Offal: Grab Life By The...

... lamb fries!

Using my River Cottage Meat Book I know you can give me any organ meat and I will have a recipe on how to cook it. At one of my weekend farmers market visits I came across a pastured lamb farmer who I bought several hearts and fries from. I originally bought the fries, or testicles, to feed to Shaman to make up for the fact I got him fixed way back when he was 13 months old. Temperament-wise, I regret doing that, but that is another story for another day. So while the dogs did get their fair share, they are now huge fans, I decided to see how they taste.

In regards to cooking animal fries the Meat Book has dedicated only a small section on how to prepare. I made a few changes to keep it paleo, but ultimately the process is extremely simple. First step, place these bad boys in boiling water for a few minutes.

Hot and steamy...

After the brief visit in boiling water, rinse off with cold water. Precede to skin and cut into sections. The skins make a good snack for the dogs. The marinade I used included some olive oil and coconut vinegar.

Marinade

Nothing goes to waste.

After the marinade, on to the cast iron. I used butter and high heat.

Ready to eat!

If these fries were from a bull calf they would be called Rocky Mountain Oysters. From a taste and texture standpoint I can see why they are called oysters. If you like oysters, give these a try. I was quite happy with this first attempt. So much so I cooked them for an adventurous friend of mine and that was enough to get a few more people giving them a shot. Everyone who tried them walked away impressed. Here is an option, if you can get over the fact you are eating testicles, to eat paleo on a budget. These came from animals fed on pasture and were rather inexpensive at around $2 per pound. And if you are lucky, you may be the only person buying these from the farmer, so you can probably strike an even better price. And even if you do not eat them, if you have a dog these can be fed raw. They are Ridgeback approved!

Rainy Day Saturday

This morning I stopped by my CrossFit gym to watch Fight Gone Bad 6. Having just finished the intro courses as of yesterday, I could have joined in on the fun. Unfortunately I had a prior commitment... I will get to in a bit. The first wave started at 9:15am and I was quite impressed with both the WOD as well as the camaraderie. Main site CrossFit explains Fight Gone Bad:

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. We've used this in 3 and 5 round versions. The stations are:

1. Wall-ball: 20 pound ball, 10 ft target. (Reps)
2. Sumo deadlift high-pull: 75 pounds (Reps)
3. Box Jump: 20" box (Reps)
4. Push-press: 75 pounds (Reps)
5. Row: calories (Calories)

The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of "rotate," the athlete/s must move to next station immediately for good score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

My intro course covered all of those moves, and other than the box jump, I think my knee could have handled it. It was good to see so many people pushing themselves for a good cause.

Preparation.

Wall-balls begging to be thrown.

So... as I mentioned above, I had a prior commitment that pulled me away from this event. Last weekend I spoke with an interesting group of people, oyster gardeners. I was intrigued... with minimal cost and effort, I could raise my own oysters. Besides helping clean the water, I can grow hundreds if not thousands of these delicious bivalves. The class I went to explained how to build floating cages, sold oyster seed (called spat), and pretty much explained everything I needed to do. The type of cage I went with needs to be flipped every two weeks, which is totally doable for me. My friends have property about an hour away with long pier in a great area for this kind of thing. I know because there is a commercial oyster harvester not a half mile away from this place. I purchase 500 of these baby oysters and put them in one of the floats. In about a month they should be large enough to split them between the two floats that I built. If this goes well, in the spring I will make more floats, buy more spat, and reap the benefits.

Passing the Cyprus inspection.

Top view.

This pier has history. It is one of two training mistakes I made when training Shaman. The first was, when crate training, using his crate as punishment. This made his crate a negative place and causes quite an ordeal when he needs to go there. The pier... well let me say that as a dog owner, a naive one at the time, and being near water, I presumed all dogs would love the water. No, that is not the case. I tried to get Shaman to jump off the pier and swim. I had no idea if he could swim and wanted to know. I would sprint down the pier with him and I would jump off the end into the water. He would stop short and look at me like I was stupid (I was). I would call to him, hoping he would join, but he showed no interest. With the help of friends, we tried many things. And everything failed. He had no intentions of joining me. So here is where the mistake comes in. While still in the water, I asked one of my friends to push him in. If he could not swim I was right there to pick him up and help him. He went in, big splash, and power swam right back to the shore. He could swim! I was so very proud. He walked down the pier back to where he was pushed off and looked at me. I called to him, hoping he would jump, but no go. I had him pushed again. Same thing happened, he swam right to shore and this time did not go back on the pier. Ever since then, he avoids the pier. So walking down to check out the oyster cage, I am joined by Cyprus but not Shaman. When I say the pier incident was part of two training mistakes I had made, I should also say that fully regret ever doing those things. I hope Shaman forgives me.

In closing, I realize in the last two posts Shaman has had no photo presence, so here he is:

Proof that Shaman came near the pier!

And their dinner:

Chicken quarter, bison, and opah (fish).

A Fasted Perspective on Hunting

Yesterday I had a breakfast that included 5 eggs, a thick strip of bacon, and beef liver. A few hours later I ate approximately ½# of ground beef I had cooked from the night before. I ate everything in a 3 hour window (7-10am) with intentions of fasting until breakfast this morning. Ultimately I went out for a small bite to eat for dinner with my local dairy farmer, but that is neither here nor there. What I write about now is when I came home after work before I had the aforementioned dinner.

