Delicious meals with the best cuts so you can look & feel younger
Duck season is here, finally bringing prized duck liver. Understanding how the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, K2) work together explains why we love it so much!
Pastured or wild ducks are known for having some of the highest quantities of vitamin K2 in the western diet – stored in the liver and fat. But the beauty of the high K2 content in the liver is that it’s combined with vitamins A and D as well, making it a true superfood.
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My friend was recently blaming genetics for fill-in-the-blank disease. “My doctor says it’s genetic; there’s nothing I can do about it.” In this case, it happened to be cardiovascular disease, but I think that it’s a pretty common sentiment.
Yet, there may be many ways to avoid problems, even when your genes predispose you to a specific condition. Weston A Price suggested this was possible with nutrition. Modern science now has an entire field of study (epigenetics) devoted to it.
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Necessity is the mother of invention. I was looking for a way to use up a nine pound bag of chicken giblets from one of my grass-fed farmers. But, you have to be quick with all those chicken hearts and livers, lest the bacteria get to them first!
In the animal kingdom, most species will hunt out the most nutrient-dense offerings and preferentially eat those first. Traditional peoples knew this. Predators know this. Even hunters and butchers know that innards must be processed and chilled first.
And that is exactly why livers will ‘spoil’ so quickly. It’s just that some other little species (if not your dog or cat given the opportunity) has gotten there first. Just trim off any dark liver spots and carry on as usual….
After last’s weeks post about loving yourself, this week I’ve been thinking about loving the environment, and by extension, my grass-fed farmers. Grass-fed farmers are today’s environmentalists, providing healthful and sustainable meats while restoring the soil and the ecosystem. If you want to eat your meat raw, as you occasionally should, grassfed is really the only feasible way. And Weeknight Carpaccio is the easiest way.
In 2001, Fast Food Nation was published and it came into my hands. I devoured this book, and it shook me.
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Eating liver is the best way to get enough iron and avoid anemia. For me, the anti-fatigue factor of sufficient iron is the only way to survive a busy schedule! A large batch of Chicken Liver Mousse might be the easiest way to include it in your diet.
There’s a popular 1950s research paper touting the anti-fatigue factor in liver. In the experiment, there are three groups of mice with a varied diet. The first group ate a standard diet, the second had a B-vitamin supplement, and the third had a liver powder supplement. After several weeks, they were placed in cold water to swim. The first and second groups swam for 13.3 and 13.4 minutes, respectively. The final group, with the liver supplement, swam for over two hours. The researchers were so taken by these anti-fatigue rats, that they were ultimately released…
I’ve cooked Pozole a few times, and Menudo dozens of times, but just recently realized how similar they are. In short, you’ve got a rich broth, flavored with toasted chiles, topped with some fresh condiments. Where Pozole uses the pigs head for the rich broth (and hominy), Menudo uses marrow, trotters, and tripe. …
Eggnog, previously known as milk punch or egg milk punch, is a great beverage any time of year. And a delicious vehicle for consuming raw eggs (and milk). Culturally though, it still has a holiday feel.
My 1940’s copy of 300 Ways to Serve Eggs and 1945 Bartender’s Friend have nearly identical recipes. Though 300 Ways with Eggs has a dozen or more variations. These include mixing up the alcohols or substituting some or all of the milk/cream with juices, coffee, or cider. As opposed to single servings, Bartender’s Friend offers a quart-sized base recipe….
Dinner prep: a quick summertime visit to my community garden
Why do I feed these offal foods to my children? How could my husband agree to such treatment? What does this look like in practice, via our dinner schedule!? Ahhh, I thought you’d never ask….
Fat-soluble vitamins available in organ meats activate the same cannabinoid receptors as active compounds in marijuana. Is this a good alternative?
I recently read an article titled The Pursuit of Happiness by Chris Masterjohn. He’s an academic researcher and his work elaborates on the importance of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K. In this article, he explains how vitamins A and D, along with arachidonic acid are precursors to the internal production of endocannabinoids. The endocannabinoids are the natural compounds that activate the cannabinoid receptors.
These receptors are responsible for the regulation of both dopamine (needed for long-term goal-oriented behavior) and cortisol (the stress hormone). As he notes, “by curbing the excess production of cortisol and supporting adequate production of dopamine, endocannabinoids help prevent excess tension, anxiety, burnout, and feelings of self-defeat and help support the confrontation of challenges with the attitudes necessary for success.”…