The Pauley Principle: Rest and Relaxation after the Harvest

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, November 1, 2011

Rest and Relaxation after the Harvest

Our vintage Airstream makes a comfortable retreat. In this photo, we're just pulling in, ready to set up camp.

One of the perennial pleasures that comes from growing and harvesting your own foods is the satisfaction that comes at the end of the growing season. Going to bed exhausted from the final canning and processing, knowing that a food supply is laid by for months to come, means a moment of respite. Those moments to refuel, relax and recharge are that much more pleasurable after hard work. For me, recurring dreams often turn to camping.

A favorite hang-out of ours is Zaleski National Forest in southeastern Ohio. If you plan to go there, be advised of the hairpin curves of the Appalachian foothills and overlooks that show off breathtaking scenery. The silence of a latenight campfire can be punctuated by the sounds of coyote and screech owls. The sparks from the campfire go up and mingle with a myriad of stars so that it's difficult to tell the difference between an ember and a shooting star. Either way, I make a wish before the flame dies out, wanting these moments to return "again and again and more gains", as our daughter would say.

Camping is different for us now. Missing is the laughter of our now-grown children. Missing are their questions about what we're doing next, since they were always ready for the next adventure or discovery. Now there is more time to relax and enjoy the magic of each moment. Although we used to rough it more, we camp comfortably these days and enjoy a warm bed and breakfast in our circa-1974 Airstream.

Zaleski in the fall also attracts the rugged outdoor enthusiasts who have managed to stretch their camping comfort zones. It is not uncommon to find encampments of deer hunters who sleep on the ground and disturb a heavy frost when they get up for their morning hunt. Brrr!

Within a few days of starting out, we've chatted with all the locals, awed over the hunters' conquests, and explored the area for its wild boar and good fishing spots. Our thoughts turn to cold weather and we are ready to head back home knowing that there are preparations to be made for winter, things like splitting and stacking firewood, getting our birds settled into their cold-weather housing, and mulching the roses and perennial herbs in anticipation of coming snows.

There is always work to be done if you're growing and harvesting your own foods but, when we have a moment for the simple pleasures, the feeling is that much more elegant. Enjoying a cup of tea while I sit near the fireplace and contemplate next year's garden feels ever so indulgent!

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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!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Rest and Relaxation after the Harvest

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