The Pauley Principle: August 2011

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.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Squash Blossoms filled with Cheese

Pick fresh blossoms in the morning while the blossom is still open. Use pumpkin or large squash blossoms for stuffing. They're equally delicious. Today I used string cheese that I cut into chunks. Sometimes, instead, I use grated cheddar mixed with chopped jalapena and it's like a jalapena popper inside!

Stuff the blossom with cheese after making sure there is no insect busy working inside.Twist the open end so that it stays shut. Dip in a simple batter made with 1 large egg, 2 tsp. cornmeal and a dash of salt.

Saute on each side just until golden in olive oil and butter, or your favorite oil.


Stuffed squash blossoms make a great appetizer or healthy after-school treat. Serve warm. The first thing you notice is the tasty crunch and then your tongue finds the cheesy deliciousness inside the delicate blossom. It's so good! 100% pure YUM!!!

"Plant a zucchini and feed the world!" my husband used to proclaim. Not anymore. Now he realizes the potential in the beautiful blossoms as a summertime treat.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

If You're Gonna Raise Pole Beans, You've Gotta be Real Tall

From front to back: Early Girl Tomatoes, Blue Lake Pole Beans, and Gotta Have It Bi-color Sweetcorn.

For the first time, we tried growing pole beans. Pictured are Blue Lake pole beans but we also have Kentucky Wonders. Up until now, my favorite beans were Blue Lake bush beans, a little different critter than the ones that shinny up a pole. Even with the boost of my walking cast, I cannot begin to touch the top of the poles. How will I ever pick these beans?!

Well, I have an idea. A couple of weeks ago, I broke my leg, the lower fibula. After that, I tried walking with crutches but Chris soon witnessed a first-rate pole-vaulting event when I flew over the front walk and into the bushes. So I'm thinking maybe I can try that same technique, make a fast hobble for it, get a little more height next time, and reach the beans to pick them on my way down the other side.

Frankly, it's the best garden we've ever grown and it just may have something to do with my staying out of it these past two weeks. Those days are over. Our daughter wanted to come home to help with the harvest and, when she visited, I soon discovered what she meant. She loaded up her car with fresh produce to take back! That's all! So I ventured out this morning, walker in tow, steadied myself, and picked some bush beans for my own table! After all that effort, they're gonna taste so good! I know, it would have made a better story to say I pole vaulted to pick them. Maybe next time. Those pole beans aren't even blooming yet!

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!