Month: July 2014

Turkey Tracks: My Dog Food

Turkey Tracks:  July 23, 2014

My Dog Food

 

With the dogs I have now, and which I’ve had for 12 years and 9 years (Penelope, No No Penny, PenBay–was about two years old when we rescued her from Katrina), I’ve never used dry dogfood.

Up here in Maine, I am able to get whole chickens (skin, bones, organs, meat) ground up for $1.59 a pound.  I mix that pound with 1 cup of dried veggies (Sojos) and one cup of water and let it sit overnight.  This batch feeds two small dogs for two days.  I only recently added the veggies as both dogs needed to drop a bit of weight.  I’ve been very pleased with the addition of vegetables.

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Before Maine, I used various ground muscle meats from the Virginia grocery stores, mixed with veggies I cooked.  That’s ok, but eating all muscle meat isn’t great either.  Make sure you get at least 15% fat, not all lean muscle.

I’ve never added grains to dog food.  And I supplement with some of my constant and ongoing bone broths, leftover foods and fats they like, and so forth.  Penny likes fruit.  Reynolds does not.

Both dogs LOVE raw chicken necks–and those are filled with so many great things for dogs.

The dogs love this current mixture, and they are really healthy.  People can’t believe their ages (10 and 11).  They don’t have any old-age white on their faces, their coats are thick and glossy, their eyes are bright, they have no skin issues, and their poop is great.

I think feeding issues show up when dogs get old…

Penny’s teeth stay pretty clean because she will chew bones.  I use a 5 or 6-inch marrow bone (those little ones don’t get chewed) that makes her work to get at the marrow.

Reynolds won’t chew bones on a regular basis, so I have to have her teeth cleaned about once a year–which is hard on her I think.  My holistic vet uses a chemical that knocks her down, cleans her teeth, then rouses her up with the antidote.  It’s the same process that you see when a vet knocks back a lion, or tiger, in order to check them.  I am with her the whole time, touching her and talking to her.  We did the teeth cleaning thing last Monday.  An hour later Reynolds enjoyed a walk all along the Belfast harbor.  You’d never know she’d been knocked back an hour earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

Turkey Tracks: Soaking Nuts

Turkey Tracks:  July 23, 2014

Soaking Nuts

 

All nuts and seeds need to be soaked, sprouted, or fermented in order to get rid of the awesome chemical packages they carry to protect themselves from being eaten before they can sprout and grow.  Some of these chemicals are phytates, and phytates can seriously inhibit your body’s ability to keep or use the minerals it takes in.

When I mention “soaking nuts” before eating them, the listener’s eyes glaze over, and I get slotted into the category of “weird woman.”

But, you know, it isn’t hard to soak nuts.  And they are delicious afterwards.

Here’s a bowl of walnuts soaking in my kitchen the other day:

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Basically you just cover the nuts with water and add some salt.  I used two tablespoons for this lot

After soaking for from 12-24 hours, I scoop them out and dry them in the dehydrator–which does not take all that long.

I put them in a Mason jar and they keep for a long time.  Now I have an asset to use as my heart desires.  All for less than 10 minutes of real work.

These are WALNUTS, which need to be refrigerated, so into the frig they went.

Not all nuts need refrigeration.  And some nuts, like cashews, need only about 6 hours of soaking–or they get mooshy, would be my guess.

For more information on good-food practices, I cannot recommend highly enough getting a copy of NOURISHING TRADITIONS, by Sally Fallon Morell and Dr. Mary Enig, both of The Weston A. Price Foundation.

Turkey Tracks: Rose Thomas and La Dolce Vita Farm

Turkey Tracks:  July 19, 2014

Rose Thomas and La Dolce Vita Farm

 

Rose Thomas is an amazing baker and an amazing friend.

Rose bakes in a wood-fired oven (and in other ovens too) and her commercial kitchen is almost finished.

Her baking is…delicious…and her other cooking is…inspired.

Take a look at her Facebook page if you can, and you’ll see what I mean.

 

Rose has been to Italy many, many times over the years and worked in farm/resort kitchens there as well.  One place she goes is to the Tuscan kitchen and farm Spannocchia.

Her La Dolce Vita Farm is a really fun place to be, and I go over about once a week on Wednesdays to pick up milk and yogurt that arrives.  This week, though, I got there on Thursday, and Rose was baking for the Isleboro Island farmer’s market on Friday.

 

Here’s Rose on this big baking day–the oven is behind her and she’s already loaded about 15 loaves of this bread into the oven’s maw–with more to go.

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She uses Tartine bread–from the famous bakery in California–as her ultimate model for her loaves.  She will cut the tops of these loaves with a razor before she puts them in the oven.

