I made an interesting discovery this week...
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It has been a crazy/fun/humbling learning curve- raising Peter so far, as I'm sure it will continue to be!
One thing that has been ever-changing is...
my diet.
I did not realize that Peter would be so influenced by my diet already.
Most days he is so happy and mellow, but some days he would wake up screaming and would just seem so uncomfortable for hours and hours. It was horrible! Nothing I did was helping to relieve his pain.
It was making me so sad and helpless to see him suffer without the ability to help him...ugh!
Luckily, it is easy for me to know what I have eaten recently because I cook almost 100% of the time and I have been reducing my intake of foods with over 10 ingredients in them.
Temporary elimination diets are a very useful tool if you are ever looking to improve the way you feel- I have used them multiple times in my life to help determine what I need to change.
There are certain food groups that are well-known to cause gastrointestinal distress- like nightshades (peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes).
Eliminating a couple of problematic food groups for 2 weeks to a month and then slowly adding them back in, one-at-a-time, makes it a lot easier to figure out which foods are hard for your body to digest.
After a couple of weeks of keeping track and eating as simply as possible- I finally realized that tomatoes were the culprit, for now at least...
Now we are back to jolly, curious, and fun-loving Peter for the time being, woohoo!
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It has been so chilly this week!
Lows in the double-digit negatives make 40 degrees feel like summer.
The air literally hurts my face- perfect time of year for stewing...
Not angry stewing.
Although, a few folks I know are probably stewing over the weather that way.
I love winter comfort foods, and I always keep a pot of bone broth cooking so I can whip up things like soups and stews all winter long.
Here is my Simple-Stew-Formula for whipping up a quick, rich, and nutritious winter stew:
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Pick Your Base:
-2 cups bone broth or vegetable broth (the best is chicken broth- which I make from chicken feet and veggie peels and scraps)
AND/OR
-milk, for creamy stews and curries
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Pick Your Spices:
The basic salt and pepper (and in my opinion, garlic) are a given, but consider some of these pairings:
-rosemary and thyme
-oregano, cumin, and cayenne pepper
-marjoram and dill
-curry powder, honey, and paprika
-mustard and fresh ground red-peppercorns
-sage, thyme, and lemon zest
-oregano, basil, and bay leaves
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Pick Your Protein:
-stew meat or diced meat
(I love to use particularly tough cuts from the neck, brisket, shank, arm, leg, and round areas, in stews because they fall apart so beautifully. I also go for lean cuts because my broths already contain enough fats from bone marrow)
-slow-cooked roast
-ground beef
-meat from bones
(For this option, you will want to slow-cook a poultry carcass, or something like short-ribs, or cross-cut shanks. I usually do this while I am making bone broth and I strain out the broth and then gather the meat and re-unite it with my broth.)
-leftovers from another meal
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Pick Your Veggies:
Add Some Veggies!
You know, the wilted ones you bought a week ago because you were going to start eating healthier in 2023... (as long as they aren't rotting yet) those will go great in your stew!
-Onions
-Tomatoes
-Carrots
-Celery
-Squash
-Garlic Cloves
-Kale
-Spinach
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Add a Starch (Optional):
-Barley
-Farrow
-Rice
-Potatoes
-Sweet Potatoes
-Beans
-Lentils
-Peas
-Dumplings
-Sunchokes
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Cook for 2-8 hours
(Shorter for stews with pre-cooked ingredients. Longer for stews with raw ingredients.)
The key is for your meat to have cooked, while submerged in liquid, between 180 and 200 degrees F, at a very light simmer.
I do this two ways, either in a dutch oven/stockpot with a lid, or in a slow-cooker.
I don't usually pressure cook my stews. In my experience, the meat ends up more tender if it slow-cooks.
I like to make a large batch and freeze some to reheat for a quick cold-night meal later.
. . .
What are your Go-To-Stews for weather like this?
I'd love to hear about them!
Does stew sound great to you???
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We have Winter Stew Bundles Available Now!
These include:
-Soup Bones
-Beef Stew Meat
-Diced Pork
-Slow-Cooker Beef Roast
-Ground Beef
-Lamb Shanks
-My 5 Favorite Go-To-Stew Recipes
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Get your Winter Stew Bundle,
delivered right to your door so you can skip the grocery store and cozy up to the fire with a nice warm bowl of
Rich,
Delicious,
Wyoming-Grown,
Stew!
Have you thought about Valentine's Day yet!
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Do you have a special someone you would like to give a neat gift to?
We have Funny Farm Valentines paired with our awesome Beef Snacks to help you out!
-Jerky
-Snack Sticks
-Summer Sausage
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Order One or Two for a Friend,
OR
Send a Whole Beef Bouquet of 6 Valentines to a very Special Someone!
Each Valentine Pack includes FREE Shipping and is shipped in a 100% recyclable reinforced-kraft-paper mailer.
You can even send a custom message to your friends, family, and loved ones- just specify what you want to say in the notes section when you place your order!
Keep your peeps full and happy, and let them know you are thinking of them this Valentine's Day.
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Stay warm, dry, and off the roads if you can!
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-BJ, Peter, and the Taste of the Wind Crew
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