Chinese Wonton

Here is the final phase of Operation Chinese Dinner.  Wonton!  I stole the idea from my Mayberry cookbook.  If you have ever watched the Andy Griffith show then you might know the Fun Girls.  This recipe was called Fun Girls Wonton, however, I changed it up...surprise, surprise. 

Here's the skinny.

You will need:
2 cups whole wheat flour that you have grown, harvested, and stone ground yourself.
Just kidding. 

We'll start over.  You will need:
2 cups whole wheat flour (white wheat works best)
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup lukewarm water (you might need to add a teaspoon or two)

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl.  Make a well in the center and pour the water into the well.  With a wooden spoon stir until the dough forms a ball.  Add a couple teaspoons of water if it seems too dry.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead until stiff.  Cover with a damp cloth and let the dough stand for 30 minutes. 

While you're waiting...make the fried rice!

On a floured surface, roll the dough into a long strip 6 inches wide and less than 1/8 inch thick.

Ok, so, mine isn't perfect.  It's no fun being perfect anyway!

Cut into 3-inch squares.

I actually measured these.  They're pretty close to 3 inches.

Next, place a spoonful of fried rice in the center of each square.  Moisten the edges of the squares with beaten egg and press the opposite corners together to form a triangle.  Fry in hot coconut oil until golden brown.

Here are three of about 16 total:

The recipe said it makes 36 wontons....how in the world did they get 36?!  I even measured my squares!  Who needs 36 wontons anyway?

Now, dip into some sweet and sour sauce and enjoy!

These reheat well in the oven so you can make them ahead if you need to.

Chinese Fried Rice

Here is step two in your Chinese dinner.  After you make the sweet and sour sauce, make fried rice!  Caveat:  you will need 2-3 cups cooked, brown rice that has been chilled.
(I just learned the word "caveat."  Mr. Right will be impressed when he reads this but honestly....I don't even know how to pronounce it.  Are you impressed anyway?)

Moving on...

Fried rice is fun because you can put just about anything in it you like.  Here's how I cook mine:

brown 1/4lb home grown beef
add:
1/4-1/2 cup chopped onions
one chopped sweet pepper
3 whole carrots, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped (optional- actually, most things in this recipe are optional!)
several chopped pineapple rings...just for fun

Saute ingredients until tender.

Then, add the cooked, chilled, brown rice and stir around until heated through.

Finally, stir in some sweet and sour sauce to taste.  Don't forget to give it a little salt.

Viola!  Who needs to go out for Chinese?  Not you!

Beef Stroganoff

Here is an awesome Beef Stroganoff recipe I adapted from Better Homes and Gardens...

1lb ground home-grown, grass fed beef
8oz organic, plain yogurt
2T whole wheat flour
1/2c water
1/2c chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups hot cooked wheat noodles or brown rice

Cook ground beef and onion in skillet. 

In a small mixing bowl stir together yogurt and flour.  Stir in water.

Add yogurt mixture to meat along with garlic and salt to taste.

Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly.

Serve over noodles or rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Beef...it's what's for dinner...

Meat Washed in Acid

I recently read about a new company coming to our state.  It will create many new jobs (which is always great) but I was very interested in this particular company.  The article states that the facility will produce peroxyacetic acid that will be used to sanitize meat and poultry to reduce or eliminate pathogenic organisms such as E. coli and salmonella. 

I have previously written about the problems with big industry meat.  Here is an excerpt from my article:

"The [supermarket] beef contains traces of hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals that were never produced by any cow. That hamburger looks fresh, but it may be two weeks old and injected with gases to keep it cherry red. Take a closer look at that “guaranteed tender and juicy” filet of beef. The juiciness may have been “enhanced” with a concoction of water, salt, preservatives and other additives.
More ominous, the beef also may be infected with food-borne bacteria, including E. coli 0157:H7. Some experts believe this toxic E. coli evolved in cattle that were fed high-grain diets. Every year, hundreds of thousands of pounds of beef products are recalled. One of the largest recalls to date took place in October 2007 when Topps Meat company recalled 21.7 million pounds of hamburger because of potential E. coli contamination. The massive recall actually put the company out of business." MotherEarthNews

 So, why do we need a company to manufacture peroxyacetic acid to wash our meat?  Because those who produce the supermarket meat do not raise the animals the way they were intended.  They feed them diets they wouldn't normally eat in nature and that creates "pathogenic organisms" which then need to be killed by washing the meat in peroxyacetic acid. 

In conclusion, if you can find grass fed beef at a farmer's market, buy it. 