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Here’s a pic of the inside of the oven, which is, unfortunately, blurry, but it gives you some idea:

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Earlier this spring, Rose knew that I was down to three hens with two of them not laying and that I’ve talked about getting Buckeye chickens for some years (they’re hard to find in Maine).  So, she surprised me with some Buckeye chicks that she is raising, and I’ve been visiting them when I go to the farm.

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The Buckeyes are the brown chicks, and the Cockoo Marans are the speckled ones.  The latter will lay a big chocolate brown egg, and the Buckeyes will lay a lighter colored brown.  Both of these breeds are big hens and are very cold tolerant of our Maine winter.

The chicks are almost big enough to be released to the freedom of the yard.  They have to be big enough to handle the other hens in the hen house.

And I can’t wait to bring some of both breeds home.  When I do, I’ll return two of my more…territorial…hens to her flock so they won’t beat the new chicks to death.

Rose is also raising four pigs.  They’ve doubled in size over the last week.

Here they are:

And, here’s a picture of the heavenly milk and yogurt I’m getting from MilkHouse–who drops off at Rose’s farm.  Can you see that the cream on the milk bottle reaches all the way to the bottom of the jug handle?  That’s Jersey cows for you…

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I am so spoiled up here in Maine…

And I know it.

 

 

 

Turkey Tracks: CSA Bounty

Turkey Tracks:  July 19, 2014

CSA Bounty

 

My CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) is Hope’s Edge, in Hope, Maine.

My pickup is on Friday, which was  yesterday.

Friend Giovanna McCarthy picked up for me as I spent the day on Vinalhaven Island (an hour ferry’s ride away) with my book club.

So, I came home to two large sacks in the garage refrigerator that include a gorgeous fennel bulb, lots of greens, peas, spring onions, herbs, broccoli, and on and on.

It was…a haul.

So, I spent this morning processing food.

Jennifer McGruther of THE NOURISHED KITCHEN in a recent blog post noted that when she has a glut of greens, she dries them in the dehydrator and pulverizes them to green dust in her food processor and stores them in jars.  She adds the “green dust” to soups and stews at will.  I really liked that idea.  (Thanks, Jennifer!)

So, my greens are upstairs drying out as we speak.  AHA!  It’s the inaugural summer use of the dehydrator, which runs day and night in August and September.  I took the lid off so you can see.  I’m drying kale and beet greens.

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I used the chard leaves and a lot of the CSA produce in a summer soup–whose base is a VERY rich turkey bone broth.  I wrangled my 23-pound Thanksgiving turkey for two whole days this week, which freed up needed freezer space and produced a lot of cooked meat.  (The cooked drumsticks I refroze and will use them to build more bone broth AND some delicious dark meat for a soup/stew.)  The turkey came from Golden Brook Farm, owned by Susan McBride and Chris Richmond.

Here’s the soup.  I ate it for lunch, and it was so delicious.  It has the turkey bone broth, garlic scapes, onions, carrots, the fennel bulb, wintered-over potatoes, a handful of small broccoli crowns from the garden, celery, dried cherry tomatoes from last summer, fresh herbs–and that’s all I can remember.  I stir the chard leaves in at the last minute.  And I used the turkey fat on top of the jars of broth to sauté the veggies.  The only thing from “away” was the celery.

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Jennifer McGruther in THE NOURISHED KITCHEN has a terrific recipe (or so it looks) for fermenting chard stems.  So, I tried it, but added, also, the beet green stems to fill out the jar.  She uses a savory pickling mixture and has what looks to be a lovely combination in the book.  I didn’t have all the spices at the seed/whole level, so fell back on a pickling mixture I already had.

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In one of the fermented mixtures I’m eating now–that I put up last fall–I put in some whole tatsoi/baby bokchoi leaves with their stems.  They are delicious–the stems are crunchy and lovely, so I have no doubt that these stems I did today will be fun.

Thanks, again, Jennifer.

Interesting Information: Berkeley Pushes For Cancer Warning Stickers On Cell Phones

Interesting Information:  July 19, 2014

Berkeley Pushes For Cancer Warning Stickers On Cell Phones

I think the barn door is open now on information about the cancer dangers cell phones carry.

Here’s another article–one from a Great Britain newspaper about Berkeley, California’s attempt to require warning stickers on cell phones.

It’s important to note that industry studies claiming safety are…short.   And, Devra Davis, claims, jerry-rigged.  (Oh what a surprise!)  The types of cancer caused by cell phones mostly take a decade to emerge.  So, once again, we are all walking experiments.

 

Berkeley pushes for cancer warning stickers on cell phones – SFGate.  

Here’s a quote:

“Cell phones are a risk, and I believe the public has a right to information that’s credible, readable and understandable about the device they’re using,” said Berkeley City Councilman Max Anderson, who’s co-sponsoring the ordinance and has a background in public health. “I’m not intimidated by the cell phone industry. The legal department might be, but I’m not.”

