool, dry place. The lids will seal as the ghee cools. Ghee, once opened, will keep for months refrigerated. I live in a relatively cool climate and keep some butter in a butter bowl in a cupboard in the kitchen in all but the hottest weather. I also keep opened ghee the same way, in a tightly closed jar on the shelf. Use your own judgment on canning and storing.

I make it a practice to wash all thoroughly cooled jars of anything I have canned before storing. Remove the rings, and wash in hot soapy water. Label the jars with contents and date, before storing. I never store any canned foods with the rings still on. That's because if any seal has broken in storage, it becomes clearly evident.

Earlier this year I bought some pastured butter on sale, and froze it. My experience is that frozen butter does not keep as well, or as long, as it does once converted to ghee. The ghee I have made is stored in a dry, cool pantry room, along with lard and tallow, on a bottom shelf.

Rendering Lard, and Tallow

Tallow I made 18 months ago

If you have never made a pie crust or cooked fries with your own rendered lard or tallow, you are in for a real treat!


Don't be tempted to take the easy path and purchase lard at the grocery store. It isn't the same thing! It comes from factory animals, it is hydrogenated, and it usually has added deodorizing agents, emulsifiers and anti-oxidents. Plus, it has none of the nutritional values.

Why render lard and tallow? It's easy; it's economical, it's tasty, AND it is good for you!!

Rendering your own lard or tallow is very economical, and maybe downright cheap or maybe even free. You can buy fat at a butcher shop, or from a local farmer who raises meat. The leaf fat I used for my tallow was free from a local processing operation.

The rendered lard or tallow from grass-fed or pastured animals is a beneficial saturated fat. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon have written a great article on the many benefits of saturated fats here. Short form is they make up 50% of our cell membranes, giving them the needed stiffness and integrity. Saturated fats are required for proper utilization of essential fatty acids like Omega-3, and they play a vital role in the health of our bones. There's much more they do, so do take a look at that article.

Before getting to rendering, here are some definitions.

Lard:
Lard traditionally comes from the pig. Some beef lard is sold, although it's a misnomer. The USDA requires rendered and commercially sold beef fat to have 'lard' on the label. Any fat from a pig may be used to render lard, but there are actually three grades of pig fat used in rendering.

The best grade is called 'leaf fat' sometimes called flare fat, and it is the fat that is deposited around the kidneys and in the loin. It has almost no pork flavor. This is the fat which, after rendering, is preferred by bakers because of an absence of pork taste, and because the larger fat crystals help produce flaky, moist crusts.

The next grade is the fatback, the hard subcutaneous fat between the skin and the muscle.

The lowest grade, which I cherish and would NOT use for rendering, is caul fat. It is a somewhat fragile, fatty spider-web which surrounds the digestive organs/intestines. In my book, it is best used to wrap a lean roast, and in pâtés.

Tallow
The cooking fat from cattle or sheep is known as suet, or tallow. It's suet before rendering, then it is tallow. Suet is the hard fatty tissue around the loins and kidneys, sometimes also called leaf fat, and it renders out at about 95%. The tallow I rendered (shown above) came from the leaf fat of cattle. It was a long strip encased in a cellophane-type membrane, and had a very waxy feel rather than a fatty feel. When I peeled the membrane, the fat broke into hard waxy chunks. There were small bits of kidney which peeled off easily. I sautéed the bits for my cats!

This particular tallow shown above will not be used for cooking because it did not come from pastured-only cattle. Instead I plan to make candles, or soap.

Rendering
There are three easy methods for rendering, although I use just one of them. One method is stovetop, placing the fat in a pan of water, which requires constant attention during the process.

The method I use is dry-rendering in an oven, which you have preheated to 200ºF. Chop the fat into small chunks, or grind like hamburger. The smaller the pieces, the quicker it will render. Place the pieces in a large heavy pan. You can add water so the liquid fat can be skimmed off the top but I do not. (Mainly because I have a had time getting all the water out.) I have only tried the water method once, but lately I have read that wet-rendering is milder in taste than dry-rendering, so I will have to try it again. It may take several hours depending on chunk size and quantity. Eventually it will all be liquid with some browned bits in it. Do not throw those away... sprinkle on a little salt and they make a tasty snack! (Note, you may have to increase the heat a bit, but too much heat and you will give it an unpleasant taste.)