Blowing a Breaker

A couple nights ago, Mr. Right and I noticed that a few things in the house had quit working.  The lights in the kitchen were no longer on, the Caller ID didn't work, the toaster oven had quit (thankfully my apple pie was done and I was just heating up some supper!), our little space heater wasn't heating and a lamp in the den was off.  We quickly realized that we had blown a breaker.  Mr. Right went outside to flip it back on and it wouldn't stay on.  So...that means it's time to call an electrician.  What was that going to cost?

I decided that having those things out wasn't really that bad.  To me, it kind of seemed like living "back in the day."  Then, as we started discussing it further, we realized what we had done.  We had the toaster oven, the space heater and the deep freeze all plugged into the same circuit....which apparrently can't handle that.  Wait....the deep freeze?!?!?  It had been off all night before we realized it.  Thankfully, it's about 30 degrees outside so our beef didn't spoil.  The electrician came yesterday and after 100 big ones, we have power back.

I would like to live "back in the day" but can I take my deep freeze?

The $100 breaker...

Homemade Wheat Hamburger Buns

These are FANTASTIC!!!!!!!  I got this recipe from my sister-in-law who got it here.  We've been eating our hamburgers on regular bread....until now.  It's awesome to have healthy, preservative-free buns.  By the way, in case you haven't ever read the ingredients in packaged buns...well, I'll say this...don't if you're planning a cookout tonight.  It's scary what they put in those things!  Think about it.  If you have ever made homemade bread, you know that it molds within days if you don't eat it.  Why don't the packaged breads mold that fast?  That's a discussion for another day.  Moving on.

The original recipe will feed an army so I halved it since I don't have an army (yet).

1 3/4 c warm water
1/2 c oil (I use coconut oil)
1/4 c honey
3T active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
5 1/4 c flour ( I use wheat)

Those involved...

That big honkin' jar is coconut oil.

Mix first four ingredients then let them rest for 15 mins.  It will get foamy.

Don't use a metal bowl.  Do as I say, not as I do.

Add remaining ingredients, mix then knead for 5 mins.

kneaded.

Preheat oven to 450.
Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thick

Immediately cut with lid to wide mouth jar (or whatever you want)

 Let rise 10 mins.

I'm a stoneware, cast iron kinda gal.

 Bake 10 mins or until done.

Pass the burgers!!!!!!

This hamburger made Mr. Right ask for more.  We had them for lunch and I'm making more for supper!  They are soooo goooood.

Guess What's for Supper!

We picked up 185lbs of beef this week.  (You can read more about how that began here.)  So, I've been stretching my cooking legs and coming up with some good beef recipes.  It's so nice to have meat again!  The cooking possibilities are endless when you have a freezer full of beef!

So, I started thawing and marinating this yesterday...

Whoo!  Round steak!  I've been searching my cookbooks for a good round steak recipe.  I want to find a way to cook it in the oven...because it's too cold to go outside.  I know, I'm a weenie.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Nitrites and Nitrates in Processed Meat

Don't those look natural?

 "Sodium Nitrite helps prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism in humans and is also used alone or in conjunction with sodium nitrate as a color fixative in cured meat and poultry products (bologna, hot dogs, bacon, lunch meat). During the cooking process, nitrites combine with amines naturally present in meat to form carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds. It is also suspected that nitrites can combine with amines in the human stomach to form N-nitroso compounds. These compounds are known carcinogens and have been associated with cancer of the oral cavity, urinary bladder, esophagus, stomach and brain.

Research in Sweden found that Swedes who ate on average 3 ounces of processed meat each day had a 15 percent greater chance of developing stomach cancer than those who consumed 2 ounces or less. The Cancer Research Center of Hawaii and the University of Southern California reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2005;97:1458-65) that they studied 190,000 people, ages 45 to 75, for seven years. Those who ate the most processed meat (bacon, ham, cold cuts) had a 68% higher risk of pancreatic cancer than those who ate the least. "Most" was defined as at least 0.6 ounce processed meat, 1 ounce beef or 0.3 ounce pork per 1,000 calories consumed. "  SupermarketGuru

That same article states that dietitians suggest to consume some sort of antioxidant such as vitamin C or vitamin E before a meal that contains a processed meat to help reduce the "possible cancer-causing effects of sodium nitrite."  It's not smart to eat something that requires you to consume an antioxidant beforehand just so your risk of cancer can be reduced.  The best thing to do it to not consume processed meats at all.  

Here is an interesting website that broke down information about hotdogs well...if you are interested in more information.