And, here’s another:

Joel Moskowitz, head of UC Berkeley’s Center for Family and Community Health, has no such indecision. He’s been studying the issue since 2009, and has concluded that cell phones are “one of the top emerging public health risks.”

Studies cited by the cell phone industry are outdated, he said. Newer and more complex wireless technology, coupled with people spending increasing amounts of time on their phones, is almost certain to lead to an uptick in brain cancer, he said.

“It’s just a matter of time,” he said. “The evidence is a lot more compelling than it has been.”

Radiation from cell phones penetrates the skin and skull and absorbs into the brain tissue, having an adverse affect on cells, he said. Phone radiation can also affect sperm count among men who carry phones in their pockets, he said.

Consumers should wear headsets, use the speaker feature and otherwise keep phones away from their bodies, he said.

“With cell phones, distance is your friend,” he said.

Interesting Information: Devra Davis Lecture: NEW Urgent Warning To All Cell Phone Users

Interesting Information:  July 19, 2014

Devra Davis Lecture:  NEW Urgent Warning to All Cell Phone Users

 

I really like my cell phone.

Most of you do, too.  And many of you are dropping your land lines and relying, now, solely on your cell phone connection to the world.

What’s not to like?  This little gadget connects us to the internet, to our mail, to all our phone functions, to Facebook, to a GPS function that can direct you anywhere, and on and on.

AND, dropping your land line means you are only paying for ONE phone, not two.

 

BUT, what’s not to like?  In a nutshell, they are dangerous.

It is increasingly clear that cell phones are dangerous as they can impact your body at the cellular level AND THAT THIS INFORMATION IS WELL KNOWN BY CELL PHONE COMPANIES AND IS BEING SUPPRESSED.

Here’s a lecture by the premier scientist Devra Davis.  You may recall that she wrote THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE WAR ON CANCER, in which, at the end, she begins to realize the dangers of cell phones and how industry was hiding those dangers.  And I can tell you her book, which I have not yet read, details the science that shows cell phone danger:  DISCONNECT:  THE TRUTH BEHIND CELL PHONE RADIATION.

Here’s a quote from the article setting up the lecture whose url is below:

In her lecture, Dr. Davis explains how the biological impact of your cell phone is not related to its power, which is quite weak, but rather to the erratic nature of its signal and its ability to disrupt resonance and interfere with DNA repair. This is now believed to be the most plausible theory for understanding the wide array of health impacts discovered, which includes cancer… – See more at: http://www.healthfreedoms.org/new-urgent-warning-to-all-cell-phone-users/#sthash.4QHw6Rsw.dpuf

 

Please slow down and pay attention and put into place the measures that can protect you.  For instance:  DON’T CARRY YOUR CELL PHONE ON YOUR BODY.  And, don’t stay on it too long.  You’ve noticed the heat it generates, right?  Well, that heat hurts.

Health Freedom Alliance » NEW Urgent Warning To All Cell Phone Users.

Here’s another quote from this article:

 Experts in the area of the biological effects of electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) and wireless technologies believe there’s virtually no doubt that cell phones and related gadgets are capable of causing not only cancer but contributing to a wide variety of other conditions, from depression and diabetes to heart irregularities and impaired fertility. Researchers have now identified numerous mechanisms of harm, which explain how electromagnetic fields impact your cells and damages your DNA.

One such expert is Dr. Martin Blank, PhD, one of the most experienced researchers of the cellular and molecular effects of electromagnetic fields in the U.S. He gave an informative speech at the November 18, 2010 Commonwealth Club of California program, “The Health Effects of Electromagnetic Fields,” co-sponsored by ElectromagneticHealth.org. In it, he explained why your DNA, with its ‘coil of coils’ structure, is especially vulnerable to electromagnetic fields of all kinds.

– See more at: http://www.healthfreedoms.org/new-urgent-warning-to-all-cell-phone-users/#sthash.4QHw6Rsw.dpuf

CHILDREN ARE ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE:  it’s a VERY BAD IDEA to give them cell phones.

 

Interesting Information: Time’s June 12th Cover, “Eat Butter”

Interesting Information:  July 2014

“Don’t Blame Fat” by Bryan Walsh

 

Yes, Yes, Yes!

Bryan Walsh’s article on how eating good fats is NOT DANGEROUS appeared in the June 12th TIME magazine.

