martinimade

First, a dog picture, because everyone loves a dog picture:

Lucy's keeping an eye on the Boy's door because today is President's Day, the kids don't have school, and the Boy is spending some time in his room until he can figure out how polite discourse works. Or until he puts pants on. Whichever comes first.

Over the weekend, I did something I've been meaning to do for quite some time. I bought a quarter of a cow.

See, while we don't live in the country, we are pretty darn close to it. There are a lot of farmers here, who I want to support because it is work that I couldn't do myself. I can barely keep houseplants alive, much less convince them to bear useful fruit. But there are many others around here who excel at such things and I'm happy to give them my money for food whose provenance I can identify.*

We've had a chest freezer in the basement for a few years, bought with the intention of filling it with meat. And, finally, we have.

My only problem with grass fed, etc., meat is that it can be kinda tricky to cook because it comes from cows who have actually moved around during their lives and isn't buttery soft. But last night's brisket was a huge success.

Seriously. You don't even know. 

The recipe was from smitten kitchen's cookbook.** 

But I'm wondering about the rest of the meat, because I suspect there will be some trial and error. And more error. And some trials. Anyone have any go-to recipes?*** 

---------------------------------------------

* which isn't to say I'm all religious about, like, artisanal parsley. Just that I try to keep the source in mind most of the time. 

** Tonight's dinner will be the gingerbread pancake and I'm making the broccoli salad later in the week. 

***And does anyone want some beef liver? I wound up with more than I want to deal with, which is more than any. Perhaps the dog will be getting some extra fancy treats?