it's what's for dinner

This marks the fourth year we've purchased grass-fed beef from a rancher.  

(Why grass-fed and grass-finished?  Click HERE to read more.)

We bought the most we ever have:  three-quarters of a cow.

Wow.

Our family is so excited, though.   And to tell you the truth, it was a little tricky to get it all in the freezer.

We had to utilize every square inch of freezer space we had available, which included one big chest freezer and two refrigerator freezers.  My husband did it though. Didn't I tell you he was spatially gifted?

I'm so pleased and happy to have such a supply of lovely, healthy grass-fed beef available.   I can hardly wait to make this sausage again.  We love it in omelettes, on pizza, and in many other dishes.  It's so easy!

Recently I discovered some other promising recipes: Homemade Beef Pepperoni (which the commenters say is similar to summer sausage!) and Spicy Pepperoni, as well as a new Beef Jerky recipe.  

A word of advice, though: grass-fed beef cooks differently than conventional beef.  It's quite lean, so it needs to be cooked more slowly, over lower heat.   I highly recommend Stanley Fishman's book Tender Grassfed Meat, especially if you are new to grass-fed.  Here's a link to some free recipe ideas:  American Grassfed Beef.  It took me a while to learn how to prepare grass-fed beef, but it was so worth the process!

meant to be

What were we intended for? How did God intend us to thrive? To be nourished?

Let's look at an example that's dear to my heart: grass and cows. I've mentioned on the blog that we drink raw milk from cows raised on grass, and that the past couple of years, we've purchased a fair amount of grass-finished beef from a local rancher. Here are a few of the reasons why we seek out such a resource:

When animals are 100% grass-fed, their meat is not only lower in saturated fats but also slightly higher in omega-3 fatty acids, the healthy fats found in salmon and flaxseed, which studies indicate may help prevent heart disease and bolster the immune system. Ground beef and milk from grass-finished cattle also have more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which recent data suggest may help prevent breast cancer, diabetes and other ailments. Moreover, grass-finished meat is higher than grain-finished meat in vitamin A and vitamin E, two antioxidants thought to boost resistance to disease.
source
(Time Magazine)

In fact, eating grass is far better for the animals, too. In their book Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig write that commercially-raised cattle are "treated with antibiotics to stave off infections that inevitably result from poor diet and crowded conditions." (emphasis mine) According Union of Concerned Scientists, "a change from grain-based feedlots back to a purely pasture-based system "would be better for the environment, animals and humans." (source) Cows were intended to eat grass.*

Enough about the cows. What about people? What is intended to nourish our spirits? St. Augustine is credited with saying “God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you.” I believe this to be true. We seek endlessly to fill a deep longing, and when we try to fill it with anything other than God, we will never be satisfied.

A dear friend recently made a connection I'd never considered before. It comes from Revelation 3:20 - a well-known Scripture. Here are the words of Jesus: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." This verse is often quoted as a gesture of Christ's invitation to the unbeliever, yet in context these words are said to his followers (in the church in Laodicea).

And here's the thing - what if Jesus isn't talking about sharing a meal here? What if He is extending an invitation to find our true nourishment in Him? To partake of living water (John 7:38) , the Bread of Life (John 6:35). What if we stopped running after other things, and answered the call for a deeper relationship?

The Bible tells us that God "set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). He made us to want Him, to need Him. That's what we were created for.

I forget that sometimes. I get busy, I get distracted. I try to fill that God-shaped hole with things like family, food, TV, the Internet. Sometimes I even invent things to keep me more busy than usual, because I don't take the time to stop and realize that for which my spirit is really hungering.

Maybe we're meant to be "grazing" on Him. Continually coming to Him to fill us up. Because it's the only way to find what we need to be healthy, effective, and strong. Only in Him will we thrive. We were made for this, meant for this.

And because of that, nothing else will truly satisfy.

*If you'd like to learn more about grass-fed cows, check out Eat Wild.

where's the beef?

In our freezer, of course!

Yes, we did it again. This summer we purchased 3/8 of a cow (what a funny fraction...last year we got a quarter of beef, so this is a bit more), grass-fed, from a local rancher. I could not be more pleased! And I am so happy to have a replenished supply of meat in our freezer.


Hooray for the return of red meat! Just in time for grilling season. Yum.

halving a cow

Technically...our portion was a quarter.

While attending an event from my homeschooling co-op, I was blessed to come across someone interested in splitting a half of grass-fed, grass-finished beef. She had worked with this farmer before, knew how things worked, and was willing to handle things for our end of it. I was thrilled beyond words - and have been practically drooling at the thought of it ever since.


Today was pick-up day! Now we are lousy with London broil, arm roasts, rump roasts, ground beef, T-bone steaks, stew meat, and more.


To read more about why we choose grass-fed beef, click HERE.
And to read about the significance of grass-finished beef, click HERE.

It seems that this is one of those many times when using traditional methods (such as letting cows eat grass instead of feeding them, say, corn products) makes for an exponentially healthier and more nourishing product. And I for one, intend to enjoy every single bite.

We're having steak this week!