Eating Up The Kids
A couple food related items from my vacation. First is maple syrup. I found a book in Duncan, BC a couple years ago about making syrup and such from bigleaf maples instead of sugar maples. Bigleaf maple has a lower sugar content, half to two thirds that of sugar maple if memory serves. The disadvantage of having to collect more sap to make the same amount of sugar may be offset by the much more robust nature of the bigleaf maple. Some people like the flavor of the bigleaf maple better, though I suppose as a result of needing more sap, it has a slightly stronger flavor.
I didn't get a copy at the time, and kept looking every time I went north. I finally found the book again last week, two copies in the first bookstore I checked and got them both. One for me, and one for Aaron and Sonya. I don't know if they'll care, but the whole self-sufficiency life style they like makes it likely they'll at least enjoy the idea.
I'm trying to find someone with a good number of maple trees on their property. Say 10-20 in one place so I can keep the logistics simpler. I'd like to make 10-15 quarts and the book said about a tree per litre is needed until you develop a feeling for trees that produce well. After that 2 trees should provide at least three litres. Well, I may not be able to handle the sugar -- only time will tell. Still, what a great gift. I like things people make. I'd rather have a drawing from a nephew or niece than some glossy wrapped thing found on sale at Costco or that most evil supporter of child slavery and abuse, WalMart. (If George had even a vestigial remnant of his cajones, he'd go to war against those pedophiliac greedy bastards who single-handedly promoted the architects of Tianamen Square to legitimacy.)
Back to the point. I'd rather have a drawing that took my nephew or niece five minutes to produce than a gift that took an hour's wages from the parents to buy. I like to do the same. In the past it's been custom grown produce (with things like the kid's names etched into pumpkins), homemade country wines, mead, and ale. Would you rather have a bottle of mead someone found on sale at Costco, or one someone made themselves using honey they spent days tracking down? If the latter, then you're like me in the gifts you like to give, and those which have meaning when received.
I left those dandy books in Duncan, BC. I thought I'd packed them, and I even double checked the spot on the table where I'd left them. With any luck I'll get the book back in time to locate and order supplies and find someplace I can tap a bunch of maple trees. I've thought about the National Forest Service lands, and while that is viable there are two drawbacks. Around here they are higher in altitude, so I'd face the freezing which shortens the season and it is a much longer drive. In places like Vermont the season is typically only two weeks long, whereas here it is five months (November - March) unless you live someplace with lower temperatures!
The second item is the stuff I made yesterday. I was at the Golden Steer a month back and found they have two pound packages of frozen kid they sell pretty cheaply. Now, I'd tried kid a couple years ago at a restaurant with South American cuisine (at Wall and Vine in Seattle's Belltown district). I'd joked with children that I liked eating kids, and felt obligated to give it a go. No matter how hard I try, children are not afraid of me. What I got were hard frozen chunks of young goat with the bone still in it. Thanks to the significant population of Indians, Pakistanis, Arabs, and such in this high tech area there is a demand for curry meats. They told me at the store that the meat had pieces of bone, which sank to the bottom of the pan for curries. It didn't break down that much for me, though it was close.
Most of you could care less, and likely wish I'd let it go and go smoke some of Denman's Best. My Dad wanted me to relate this when we chatted yesterday. I started by sauteeing the pieces of goat. It was perhaps the most scrumptious smell of cooking meat I've ever encountered. All I did was add salt, ground pepper, and rosemary to the bag of meat, shake it, then dump it into a frying pan of hot oil.
I turned the meat once. I'd hoped to create some savory drippings and cook the meat about half way, and it worked. Then drippings and meat were put in the crock pot along with the balance of the tomato sauce I made a couple weeks ago, two chopped medium large onions, and chopped carrots. Add some spices (sage, coriander, etc.) and a couple hours later my kitchen smelled heavenly. Dad was enthralled with my description. I'd had two shots and a couple tokes by the time he called. Not much really, but I was beat. It surprised me I was able to communicate my culinary efforts at all. I could literally hear Pop salivating over the phone. If he reads this he'll see I had a mild buzz on when I talked to him. What a great end to a long anticipated vacation. Talking to my Dad and Stepmom who are also two of my very best friends, having an aromatic kitchen promising great things, and a silly movie (Hoodwinked; you should rent it) to enjoy, and a leisurely wind down for returning to the day job.
I think the bit that really appealed to Dad was my excitement about the pieces of bone in the goat meat. Now you're certain Scott has lost his mind, but I pray you, read on. When you know there are chunks of bone with angled corners courtesy of a cleaver or band saw, you are forced to eat at a leisurely pace. I was looking forward to that aspect, and it resonated with Pop.
So Pop, if you're reading this, the goat meat was truly delicious. It would have been overly chewy but for the crock pot. I wasn't especially enthralled with the gamey taste of the fat, but there wasn't too much of it so it served as a nice counterpoint. I had it for dinner last night, and for lunch today. It will be my lunch for the next few days as well. It seems to agree with my system, and I look forward to more experimentation with goat meat.