“Note that “Good” fats are not just any fats–they are saturated animal fats from animals raised in holistic environments where they eat what they are supposed to eat and unprocessed olive and coconut oil.  They are NOT HIGHLY PROCESSED VEGETABLE OR NUT OILS.  Think, especially, of butter, tallow, lard, duck fat, chicken fat, eggs from free-range chickens who are NOT fed soy, raw milk and raw milk products like yogurt, coconut oil, olive oil, organic avocado, and organic nuts and seeds that have been soaked in salt water and dried.

Time Cover, Butter – Google Search.

Friend Judith Valentine–a PhD nutritionist who trained in part under Dr. Mary Enig of The Weston A. Price Foundation (judithvalentine.com), saved the article for me.

What a joy it was to read.

The work of many of the people I’ve written about here on this blog was acknowledged–like Gary Taubes.  And Michael Pollen.  And the Duke Obesity Clinic docs.

Ancel Keyes, the father of the low-fat movement, was properly debunked.

The role of politics was traced.

The fact that it’s really difficult to get reputable science published if it “goes against the momentary grain” of BELIEF was demonstrated.

EAT REAL FOOD and OCCUPY YOUR KITCHEN!

Thank you TIME and Bryan Walsh.

 

Visit your library and read the article.

 

Interesting Information: ‘All Natural’ Yogurt Products Found To Contain Aspartame And Artificial Colors

Interesting Information:  July 16, 2014

“All Natural” Yogurt Products Found to Contain Aspartame and Artificial Colors

I am so lucky to live in a state where I can buy glorious raw milk from grass-fed Jersey cows from local stores and from farms.  And, of course, many of those farms also make glorious yogurt.  Or, I make it myself.

I am so spoiled now as I don’t think I could ever go back to the commercial trash that passes for yogurt in the grocery stores.

Once you’ve tasted a living, fermented food, you can’t really go back very easily.  Once you’ve experienced how it FEELS in your body, you KNOW the difference.

I ONLY buy commercial yogurt when I am hopelessly trapped in a food desert while traveling–and I buy whole milk plain yogurt then.

So, this “wake up” call came from Health Freedom Alliance a few days back.

Health Freedom Alliance » Yogurt Buyers Beware: ‘All Natural’ Yogurt Products Found To Contain Aspartame And Artificial Colors.

 

First of all, I hope you all know by now that “natural” as a term describing food is totally without meaning.

Second, don’t buy the fruit sweetened yogurts.  They’re just candy and will play havoc with your insulin response.  They’re a recipe for making you hungry fast and for leading to diabetes.  THEY ARE NOT HEALTHY.

Third, claims for the beneficial flora and fauna in those commercial yogurts are highly suspicious–since most industrial cooking methods involve high heat (pasteurization, etc.), these products arrive with the flora and fauna that may have been used at some point in the production process, already dead–which means they are useless to you.  I’d like to see some tests on what exactly is now living in this dead food.

Fourth, READ LABELS.  What you’re eating is cooked food that is made solid with pectins and the like.  And taking all the whey out of yogurt to make “Greek” yogurt results in removing a fair amount of the protein that makes real yogurt healthy.  Whey itself, in a living dairy product, is extremely healthy.  Greek yogurt is analogous to eating the white of the egg and not the yolk.  You’re splitting the real, whole food into parts which is never a good idea.

Fifth, KEEP READING LABELS as they change all the time as the industry strives to make foods even more profitable by putting more and more cheap junk into food.

LEARN TO “OCCUPY YOUR KITCHEN.”

Turkey Tracks: Preserving Summer Food for Winter Eating

Turkey Tracks:  July 16, 2014

Preserving Summer Food For Winter Eating

 

The summer produce up here in Maine is starting to roll into my kitchen, and I work hard to preserve as much of it as is possible.

How nice that Jennifer McGruther’s post today covers the ways she uses to preserve excess produce for the winter.

(If you have not signed up for her blog posts, I encourage you to do so.)

This posting is chock full of great ideas!  Thank you, Jennifer!

6 Ways I Preserve Summer’s Bounty and a challenge for you — Nourished Kitchen.

 

One of the things I walked with from her listing was drying hearty greens and onions, pulverizing them into a green powder, and using them in eggs, soups, salad dressings, and so forth.  I’ll be doing that for sure.

I have one of the plastic round dehydrators, and it runs constantly through August and September.  I’m dragging it out forthwith to start drying greens.  If I were not single and cooking for more than one person, I would SERIOUSLY consider the metal dehydrator she uses.  Last summer I dried more food than ever, and I loved having it all ready to use.

Interesting Information: A Pretty Picture of a Farmer

Interesting Information:  July 15, 2014

A Pretty Picture of a Farmer

 

Tara Derr Webb sent me this picture this morning–from Awendaw, South Carolina, which is north of Charleston.  (See her updated web site:  www.thespartanproject26.com)

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That’s Georgia, the baby goat she brought home in her car and raised.

Here’s a video of a young Georgia: