The Pauley Principle: Feeding the Birds, Caring for People

Welcome to The Pauley Principle!

The Pauli Principle, named for Wolfgang Pauli, deals with atoms and electron-sharing that results in new, stronger bonds. Think 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen, a shared delectable (!) electron and VOILA! Water!

Similarly, when you prepare whole food to share with family and friends, especially foods you've grown, something amazing happens. Meals become tastier and healthier. Your soul, not just your stomach, becomes fulfilled. You live life more abundantly as a result. During a shared meal, the bonds that people create grow stronger and become something new: GREATER than the sum of the parts! I give you The Pauley Principle.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Feeding the Birds, Caring for People

We got our snow/ice mix, and the birds know it. Some have been huddled in our forsythia bush, twittering loudly and fluffing their feathers. So, it's about time I filled the birdfeeders!

I'm actually doing an experiment to see which birdseed the local winter songbirds prefer: our chicken starter feed (on the left in the photo) or commercial songbird seed. I will collect the data and try to be unbiased in my research, knowing that in the past our wintering songbirds have preferred a mix that has sunflower seeds.

That brings me to a point. If people can feed the birds, then why should any man, woman or child in America go hungry?

Vicki Escarra, President and CEO of Feeding America, will be a participant in "Remaking America: From Poverty to Prosperity", a round table discussion hosted by Tavis Smiley of George Washington University. Other well-known participants will be seated at the round table as well. The discussion will be shown live on C-SPAN, and PBS will be airing the event on Tavis Smiley from January 16 to 18. In the words of Vicki Escarra:

"It is high time that we end the vitriolic debate that continues to spread across our country, dividing us on the most basic issues of human need. Everyone among us has an opportunity and a responsibility to contribute to a bright future for America and that means making sure that everyone has enough to eat. Our nation's prosperity depends on it."

Click the link above for more info on feeding the hungry. Strive to be part of the solution. Everyone can do something! There are good organizations that raise money to stock the food banks. Local organizations do food drives. Other organizations provide clothing and shelter in times of need. All of these groups need volunteers at times, as well as money. Click below for some trustworthy, charitable organizations:

http://feedingamerica.org/ http://www.salvationarmy.com/usn/www_usn_2.nsf

http://www.redcross.org/ http://www.unicefusa.org/

Remember: While a person may strive to be self-reliant, there are times when a person's needs slip through the cracks. Each of us, in turn, needs to lend a hand when we can.

(Although I planned to count birds, it's so cold and windy out that they're not even trying to eat! Methinks me time could be better spent by making plans to bump up donations and to volunteer in a local food drive.)

What groups do you think are most helpful, either from the receiving end or the giving end?

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Give Yourself the Fast Food Alternative: 1, 2, 3 makes 4 and More

For many people, late night ballgames, church, work and other events make fast food too convenient to resist, but what's in that stuff? I can't begin to answer. Big franchises such as Taco Bell say the 63% or so that isn't beef is made up of "the secret ingredient". If we consume their food, don't we have a right to know what that secret is? And more importantly, what's it doing to our bodies? My plan is worth the effort since meals eaten at home with the family benefit our physical and mental health.

Here's an alternative and my answer to Rachael Ray's A Week in a Day. I call it 1,2, 3 Makes 4 and More. On the fifth day, Friday, make a quick and easy pizza.
In one day, you can make a roast, a hearty soup, and a one-dish casserole to get you through most of the work week.
Meal 1: the roast with salad and a veggie.
Meal 2: the soup served with warm bread or in a bread bowl.
Meal 3: the casserole with a salad.
Meal 4: soup from Meal 2 served with sandwiches using the roast, Meal 1.
Meal 5: homemade pizza.

Plan meals and shop for it. Then take a few hours to prepare the entrees ahead. Start with a roast seasoned to taste. I'm talking real meat. While that's slow cooking, start chopping veggies and meat for a good, hearty soup, one that will be a meal in itself. Get it started and simmering away and then begin a one-pot meal that takes a little more attention.

This week my plan is Day 1, a slow roasted ham with salad and mashed potatoes; Day 2, minestrone; and Day 3, shepherd's pie. I'm making mashed potatoes for two days (meals 1 and 3) at one time on my cooking day. The fourth meal will be ham sandwiches with minestrone. Salads and breads round out the meals for the week. Fruits with cheese make a quick and good-for-you dessert. A truly delicious recipe for shepherd's pie is in my blog.

Be good to you. Be good to others. On days 6 and 7, change it up by going out, having a pot luck with friends and family or grilling out. Remember, live your life abundantly.

About Venison

Venison should taste really delicious! No kidding. It is my favorite meat, except for crab.

Some things to consider though:
*If you wouldn't think of eating a bull, then don't eat a deer that had huge antlers or was in rut. I don't. It affects the flavor and tenderness of the meat.
*Replace the deer fat with beef fat for your ground meat for an 80/20 ratio. Deer fat tends to be slightly bitter and leaves that thick coating in your mouth that, although edible, is not palatable.
*For roasts, sear with butter and olive oil. These impart a wonderful flavor.
*For sausage, use pork shoulder, at a ration of about 3 parts ground venison with 1 part ground pork shoulder.
*Venison by nature is a lean red meat. A good young deer processed properly will give you many delicious meals.
*Anything you would do with beef, except ribs, you can do with venison. Look for my recipe for Shepherd's Pie. Use either beef or venison. Enjoy, share, and live abundantly.

Plan Now for Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is cooked down from sap that you gather from sugar maple trees. There are no other ingredients, not even water. And it's incredibly good. On the market, maple syrups will often have corn syrup, gluten, color and other additives which can stretch profitability and decrease the steaming time required. Since it takes 35-45 gallons of the thin slightly sweet sap to make a gallon of pure maple syrup, doing it the old-fashioned way takes time but the result is pure YUM!

If you have the opportunity to tap into maple trees and decide you'd like to give this a try, plan ahead. If you steam off the sap inside your kitchen, it can strip your wall-paper! Been there, done that, at our old farmhouse. If you cook it down outside with a gas turkey fryer, the cost can end up being around $8 a pint. We began cooking over a wood fire a few years ago, using a tripod and kettle. Oh, and a large firewood supply. Whatever method you choose, proceed slowly and with caution.

Gather your supplies. We use food safe plastic jugs, buckets, and little water line spouts. Maple syrup production houses will collect into stainless steel vats using long water lines but we simply gather the jugs, pour into buckets and bring it to the kettle twice daily. I buy little pint jugs to store it in. Very fresh, very pure. Start tapping the trees when daytime temperatures are going to be above freezing but nights are still very cold. In Ohio, the sap will be running fast sometime in February.

Try my cousin Stephanie Krupla's recipe for Sticky Bun Tea Ring and you'll want to search for maple trees you can tap into yourself!

Welcome to The Pauley Principle!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Feeding the Birds, Caring for People

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