A third method, which I have not tried, is to use a crockpot. Since I don't really know details first hand, my guess is to set your crockpot on low. All the rest of the instructions would be the same, and I suppose you could do either wet-rendering or dry-rendering.

Once rendered, the liquid will be fairly golden, but when cool it will be white if lard, or cream-colored if tallow. When I first rendered the tallow above, it was semi-soft when cooled. The next day I rendered it again at a slightly higher temperature, and it was much harder when cooled. Since I was aiming for candles, I didn't worry that higher temps would break down the nutrients.

Once your fat is rendered, strain it through a metal strainer lined with tightly-woven cheesecloth (I actually use butter muslin) into sterilized canning jars, although any jar will do. Maybe you could use a coffee filter instead of cheesecloth, but I've never tried. 

If you strain it into canning jars while it is still hot, just and add a lid and ring, and tighten securely. It will seal as it cools. Store in a cool, dark place. My tallow is still so hard after sitting open 18 months that I have no clue how long it would keep, perhaps forever. The lard in jars should keep several months, or more. Chances are you will use it all long before then...

Monsanto Invents Meat?

 Photo from Myki Roventine's photostream

That's right... Monsanto has filed a patent for meat! This particular patent is specifically pork... all cuts including pork chops and bacon. They are claiming a patent on pork raised on their GMO feed.

"Patent application WO2009097403 is claiming meat stemming from pigs being fed with the patented genetically engineered plants of Monsanto. A similar patent application was for fish from aquaculture in March 2010 (WO201027788).

Far reaching patents on food have been already granted: Monsanto received a European patent (EP 1356033) in 2009, which the chain of food production from seeds of genetically engineered plants up to food products such as meal and oil are covered."

International patent applications for foods from GMO's doubled from 2007 to 2009.

GMO Trees

On another front, the USDA has approved a trial planting of 200,000 GMO trees in Florida. The Agriculture Department said Wednesday that it had received comments opposing the field trial from 12,462 people or organizations, compared with only 45 supporters of the trial. But a vast majority of the opposing comments were nearly identical form letters, it said.


So they approved it anyway??

Tomato Hybrids and Monsanto

 Heirloom Tomatoes Photo from Crysti

The Wall Street Journal recently carried a story about a number of plant breeders who are offering hybrids they claim have the distinct flavors and funky looks of heirlooms but are more disease-resistant and abundantly productive.

"In addition to creating more disease-resistant varieties, hybridizers have been working on giving tomatoes a longer shelf life and making shapes more uniform for ease of packing, and creating more compact plants that are easier to maneuver."  DUH, our grocery stores already have uniform shaped tomatoes, complete with ease of packing, but tasteless, with a long shelf life.

At first, the 'new' tomatoes sounded interesting. Then I had to remember why I grow heirlooms... not just taste, but the enormous variety, and the ability to save seed, and have them reproduce the same tomato year after year.

So I looked into the 6 companies named in the article (Burpee, Park, Territorial, Jung, Cook's Catalog owned by Burpee, and Seeds by Design). Four of the 6 named companies buy seeds from Seminis, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monsanto. (Of course, that doesn't mean they buy all of their seed from Seminis.) I didn't find any data either way on the other 2 companies.

Seminis owns over 20% of the global vegetable seed market. Here's data from their website:

Sales in 155 countries                          
    Revenue: $569 million (2006)                          
    20+% of the global vegetable seed market
    Leading positions in nearly every major vegetable crop                          
    3,000+ commercial products                          
    21 seed quality labs                          
    46 distribution and operations centers
    51 R&D stations in 17 countries
    1.5 million breeding lines                          
    Seed production locations in 25 countries
    3,000 employees            

"Seminis does not sell directly to home gardeners; however, many of our products are available to consumers from U.S. and Canadian mail order and packet seed companies. The vendors below carry our newest products:Burpee

E&R Seed
Earl May Seed
Gardens Alive
Jung Seed Co
Lindenberg
Mountain Valley
Park Seed
Johnny’s Selected Seed
See http://us.seminis.com/products/hg_dealer.asp for full list."