Steak and Eggs

Over the holiday weekend I picked up some venison from my uncle and thawed it out after I returned home from my New Year adventure. Using my new Cutco Butcher Knife I started cutting one of the huge legs of meat in to meal sized portions for the dogs. Upon coming home from work and putting the venison shown above in their food bowls (in addition to an egg) my hunger became more apparent than ever. I wanted all that meat. It was at that moment I wished I had a larger chest freezer and I had venison all year round. The breakfast and lunch I had was nothing without eating a thick venison steak such as the ones staring back at me. Any qualms I’ve mentioned having with the taking of the life of an animal seemed to be thrown out the window.

After seconds of contemplation I fed the dogs these beautiful steaks and told myself I will become a hunter. I will hunt to feed both myself and the dogs. I brought up this realization at dinner with my good friend Bob of Nice Farms Creamery and it looks like Sunday we will go rabbit hunting on his property. With it being winter and things fairly slow around the farm we should be able to protect his valuable pasture from rabbits, saving it for his dairy cows.

It looks like I will become a hunter sooner rather than later!

Reflecting on 2010

I've found reflection on my past, where I’ve been and what I’ve accomplished, helps guide me in setting new goals. I am always trying something new, so when I look back I can see what I enjoyed or what natural talent I never knew I had and take steps to further advance in those directions. From enjoying the new friendships I've made to the happiness that comes from cutting out the toxic people or items in my life, the past few years I know I am doing something right. I have no regrets whatsoever. Amor fati. Below are a few specific things I accomplished in 2010:

Ultrarunning
In 2009 I ran four ultramarathon trail races. In 2010 I ran far more, totaling over 800 miles of trail races. While this screams chronic cardio, I never race ultras to win, it was all about finishing. I went slower, enjoyed the scenery, and if anything it was more of a speed hiking experience than a race. Through these events I got to see large portions of the East Coast and several portions of the Mid West. The people at these races tended to be lovers of the outdoors and far from elitist. Two things that made these races tougher than before is that I ran in minimalist footwear (my KSO Treks) and I fueled myself eating mostly paleo.

Minimalist Footwear
In addition to running ultras in the KSOs, I also wore VFFs for everything from traveling to working out. And for work I bought several pair of Vivobarefoot models that allowed me the ability to wear more appropriate minimalist shoes. Only on a few occasions, such as outdoor soccer, did I wear non-minimalist shoes. I currently own 3 pair of VFFS and 3 pair of Vivobarefoot shoes and both myself and my feet love them.

Standing at Work
As of April 1^st I started standing at work. It initially started when I asked myself the question ‘When am I ever on my feet for over 8 hours?’ This was in regards to my running of ultras and how several would take me 8 to 13 hours to complete. So I started standing at work mainly to get me used to being on my feet for so long. The only time I regretted raising my desk and scrapping my chair was when I first came back to work after wrecking my knee. I at first attempted working propped up with crutches, but eventually brought in a stool. Now that I can stand again I will be back at it until the next surgery.

Food Quality
One of the biggest things I accomplished in 2010 was improving the quality of the food the dogs and I eat. To date, 100% of my food and over 50% of the dog’s food comes from organic/grass-fed/pastured/wild sources. This is and continues to be a pricey endeavor, however I do not regret making this move. Although I've cut things out such as TV/internet at home, new clothes, and more than a few nights out drinking, I’ve gained much in terms of health, friendships with farmers and producers, and my efforts and interest have landed me with a Board of Directors position with a local organic food non-profit and I have been asked to be on an University of Maryland taskforce on sustainable agriculture.

The hounds ending 2010 with a new friend.

The above accomplishments are simply scratching the surface of what I did or experienced last year. Even with my knee injury and a few other setbacks, 2010 was exponentially better than 2009, as 2009 was exponentially better than 2008. While I did not accomplish everything I set out to do in 2010, I could not be more satisfied how everything turned out. It is extremely hard not to look at 2011 or beyond and be pessimistic. Every year will be a Golden Year, every day a step forward. And hell, even if I lose everything but my health and my hounds, I will still be happy.

Deer Season!

You know it is deer season at my home when the backyard is filled with bones and sometimes larger uneaten portions of deer.

Got head?

A few days before my first surgery I got a call from my uncle about a large buck that had been hit recently near his house. He told me it was quite large and had only been dead a few hours. He has supplied me with venison before and also hates to see anything go to waste, so he called me and suggested it would make great dog food. Now I have never fed my dogs roadkill, but this sounded too good to let go.

Shaman going to town

So this buck was not technically part of deer season, but I've already starting getting set up to receive more meat, bones and organs for myself and the dogs. In the past the dogs tend to eat 95% of the venison I get, but this year I hope to get enough that I can fully supply the dogs for some time while also providing quite a bit for myself. I've not cooked either the heart or liver of a deer, so I look forward to trying that this winter.

Cyprus examining her dinner.

In regards to how much, or what, to feed the dogs I really cannot say. I tend to know approximately how much to feed from experience and tend to view their dietary intake over a week rather than day to day. So I give them various amounts and make sure they never get too skinny or too fat. But what parts of the deer do I not feed them... I usually let them tell me. I've give them a week, sometimes two, to let me know if they will or will not eat something. In the case of throwing a whole head out on my deck, I still fed them regularly, but would let them eat to satiety by gnawing away on the head. Great exercise for them and amazing at cleaning their teeth!

I imagine this is a bit disgusting for some people. But as an advocate of nose to tail eating I will gladly argue the benefits of them eating something like this versus industrial meat or kibble (bleh).