Martin chose the girl's bedtime tonight to go ahead and cook up the deer burger patties sitting in our fridge. It wasn't long before the delectable smells of bread baking (my concession to Merry's wishes for simplicity--no more bread from the grocery--) were eclipsed by Martin's venison chili. I'm sure Pa's freshly killed buck simmering on Ma's stove smelled wonderful to Laura and Merry, but I have no fond reactions to the edgy, bitter smell of dead deer or the tangy taste of its meat. In fact, it makes me sick to my stomach. So I took a break from feeding the baby to sleep to spray the entire upstairs with vanilla room spray--imagine that delightful combination.
But I did think you all would enjoy seeing pictures from our recent trip to an "old fashioned" village here in Pennsylvania. Merry was so excited that she withdrew and became very shy (a pattern she started early--frowning furiously on merry-go-rounds, etc.). In fact when the school teacher asked her to ring the bell, she could barely pull the rope. Elspeth (of a disposition not given to much introspection or consequence weighing) evidenced no such reservations--she would have rung it dry given the chance.
Merry internalizes much and I think she filed away this bright, cool day in particular for further inspiration. She even found an old fashioned toy--a wooden cup and ball on a string--at the gift shop, something she had patiently saved her money in hopes of finding someday.
Martin's got this bowl full of deer meat and chips and he's waving it under my nose. "It's really good," he says, "Take a bite."
No thanks, Pa.
4 comments:
The girls are adorable, as always.
We noticed Merry's propensity for inrospection.
She'll be a poet, teacher or writer perhaps, like her parents.
Elspeth?
She is destined to rule the world, at least her world.
No stopping her!
Bea's true personality will be fun to watch as it emerges.
We are all snowflakes after all.
As for the Venison.
Don't knock it if you ain't tried it!
Game meet is far leaner and healthier than beef.
Proper marination will remove the "gamey" odor and taste residue.
I suggest your favorite marinade for 24 hours. Red wine vinegar works well if you have no other ideas.
We have pretty much eliminated beef, unless it is a lean steak.
I have taken Pork completely out of my diet as well.
Bison meat is a wonderful alternative, BJ's wholesale sells it ground.
Your Aunt has fixed meatloaf, burgers and Spaghetti with it.
Wonderful!
Animal protein is great, but fat is not.
We'll have to try bufallo. Maybe we could raise our own here in the wilds of wazoo farm. Actually, the children are enough to raise. . .that and squash.
Anybody that likes roast beef would like moose. When you really get right down to it though, red meat is red meat. It's really just a matter of what we've grown accustomed to. I personally find beef sorta gross at this point, by virtue of all I know about the meatpacking industry.
When you do buy some buffalo, be careful not to overcook it - it takes about 2/3rds as long as beef for some reason. Also, you can expect to get a good gravy out of it, because tons of yummy gunk cooks out of it (you, know, the stuff one makes gravy from.)
You should be able to find a local farm that raises Bison.
We have a few here in NC/VA, just none close to us.
Then you avoid the meat packing industry pretty much altogether.
The farmer will butcher the Bison for you to your order.
Share it with a few other families for the best price.
You will need a pretty good freezer to do that.
Raising children is a lot like raising livestock, but sometimes livestock are cleaner and better behaved!
Especially the boys.
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