One of the several companies I buy heirloom seeds from is Seeds of Change. One of their seed suppliers is Podoll's, a 50 year old family farm in North Dakota, farming 480 acres whose "diversity of grains, vegetables, and seed crops stand in stark contrast to the vast monocultures of corn and soybeans that surround them."

Makes me wonder how long until the Podolls' 480 acres of heirloom crops are cross-pollinated by Roundup-ready, genetically engineered crap from Monsanto et al. And then Monsanto gets to sue for patent infringement, adding insult to injury.

Only the efforts of each of us supporting heirloom seed companies will assure Monsanto doesn't take over our gardens along with the rest of the world. Here's a link to Merchants and Purverors of Heirloom Seeds and a link to Seed Savers, Seed Exchanges and Seed Societies.

Modern Hunter-Gatherer, Part 4: Oils and Other Fats

Photo courtesy of Suzi Rosenburg's photostream

Fats and Oils

For the modern hunter-gatherer, merely choosing which fats to ingest can be a problem depending on what/whom you believe. It's a very controversial subject!

If you follow the CW (conventional wisdom) espoused by many authorities (including government food and health agencies), you probably have very few problems in finding the fats touted as healthy (despite recent proven scientific evidence to the contrary). Those fats are mostly manufactured fats, available in all grocery stores; you are advised to keep your fat intake low and avoid all natural saturated animal fats at any cost.

I used to have a Peanuts cartoon I snipped out of the newspaper years ago. Charlie Brown was telling Snoopy about something he apparently didn't want to hear… and at the end, Charlie Brown turned to Snoopy and said, “and DON'T roll up your ears.”

We have been led down a merry path ever since 1911 when Crisco became the first available food product to contain hydrogenated oil. They didn't start out to make a food product, though. The process of hydrogenation, which insures the fat remains solid at normal storage temperatures had just recently been patented to harden oils for use as a raw material for making soap so they made some... and since the material looked like lard, they began selling it as food.

It wasn’t long before hydrogenated oil was incorporated into many other foods, and the increase in use has been consistent with the dramatic rise in the prevalence of obesity, diabetes and heart disease that occurred during the last century. Smuckers, who bought Crisco, introduced in 2004 "Crisco Zero Grams Trans Fat Per Serving All-Vegetable Shortening," which contained fully-hydrogenated palm oil blended with liquid vegetable oils to yield a shortening much like the original Crisco.

As of 2010 Crisco consists of a blend of soybean oil, fully hydrogenated cottonseed oil, and partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils. Some nutritionists argue that while the formula has been changed to remove the trans fatty acids, the fully hydrogenated oils used to replace them may not be good for health. (See New Fat, Same Old Problem With An Added Twist? Replacement For Trans Fat Raises Blood Sugar In Humans, ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2007).

That study, published online in Nutrition and Metabolism, demonstrated the new fats adversely affected human metabolism of lipoproteins and glucose, when compared to an unmodified, natural saturated fat.

Current cumulative research has put to rest the long-held but erroneous concept that saturated animal fats are bad for us, and give us heart attacks. Has that made the national news? Nooooo….

The SAD (Standard American Diet) is high in fully and partially hydrogenated fats and also high in sugars. I’m not sure if it is the lack of media coverage causing even our doctors to still give out advice based on the old information, or if it's also that we collectively have rolled up our ears so we can't hear it.

Meanwhile, I have determined to eliminate from my diet all manufactured fats incorporated in anything labeled ‘food’ with an added bunch of chemical ingredients, or sold as a single ingredient. That was hard to do until I recently stopped buying anything requiring an ingredients label. I don’t eat soybean oil, corn oil, nor canola. I buy only organic, extra-virgin first cold-pressed olive and/or cold-pressed organic coconut oils and real butter, plus I eat lots of saturated animal fats like beef and egg yolks, and fatty fish like salmon.

One thing I will NOT do, however, is eat animal fats from confined factory animals. All the pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, and hormones they are exposed to end up mostly stored in their fats (and their organs).

Fortunately for my food protocol, hunting and gathering good fats and oils is pretty easy. Most grocers carry butter (although not the most nutritious available, in my opinion and I no longer buy it) and a decent selection of olive oils; reading the label on olive oils is a must. After the first cold-pressing of olives, the remaining pulp is generally washed with chemicals such as hexane to extract more oil, and that bottled oil will state on the label just ‘olive oil’. In fact, some olive pulp is chemically washed as many as 4 times to extract the last drop of oil.

Why do I prefer cold-pressing?
When olives are pressed by mechanical action, the friction produces heat, and heat destroys enzymes (and other nutrients in the oil by increasing oxidation) resulting in a lower quality oil. Likewise, centrifuge extraction causes similar damage to cell walls in vegetable fats just as it does in milk fats. Only in the EU is strict adherence to olive oil regulation standardized, and enforced; few other countries have any such regulations. So I am assured by buying Spanish, Greek or Italian extra-virgin cold-pressed olive oils that I am getting the real thing.

Finding good saturated animal fats goes hand-in-hand with finding grass-fed, pastured meat animals and eggs and I covered that in Part 1.

Drinking Lemon Water

 Photo courtesy of James Bowe's photostream

Lately I have been drinking a squeeze of fresh lime in my water.  I really prefer lemon, but limes were on sale at 1/5 the price. However, when things start to show up repeatedly around me, I try to pay attention.

In the last 24 hours, "lemon water" has appeared several times while surfing the internet, including a mention in a RBTI Yahoo Group I belong to... although so far, I know very little about RBTI (Reams Biological Theory of Ionization).

Dr. Reams advocated drinking plenty of Lemon Water, saying fresh lemon juice is especially beneficial to the liver, which can convert the components of the juice into an amazing number of different enzymes and vitamins.

The Preventative Medical Center in Marin, California has done some research into why lemon water is so healthy. One reason dieter's love it is the lemon's biologically active ingredient, d-limonene, enhances the liver's ability to break down and flush out cellulite-triggering food additives and trapped fat by as much as 30%. 

They recommend starting your day with a cup of warm lemon water. "The combination of warm water and lemon's natural fruit acids promotes peristalsis that speeds the elimination of toxins," according to diet expert Tosca Reno.

Sustainable Food Going Mainstream

Sustainable Food has been the step-child in foods for a long time, but since Michael Pollan's best selling book The Omnivore's Dilemma in 2006 hit the stands, more folks are embracing the idea that growing food in ways that improve human health, improve the environment, improve the soil, and improve communities is the best way to improve 'agriculture', and help renew the American spirit.

The step into the mainstream was just last month, when Time Magazine listed their "100 Most Influential People in the World" and it included four thinkers and doers of the sustainable food movement.

The four are Michael Pollan; Will Allen, Milwaukee Urban Farmer; Temple Grandis, renowned for animal science, welfare and autism rights... and Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Director, USDA and an organic food expert.

Michael Pollan was the only really familiar name. I admit I had to look up the other three to see what made them outstanding enough to merit being in the Top 100 world-wide. 

Will Allen probably stands out the most to me because of where he is doing his work... not just urban, but inner-city, recognizing that the unhealthy diets of low-income, urban populations (and related health problems like obesity and diabetes) are largely attributable to limited access to safe and affordable fresh fruits and vegetables. He doesn't just feed them... he engages them in neighborhood gardens, educational workshops, internships and more.

Bravo!

"Airborne" to prevent Colds?

Here's a good article about the product, Airborne, marketed towards preventing upper respiratory tract infections. Read it before you purchase any!

"Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food"

"Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" is an initiative of the USDA said to create new economic opportunities by better connecting consumers with local producers.

