The Pauley Principle: July 2012

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.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Smoking and Grilling Chicken

I love grilling all year round, lately working on developing different rubs to use with poultry, beef and pork using indirect heat and different hardwoods for smoking. Experimenting has been delightful and delicious!

I use indirect heat as often as possible when I grill out since carcinogens are linked with any grilling but it is particularly dangerous when direct heat results in charring. Also, any time a rub contains brown sugar, burning can be a problem but is less likely with a temperature-controlled indirect heat. The rub I used on the chicken in the photo is a sweet and spicy poultry rub, my unique mix, available at our farm market.The wood was from a downed apple tree.

We all have to eat, so my approach is to make each meal a fun family time. Our family is planning a fun family grill-off before the end of summer, so I'm gearing up for it. I hope practice really does make perfect! With the grandchildren as judges and tough competition from my kids, the pressure is on!!!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Finding a Fun Way to Serve the Community

We are now in the middle of our first year with our farm market and no two Saturdays are alike. It began in March with eggs and some home baked items, pies, breads and cottage foods such as jams, jellies and fudge. From there we have added some fresh local produce.

Lately, I've been mixing and trying out rubs for slow smoked and grilled meats over indirect heat. That has been so much fun because I really, really like to eat and, of course, I have to sample the wares!

No matter what we offer at our market, there will always be pies. And, since I listen to what my customers want, I'm also making fresh fruit turnovers and special items for the gluten-free.

Our primary goal is to bring a fresh and delicious food experience to our friends in this out-of-the-way and under-served community, as a way of providing a convenient service to these wonderful people. And it's working!

Lately, as word has spread, more visitors from surrounding counties have come to our market. One poor fellow got lost and said he was starting to hear the banjos and almost turned around before he got here! HAHAHA! It's really not that bad, but it might seem like it! We are located in the scenic rural hills of southern Ohio, and it can be a long winding drive. We try hard to make it worth your effort. The man who could "almost hear the banjos" left with two pies, peanut butter fudge, and brochures to share with his friends. He loved it!

Our vintage Airstream camper is set up on the small family farm my husband grew up on, where most of our gardens are and all our poultry live. You can come out and walk around the gardens, see the chickens and ducks, and in general reminisce about life on a family farm as you see the antique farm equipment Chris has collected and restored.

To add to our market's uniqueness, we have a drawing at the end of market every Saturday. The lucky winner gets to pick any leftover item for free! Everyone, including the children, gets a chance to win! If you're within driving distance, give us a try.

A refrigerator magnet will remind you that we're open on Saturdays, 12 to 5, at 2589 Blain Highway, Waverly OH 45690. Come and get yours!

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!