Nitrates and Nitrites in and of themselves are not dangerous.  In fact, they are found in vegetables and some drinking water.  The problem is when they are used in processed meats as a preservative.  When protein is present, they form compounds that are carcinogens.

Be aware of this hazard and cut back on processed meat.  These preservatives are dangerous for everyone especially children and pregnant women.  Interesting....kids eat the most hotdogs....

"...just this year, there was a study finding that kids who eat three or more hot dogs a week have a higher than normal rate of leukemia. Other studies found that eating hot dogs during pregnancy can increase the risk of brain tumors in the babies."  resource

Be informed.

The Beef is Coming! The Beef is Coming!

My sister-in-law and her husband have been raising serveral cows to split with family and friends so we can have some natural beef.  Well, I got an email from her that said the beef would be ready November 13th.  Whoo!  In about two weeks, I'll have half a cow in my deep freeze.  I need to get busy and make sure there is room!  I'm not sure how much our cow weighs so I don't know how much meat to expect but I'll take anything.  It's been too long since we've had beef!

Steak, brisket, ground beef.....makes my mouth water.  I think we'll have meat every night for a week!

photo from here

There is so much to learn about the beef you buy in supermarkets.  If you get started researching, you might not eat your supper tonight....but that's ok.

According to Food Inc., "Approximately 10 billion animals (chickens, cattle, hogs, ducks, turkeys, lambs and sheep) are raised and killed in the US annually. Nearly all of them are raised on factory farms under inhumane conditions. These industrial farms are also dangerous for their workers, pollute surrounding communities, are unsafe to our food system and contribute significantly to global warming."

Here is some information I found on MotherEarthNews:
"The [supermarket] beef contains traces of hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals that were never produced by any cow. That hamburger looks fresh, but it may be two weeks old and injected with gases to keep it cherry red. Take a closer look at that “guaranteed tender and juicy” filet of beef. The juiciness may have been “enhanced” with a concoction of water, salt, preservatives and other additives.
More ominous, the beef also may be infected with food-borne bacteria, including E. coli 0157:H7. Some experts believe this toxic E. coli evolved in cattle that were fed high-grain diets. Every year, hundreds of thousands of pounds of beef products are recalled. One of the largest recalls to date took place in October 2007 when Topps Meat company recalled 21.7 million pounds of hamburger because of potential E. coli contamination. The massive recall actually put the company out of business."

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2008-02-01/What-You-Need-to-Know-About-the-Beef-You-Eat.aspx#ixzz1cOHshZyv

Just remember, that's not beef you're eating if you bought it at the supermarket.  It's manufactured meat and the process it took to get it to you is astounding.

Do yourself a favor and watch Food, Inc.  Here's the link: http://www.foodincmovie.com/.  It's a very researched and thoughtfully put together film.  This is the push that really got us going on our real meat journey.

Keep in mind that you don't have to know someone who owns a farm to have good beef.  There are local markets that offer grass-fed beef.  Look beyond the supermarket.  Here is one in the Little Rock area http://www.argentamarket.com/.  It may cost a little more but it's worth it for your health.  It may just mean that you don't eat beef as many times a week as you'd like.  There is more to life than beef for dinner!  

If you don't have a family member who will raise a cow for you (and most people don't), shop wisely.  Here is a short "decoder" to better help you understand what is on your beef's food label:

• USDA Certified Organic — 100% organic grass, corn, grain; “access” to pasture required, but not defined; antibiotics only given to sick animals, which are then removed from the program; growth-hormones prohibited; animal welfare criteria vague.
• American Grassfed Association – Grass only; access to pasture required, animals spend the majority of their lives on pasture; antibiotics only given to sick animals, which are then removed from the program; growth-hormones prohibited; animal welfare criteria vague.
• USDA Certified Grassfed – Grass, if an animal consumes something other than grass it must be documented, but it can still bear the label; “access” to pasture required, but not defined; antibiotics allowed; growth hormones allowed; animal welfare not addressed.
• Certified Humane Raised & Handled – Grass, corn, grain allowed; access to pasture not required; antibiotics only given to sick animals; growth hormones prohibited; animal welfare requirements quite specific addressing health, shelter, and handling.
• Food Alliance Certified – Grass, corn, grain allowed; access to pasture required, animals spend the majority of their lives on pasture; antibiotics only given to sick animals; growth hormones prohibited; animal welfare requirements quite specific addressing health, shelter, and handling.
• Animal Welfare Approved — Grass, corn, grain allowed; access to pasture required, animals spend the majority of their lives on pasture; antibiotics only given to sick animals; growth hormones prohibited; animal welfare requirements quite specific addressing health, shelter, and handling.  foodrenegade.com