Is it really possible that something other than more regulation is finally coming out of the USDA, or is this an effort to catalog and control local food which is becoming a threat to Big Ag? I have some serious doubts about the program since the trend seems to be putting small farmers out of business no matter what the People want.

I spent some time on the website for this initiative, and it all reads like a very positive step in the right direction. Their stated Mission is to support local farmers, strengthen rural communities, promote healthy eating and protect natural resources. (Of course, that's what I thought they were supposed to be doing all along.)

Under the tab of 'strengthen rural communities', they list: Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (RD), Business and Industry (B&I) Guaranteed Loan Program, Community Facilities Program (like community kitchens), Community Outreach and Assistance Partnerships, Rural Business Opportunity Grants, Rural Business Enterprise Grant Program (RD).

The tab 'promote healthy eating' includes community food projects like food banks, and the Senior's Farmers' Market Nutrition Program. I know I have seen small notices at my local farmer's market for chits low income seniors may use for foods at the market, and in my state the contact is the Virginia Dept. of Aging although I think DSS manages the money via food stamps. (So far that project has doled out 22 million dollars nationally.)

'Protect natural resources' has a $50 million set-aside for farmers who would like to convert to organic production. That is a million dollars per state (if it gets distributed that way), and it covers salaries of the paid technical assistance in addition to the cost-share of the conversions.

One of the projects under 'support local farmers' is the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (NIFA). Twenty-five percent of the projects funded must address the specific needs of "limited resource and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, including minorities, immigrants, women, and farm workers who want to become farmers". Who can apply: State, tribal and local governments; non-profit and community-based organizations; colleges and universities; other appropriate partners as determined by the Secretary.

To me, that means I could not apply for funding to become a farmer, but the 25% specific needs funding could go to a local college or government agency with a program to assist development along those lines. So the program pays for expert assistance, but no actual money to the wannabe farmer to help purchase land, equipment?

As near as I could tell overall, very few dollars will actually go to the small farmer who needs help in any area, and then probably in the form of loans, provided they are saavy enough to write a brilliant proposal.

I'm not impressed.

Chicken Feet for Stock

2 Pounds of chicken feet. (Sorry the photo is washed out.)

For years I have read that using chicken feet for stock results in a nice thickly jelled broth. Now that I have a local source for chicken feet, naturally I had to try it! The package of feet came frozen from the butchering place all clean and nicely packaged, with the thin yellow outer 'skin' already peeled off. The toes have joints, just like our feet do, and are easy to separate at a joint. However, since these were small (maybe bantams?), I took a chef's knife to them. After doing 2-3, I switched to my cleaver, and didn't try for a joint. They chopped off nicely. After I cut off the talons, I dropped the feet in boiling water for about 5 minutes, then drained and cooled them under cold running water.




Into a clean pot with 3 quarts of water, I added a quartered onion, 2-3 carrots, and a few peppercorns, and the talon-less feet. I do not like to add salt or any spices if I am going to can or freeze the stock. (I never know how I may want to use it later, and any added salt seems to get more pronounced in storage.) Brought the pot to a slow simmer, covered loosely, and simmered about 4 hours.

After straining, I reduced the stock, chilled the stock overnight and pressure-caned it. (My freezer space is now at a premium.) The stock was like medium-jello after chilling!

Since this is my first time making stock with feet, I opted to cook the chicken necks and backs separately. That way I can choose to mix, or not.

I found a recipe for an Asian inspired stock from just 1 pound of chicken feet. The seasonings are a knob of fresh ginger, 1 whole bulb of garlic, 1 star anise and a piece of lemongrass. Makes 2 quarts. I may try some the next time I get chicken feet; I don't have any lemon grass on hand or I would have divided the feet into 2 batches.

My Visitor

Yesterday I had a visitor... a small 4 year old boy who was allowed to roam (staying within hearing distance) and explore. He was shy, so we didn't have much one-on-one exchange, but it was great fun to be aware of him over about four hours. The creek drew him, as it does me. He sat on the bridge, peering over the railing, legs dangling over the edge, for long stretches of time.