I found chicken sausage at my neighborhood grocery this evening. Cooked up eight links, made a gravy using rice flour (if you want the method that seems to work for me write me and I'll pass it along), and had a nice comforting dinner. I'll likely have the same for breakfast, with more goat for lunch. I thought a good name for this entry might have something about getting one's goat, but that will likely be a title in the future.
I didn't get a copy at the time, and kept looking every time I went north. I finally found the book again last week, two copies in the first bookstore I checked and got them both. One for me, and one for Aaron and Sonya. I don't know if they'll care, but the whole self-sufficiency life style they like makes it likely they'll at least enjoy the idea.
I'm trying to find someone with a good number of maple trees on their property. Say 10-20 in one place so I can keep the logistics simpler. I'd like to make 10-15 quarts and the book said about a tree per litre is needed until you develop a feeling for trees that produce well. After that 2 trees should provide at least three litres. Well, I may not be able to handle the sugar -- only time will tell. Still, what a great gift. I like things people make. I'd rather have a drawing from a nephew or niece than some glossy wrapped thing found on sale at Costco or that most evil supporter of child slavery and abuse, WalMart. (If George had even a vestigial remnant of his cajones, he'd go to war against those pedophiliac greedy bastards who single-handedly promoted the architects of Tianamen Square to legitimacy.)
Back to the point. I'd rather have a drawing that took my nephew or niece five minutes to produce than a gift that took an hour's wages from the parents to buy. I like to do the same. In the past it's been custom grown produce (with things like the kid's names etched into pumpkins), homemade country wines, mead, and ale. Would you rather have a bottle of mead someone found on sale at Costco, or one someone made themselves using honey they spent days tracking down? If the latter, then you're like me in the gifts you like to give, and those which have meaning when received.
I left those dandy books in Duncan, BC. I thought I'd packed them, and I even double checked the spot on the table where I'd left them. With any luck I'll get the book back in time to locate and order supplies and find someplace I can tap a bunch of maple trees. I've thought about the National Forest Service lands, and while that is viable there are two drawbacks. Around here they are higher in altitude, so I'd face the freezing which shortens the season and it is a much longer drive. In places like Vermont the season is typically only two weeks long, whereas here it is five months (November - March) unless you live someplace with lower temperatures!
The second item is the stuff I made yesterday. I was at the Golden Steer a month back and found they have two pound packages of frozen kid they sell pretty cheaply. Now, I'd tried kid a couple years ago at a restaurant with South American cuisine (at Wall and Vine in Seattle's Belltown district). I'd joked with children that I liked eating kids, and felt obligated to give it a go. No matter how hard I try, children are not afraid of me. What I got were hard frozen chunks of young goat with the bone still in it. Thanks to the significant population of Indians, Pakistanis, Arabs, and such in this high tech area there is a demand for curry meats. They told me at the store that the meat had pieces of bone, which sank to the bottom of the pan for curries. It didn't break down that much for me, though it was close.
Most of you could care less, and likely wish I'd let it go and go smoke some of Denman's Best. My Dad wanted me to relate this when we chatted yesterday. I started by sauteeing the pieces of goat. It was perhaps the most scrumptious smell of cooking meat I've ever encountered. All I did was add salt, ground pepper, and rosemary to the bag of meat, shake it, then dump it into a frying pan of hot oil.
I turned the meat once. I'd hoped to create some savory drippings and cook the meat about half way, and it worked. Then drippings and meat were put in the crock pot along with the balance of the tomato sauce I made a couple weeks ago, two chopped medium large onions, and chopped carrots. Add some spices (sage, coriander, etc.) and a couple hours later my kitchen smelled heavenly. Dad was enthralled with my description. I'd had two shots and a couple tokes by the time he called. Not much really, but I was beat. It surprised me I was able to communicate my culinary efforts at all. I could literally hear Pop salivating over the phone. If he reads this he'll see I had a mild buzz on when I talked to him. What a great end to a long anticipated vacation. Talking to my Dad and Stepmom who are also two of my very best friends, having an aromatic kitchen promising great things, and a silly movie (Hoodwinked; you should rent it) to enjoy, and a leisurely wind down for returning to the day job.
I think the bit that really appealed to Dad was my excitement about the pieces of bone in the goat meat. Now you're certain Scott has lost his mind, but I pray you, read on. When you know there are chunks of bone with angled corners courtesy of a cleaver or band saw, you are forced to eat at a leisurely pace. I was looking forward to that aspect, and it resonated with Pop.
So Pop, if you're reading this, the goat meat was truly delicious. It would have been overly chewy but for the crock pot. I wasn't especially enthralled with the gamey taste of the fat, but there wasn't too much of it so it served as a nice counterpoint. I had it for dinner last night, and for lunch today. It will be my lunch for the next few days as well. It seems to agree with my system, and I look forward to more experimentation with goat meat.
I found chicken sausage at my neighborhood grocery this evening. Cooked up eight links, made a gravy using rice flour (if you want the method that seems to work for me write me and I'll pass it along), and had a nice comforting dinner. I'll likely have the same for breakfast, with more goat for lunch. I thought a good name for this entry might have something about getting one's goat, but that will likely be a title in the future.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home