Whew, it feels good to have all those deadlines met! Yesterday, after all the immediate work got turned in, felt free and light. Didn’t hurt that it was also sunny — one of those late summer days that’s unusually warm, yet carries a tinge of fall.
I’m still not ready to say anything really profound, witty, or snarky, so pardon me while I slowly work up to all that. In the meantime, randomness …
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I discovered something Outlaw Cockapoos might take advantage of. Have you heard of Individual Development Accounts? Heck of a deal for those hoping to profit while bleeding the state. You put $2,000 into a bank account via monthly deposits and take some bonehead classes; some non-profit organization — using state and federal funds — gives you $4,000 or so. You just have to be a low-income person who’s saving for something like a home or business equipment. And there has to be a program in your area.
Such a deal, eh? I gather IDAs were inserted into the 1996 Ending Welfare As We Know It Act. If this is the way the fedgov “ends” welfare, the welfare state is in no danger. Except, of course, from its own excesses.
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August’s deadlines brought me a first. For the first time, I had more art than writing work to do. Substantially more: eight pet portraits or illustrations, only two articles.
One of my New Years resolutions was to do more artwork. But I’ve done nothing to bring this about, other than putting the thought (and the occasional picture) out there. I don’t mean to go all woo-woo on you, but I can’t count the number of times in my life that something has come to me just because I set an intention in my mind.
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Remember last spring when you guys helped me identify the purpose of an enormous, ugly patch of cheap wood I found in the middle of what I hoped was going to be a beautiful century-old wood floor? (Part I and Part II of that little adventure)
Well, seems I’m not the only one. But this lucky devil (a reader of this blog) also found the faux-Persian linoleum rug that was designed to cover such a spot when he tore into his old farmhouse floor this week. I want one of those!
He writes about it with charm, too.
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More firsts. I made the first meal from my gift Highland steer. It’s also the first clay pot meal I’ve ever made (Romertopf, thrift store, $3, never used; a steal). This is how it looks after the chuck roast’s been cooking over a bed of vegetables soaked in red wine for an hour and a half.
Okay. So it’s not pretty. But I think it’s going to be good.
The bed veggies cook to mush and later get smooshed into gravy. After taking that picture, I added the eatin’ vegetables — carrots and baby red potatoes. The whole kaboodle will cook for another hour.
As I write this, it’s Thursday evening before dinner (I’ll be posting Friday a.m. courtesy of the miracle of pre-scheduling) and I don’t yet know how it will turn out. I’ll let ya know.
Yeah, with the potatoes it’s not exactly a primal dinner. But then, primal is a nutrition plan, not a religion.
Although come to think of it, most people practice their religions about as faithfully as they practice their diets. And vice versa. So what the heck.
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It was delicious. And the chuck roast was falling-apart tender.
The Incans have been eating potatoes for over 7,000 years, I’d say that qualifies as primal. Maybe not Euro-central primal, but still primal.
Looks delicious!
Love clay pot cooking. Don’t do it too much in the summer but that’s my winter standby. Love to dump carrots, potatoes and onions in with pork or beef, season to preference, and let it cook. Juicy and tasty.
Never cooked in a clay pot, but do the same with cast iron. Have to find a smaller cast iron pot because my big one won’t fit on the wood stove. Perfect combination for winter cooking. š
Ummm…..dont tell robbie!
Ellendra — Despite having no Incas in my family tree, and despite the fact that (in primal nutrition terms) 7,000 years is as recent as Big Macs and “processed pasturized cheese food,” I ate the potatoes, anyhow. And thoroughly enjoyed them, along with the meat, carrots, and absolutely lucious gravy.
Never heard of “clay pot cooking” before. I suppose I could search around online, but…
Is that similar to a Crock pot, only done in an oven?
What is the benefit of that over using a steel pot on a burner, or a cast iron one as MamaLiberty does?
A.G. — Somebody with more experience at it will have a better answer than I. But clay pot cooking is different than all of the above in part because it’s steaming the food, rather than boiling or baking or slow-cooking it. Before cooking, you soak both halves of the pot in water, then start it in a cold oven. As it heats up, it releases all that water, in the form of steam. Cooks the food very tender.
Actually, I don’t know a lot about clay-pot cooking. I just knew I had to have that pretty pot when I found it at the thrift store. I knew Romertopf pots are very expensive to buy new and that they have a reputation for producing excellent results even for non-excellent cooks like me! But I have a lot to learn about it yet.
From the first experiment, though, I’d say I’m going to like it, especially for winter cooking.