I would love to have been inside his head while he was sitting on the bridge. I can picture all sorts of things he may have imagined... the huge nessies lying hidden in the shallow waters, the wonderment of far-away adventure as he watched the leaves he threw on the waters slowly bobbling downstream...

My fearless hunter (Siamese cat) brought up a small garden snake, nearly dead. The boy wasn't frightened at all, just curious. He had the same look of curiosity when he peered into a flower blossom he picked, as if wondering what was in there, or maybe what it was all about...

Too often I forget/neglect to take/make time for wonderment at the natural world we inhabit, to see it as a small child might, or as an adult should. Why do we misplace that enjoyment as the years pass? There is something so serene and peaceful in that still, small place... mesmerized by the swimming minnows in the creek, enchanted by a daddy-longlegs climbing a nearby tree...

I cannot remember the last time I laid down in the yard late on a clear moonless night looking up at the stars. I do remember that awesome immensity, coming from city lights to a remote camping site, and actually seeing the zillions of stars surrounding my world, sparkling in the darkness, and feeling so small and insignificant... and strangely, peaceful and invigorated. Gives my skin a tingly feeling just to remember...

Random Thoughts on a Sunday Morning...

Photo courtesy ndwfgg's photostream

Yesterday I went over to North Carolina for a visit, and during the drive I planned a short piece, "Crowding the Line" about drivers who could not seem to stay in their own lane but crossing the center line into mine on the roads. I chose Crowding the Line to describe how I, by being aggressive and crowding my side of the line, caused a lot of them to back off. It's a sad state of affairs when we have to be overtly aggressive just to use what is rightfully ours to use.

Along the roads I noticed the small communities with the most run-down housing also had the most trash thrown along the verge. I wonder if it is the drivers passing through thinking it's okay to trash an already shabby looking area, or if the residents, just by being poor, contribute? Does being poor automatically correlate with being trashy?

I came home and picked a few sugar snaps. There's something so yummy about food straight from vine to mouth in just a scant few minutes!

I also take pleasure in my posted updated weight loss yesterday, 20 pounds over the last 2-3 months. I still have a long way to go to my earlier healthy weight, but I figure this will happen because I am not on a weight-loss diet, just a change in foods I eat. I also noticed (in my monthly budget) that very few dollars are being spent at the local supermarkets. Last month I bought un-homogenized milk, waxed paper, a few lemons and limes, kitty litter... and not much else. I can't begin to say how much I've saved by NOT purchasing sodas, chips, snack foods... anything 'prepared'. My big food budget hit was $160 for grass-fed meat for the freezer, and a few dollars for eggs. All my produce came from my garden, and cheese and goat milk for yogurt came from a local goat farm.

Speaking of waxed paper... I found if I re-wrap cheese from the plastic film it is sold in, and into waxed paper, it breathes and doesn't mold as quickly!

This morning there's a piece in the NYT about the Boom in Doom (it wasn't titled that, though). It was about bracing for life after oil. The 'boom' part probably true, as I have noticed I am more inclined lately to pick up extras when shopping, things I cannot grow or make like toilet paper... and reviewing my small heirloom seed stash. I have tried for 30+ years to be prepared for natural weather disruptions of power and food supplies. Each year I add to my home-canned foods in the pantry, and rotate what I use over the winters.

I also add a few hand tools every year. For instance, 5-6 years ago I found a small country hardware store that had some new washboards. They were inexpensive, and I bought one... although I must say I hope I never have to use it for all my laundry! (I also don't know what happened to it in my move here. I may need to buy another one.) They work best in a big galvanized tub, which I do not have... yet.

Yesterday at a yard sale I bought an old brace and bit in good working order for $5. I have an old one, but the knob on the top broke off.  I have a few bits of various sizes I have scrounged over the years, and should look for more at yard sales... and get a good set of files to sharpen them (mine are scattered). Files are indispensable if you have tools, power or not. Same for knives... no kitchen should have dull knives; they are more dangerous than sharp knives.

