Pentimento

Roast Beef Carbonnade ala Wilkerson

Tonight's dinner at the Wilkerson Estate was Roast Beef Carbonnade with a slight twist to our tastes. (Technically, my tastes). 

Since this isn't really a cooking blog, I'll just hit the highlights and say I used a beef shoulder roast cut in large chunks, 2 large onions, 6 Yukon gold potatoes, bacon chunks, 5 carrots, 1 bottle of beer, 1 cup of beef broth, and a spoonful of chopped garlic.

The inspiration for this meal came from the Food Channel's Melissa d'Arbian's recipe Pot Roast Carbonnade which I watched her make this week on her show Ten Dollar Dinners.

I think what hooked me into making this recipe was that one of the first things she did was cook the slab bacon in large lardons, remove them and then add the slices of two onions. The aroma of those cooking always excites my tastbuds! From there on I pretty much followed her recipe except that I added the potatoes and didn't add 6 prunes and dried thyme.  The last two I didn't have in my pantry.

I think the whole thing was a success though, so Jim said.

 

Eliminating Contaminated Food One Step At A Time

Do you think much about the foods you eat? No, I never did either. But as each day passes I read more and more about how our food is contaminated in one way or another and it scares me to death. This isn't paranoia, it's something that is out of control and even Congress has been trying to weigh in on food contamination.

Today's article on the Center For Science in the Public Interest site entitled Leafy Greens, Eggs, & Tuna Top List of Riskiest FDA-Regulated Foods may open your eyes and change your thinking about what goes in your mouth. If you haven't already been thinking about it, after reading what CSPI reports you may consider finding new sources of where you get your food or stop eating it entirely.

For us, it's been small steps of change. We buy organic milk and half and half, and a kind friend gave us a bread machine so I make bread for us now too. Don't worry, I'm not going to be one of those holier-than-thou food evangelists and alienate you all. If you choose to eat cleaner and better foods, that's up to you. Even Jim and I have different opinions on what is necessary to change, and what's not. For instance, I have a stainless steel water bottle with no BPA in it. He continues to drink from a big plastic Alladin cup. If you take the time to look up BPA contamination you'll find that BPA is in practically everything from canned goods to baby bottles. 

Our lives, and the lives of some of our friends and family have changed drastically in the last few years. Now we read labels to make sure there's no high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient. We have an electric ice cream maker so we can enjoy ice cream and know what is in it. The biggest challenge is trying to eat fresh fruit and vegetables. Farmer's markets are great in summer, but even they don't guarantee healthy produce. About the only way you can get that is go grow things yourself. That's why next year we're going to put in some raised beds. I'm not keen on canning my own crops, but if it comes to that, I will. By the way, my hanging tomato plant experiment was a bust, at least this year. It could have been the tomato variety I chose too. There's always next year!

What are you doing to improve your food sources? I really would like to hear your opinions and feedback.

BPA Food Contamination | Home Defense HQ

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How to Make Healthy, Tasty and Organic Roasted Sunflower Seeds at Home | eHow.com

How to Make Healthy, Tasty and Organic Roasted Sunflower Seeds at Home | eHow.com

Tasty and Organic Roasted Sunflower Seeds at Home

.....Lift seeds out of water with a slotted spoon.Spread evenly on a baking sheet.Wipe any excess water from the baking sheet.Dry in 200 degree F oven for two to four hours, stirring twice.Should be crisp and crunchy, not spongy when dry.Cool, then store in a zip lock bag. Click on link for full article.

via www.ehow.com

This is my article on eHow. Just a note: the recipe should say RAW sunflower seeds. Sorry for any confusion!

Yummy Cheese Bread With 7 Layer Salad

I'm getting better at this bread making using the bread maker. We're having a moderately warm day today, and maybe that helped a little too. In any case, this is my effort for the day: Cheese bread. For dinner, we're having 7 layer salad too, so this will go nicely with it. Maybe toast a piece and add some garlic. Vampires are now running for their lives!

7 Layer Salad

1 head of iceberg lettuce
2 stalks of chopped celery
2 green onions, chopped

1 small package fresh mushrooms, rough chopped
1 C frozen peas, thawed
1 8 oz can sliced water chestnuts, chopped

1 C mayonnaise
1 tsp sugar

Shredded cheese
Bacon pieces

Layer the ingredients in the order given; Mix together the mayo and sugar; spread that mixture over the top of the salad; sprinkle cheese over mayo mixture. Add bacon pieces if you like. Refrigerate several hours, or overnight. A good salad to take to a picnic. Toss the salad at the last minute before serving to keep the lettuce from wilting. Serves 6-8 people as a side dish, or two as a main dish.

Enjoy!