Strawberries!

Nothing compares to going out in the yard and picking a few fresh strawberries! YUM!

Egg Shells in my Coffee

I have been drinking more morning coffee lately, and noticed that although the first cup is fine, subsequent cups from the pot are somewhat bitter. I used to add a quarter teaspoon of demerara sugar to my cup overcome the bitterness, but sugar is now off my list. In reading about organic shade-grown coffees, I came across the suggestion of adding egg shells to the grounds while brewing.

Let me tell you, it makes a difference! Not in coffee taste, but in mellowness. (I drink either a French roast or a dark roast, depending on what my store has in stock.)

The alkaline calcium leached into the brew buffers the acids in coffee, and it adds some extra calcium to my system. The amount of acids in coffee vary by type of coffee maker, controlled by water temperature, speed of water seeping through the grounds, and to some extent by the type of roast of coffee itself.

So far I have just thrown a crushed shell in with the grounds, the more shell edge area, the better. Today I started putting the shells in a cloth re-useable tea bag, but I think I'm also going to pulverize the shells. I also read you could just drop a calcium supplement tablet in with the grounds.

Ignoring the Obvious in Supplements?

Photo courtesy of snowpea&bokchoi's photostream

The FDA is trying to crack down on supplements... which is becoming a political hot potato. In recent years, the vast majority of supplement manufacturers and suppliers have relocated overseas, mainly in China. For example, nearly all the Vitamin C, along with many other popular supplements sold in the US, comes from China. The FDA is not required to inspect those plants on foreign soil, and has little funding to do so anyway.

A report from a company that has tested over 2,000 dietary supplements made by more than 300 manufacturers and has found that one in four have quality problems. The 'quality' problems are trace elements of contaminates like lead, pesticides and heavy metals — including mercury, cadmium and arsenic — which did not exceed thresholds (except for the pesticide residues) considered dangerous, the investigators found.

So, what does that really mean?

The FDA wants to  use that data as part of their ongoing efforts to make it necessary to have a physician write all prescriptions for any vitamin and herbal supplements.


Herbal supplements are made from dried and processed herbs, and how they are grown and in what soil controls the quality, in the US or a foreign country. Sure, quality can also be affected by conditions in processing but probably most originates in the field. There are pesticides and herbicides still being manufactured in the US which have been outlawed as toxic for any application in the US, but the manufacturing companies are still allowed to sell them to foreign countries. When other countries apply those products to crops, naturally they show up in the soil and thus the plants, which absorb them from the soil.

It seems to me the FDA should concern themselves more about eliminating the source of contamination (stop the production of toxins), and support the quality herbal manufacturers in the US. Instead, it seems they want to outlaw all supplements unless a doctor prescribes them, which will punish US herb growers and consumers alike.

We have choices when we purchase vitamins and herbal dietary supplements, but choosing which brand is not necessarily an easy decision. Do we buy the cheapest brand with the best safety advertising buzz words? Most of us probably do. Do we bother to look up each company to see where their raw material is grown? Probably not. Do we ask if their ingredients are certified organic, thus free of pesticides and heavy metal contamination? Probably not.

I just looked up the manufacturers of the D3, C, and magnesium I take. Only one lists a materials source (India); one shows the parent company is in China, and all say the have a packaging facility is in the US. That doesn't tell me where all their raw materials originate.

When I still lived in North Carolina, I had the opportunity to visit the farms of Gaia Herbs. They have recently instituted a traceability program for their herbal supplements, and from what I saw of their farms I would trust the integrity of their products. Many of their herbs are grown under very strict organic standards and advertised as such. (I do not work for them, nor do I receive any compensation from them. Their inclusion here is merely an example of what is possible.)

Another choice we have is to eat foods high in nutritional value, assuring our necessary vitamins come from real foods and not a questionable pill. If we can get all our nutritional needs met and our body re-balanced and our stress levels reduced, we may find we won't need the healing powers of herbal medicines as much. 'Course, herbs still make great tea!