Should going GREEN require you to advertise for somoene for free?

Should going GREEN include advertising? I'll admit that while cooking on my BGE increases my carbon footprint*** significantly, we do try to be green, organic and sustainable as much as we can.  For example we use all organic beef, chicken and veggies whenever possible.

We also have two car trunks full of those canvas shopping bags (this is part of our attempt to at least act GREEN). Problem is, these bags, while nice, all include HUGE corporate logos and advertising on them.

I converted one of them...I think I may do the rest!  Maybe I should start a line of NON-advertising shopping bags...got any venture capital lying around? 
***For the carbon footprint purists:  Lump Charcoal produces about 13,000 Btu per pound and 7 pounds of carbon dioxide per hour and carbon dioxide is one of two primary types of greenhouse gases associated with this topic.   While us charcoal lovers tend to claim that when the charcoal is burned the carbon dioxide is returned to the atmosphere, closing a carbon neutral cycle, there is a very convincing argument to the contrary too.  Add in the use of propane weed burners or torches for instance to light a BGE and you have to add to that the fact that propane produces about 15,000 Btu per pound and 5.6 pounds of carbon dioxide per hour. Unfortunately propane is a non-reunable source of energy which takes you down yet another path for debate.  The REAL point however of my original post was the humor I saw in bags intended for 'green' use all contain advertising; slight but humor nonetheless, or less, or none.

Cherry-Marinated Bone-in Ribeyes with Corn Salsa and POLENTA

Starting with 2-4 Bone-In Ribeyes (sustainable &/or organic preferred) or Beef Tenderloins this recipe calls for a simple marinade that serves to infuse your beef with the tartness of cherries. When grilling the beef the marinade will result in a thin crusty glaze. BTW, T-Rex is NOT the recommended cooking method for this recipe. This recipe is fantastic with mashed polenta seasoned with sun dried tomatoes and garlic salt.

Marinade Ingredients
 2-4 each - 1 ½” Bone-In Ribeyes or Beef Tenderloin steaks

 12 oz. Can – Frozen Cherry-Apple Concentrate, thawed

 ½ Cup – Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

 1 Tbsp. – Fresh Ground Peppercorns

 2 Cloves – Minced Fresh Garlic

Corn Salsa Ingredients

 1 Cup – Frozen Whole Kernel Corn, thawed

 1/3 Cup – Finely Chopped Red Bell Pepper

 1/3 Cup – Finely Chopped Green Bell Pepper
 ¼ Cup – Fresh Chopped Red Sweet Onion
 1 Tbsp. – Fresh Cilantro
1 ½ Tsp. – Lime Juice (half for concentrate)

¼ Tsp. – Fresh Ground Sea Salt
 1/8 Tsp. – Fresh Ground Peppercorns

Preparation and Cooking

1. Trim excess fat from steaks and place in a large resealable freezer bag.

2. In a medium size bowl, stir the juice concentrate, EVOO, pepper and garlic. Pour into bag over meat, seal and rotate to coat meat well and place in refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
3. Fire up your Big Green Egg to T-Rex (full-flame) and remove Beef from refrigerator. Drain off and discard marinade
4. Cooking method 1: Toss those steaks on the grill for 2-3 minutes per side (to taste but NEVER more than Medium – Medium-Rare). You will likely not get a glaze finish with this method.
5. Cooking method 2 (recommended): Cook indirect on your grid with a drip pan for 30-40 minutes. Turn after 20 minutes. Serve with the Corn Salsa.
6. Corn Salsa: In a medium size bowl combine the corn, red and green peppers, Onion, Cilantro, Lime Juice, Salt and Pepper and mix. Set stand at room temperature. If made ahead of time the salsa should be refrigerated for 24 hours and removed 1 hour prior to serving at room temperature.

Sustainable Flank Steak Stir Fry on the Big Green Egg

Missouri Legacy Beef Flank Steak was the centerpiece of this stir fry meal tonight.  All sustainably raised beef is the best for sure. 

Ingredients

1 lb. Flank Steak (sliced into slightly larger than bite size pieces)

6-8 Medium Green Onions (chopped)

1 12 oz. can of Baby Corn

1 8 oz. can of Sliced Water Chestnuts

2 Medium Green Peppers (sliced into 2" pieces)

1 Medium Orange Pepper (sliced into 2" pieces)

House of Tsang Wok Oil

6-9 oz. (to taste) House of Tsang Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce

2 Tbs. Minced Garlic

Preparation

1. Fire up the BGE and let it come to full flame while you prepare your ingredients.

2. Drizzle Wok Oil into hot Wok

3. Add Minced Garlic and stir

4. Add Meat and stir-constantly until done

5. Remove meat to rest

6. Dump in Veggies and add more Wox oil around the edges of the pan; stirring constantly until green peppers are 'limp crispy'

7. Add Meat and stir in desired amount of Sauce, bring to temperature, remove and serve over white rice.

Free Range Hamburgers...(oh the Irony!)

Started off with some full-on Missouri Legacy Hormone-Free, range feed ground beef. Mixed in some Country Bob's Original Sauce and a half a sweet onion (minced) and tossed them on the HOT grill...

...and then I added on a few ounces of highly processed full on not good for you Velveeta. But OH SO GOOD! Okay, I can't get enough of that Missouri Legacy Beef (in ANY cut) but you just can't do green every single minute of every day. Used up the garlic bread from last nights stir fry as buns and added a few ears of corn, topped off with some locally brewed Root Beer.

Legacy Beef Tenderloin MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH!

Cookin' for One:
Cooking on a Large Big Green Egg for one is not tough, but it does seem like a little overkill, especially in the Lump Charcoal department. However after 3 months without having ANY BGE I just need to shut up and COOK! Maybe there is a mini BGE in my future???? If Santa is listenihng.

Tonights Dinner:
After a day of reading stuff for work, a quick trip to the Earth Day festival downtown and two naps, count them TWO naps, I thought I should get busy and think about supper. Tonight I cooked up some fresh asparagus (organic) and a .3 oz Beef Tenderloin from Missouri Legacy Beef I picked up at the Farmers Market here in Columbia Saturday morning. After first arriving and seeing the NO DOGS ALLOWED sign I almost turned around (I had both my dogs with me). After walking them around for a half hour I put them in the car and jogged to the market to get a steak, a cherry pie and the asparagus (and yes, it was cool and the windows were down about 6 inches).

Preparation and cooking:

1. Bring Tenderloin to Room Temperature and rub on BAD BYRON's BUTT RUB...let marinate while you fire up the Big Green Egg and bring it up to T Rex temperatures.

2. Washed up the asparagus, trimmed the butt ends and sprayed the bamboo steamer with olive oil (keeps bamboo from taking on the smell of the food you cook).
3. Sprayed the asparagus and coated it with garlic and parsley (ground).
4. Fired up the egg and brought three (3) cups of water to a boil and placed the steamer on the wok for 15 minutes.
5. Wrapped my twice baked potato (store bought and NOT organic, ha) in foil and placed it on the second layer of the bamboo steamer.
6. Removed the steamer and seared the Tenderloin on both sides (about 1 minute and 30 seconds a side) and removed it for 10 minutes.
7. Finished the steaming of the asparagus for another 10 minutes then plopped the tenderloin back on the t rex hot grill for 2 minutes a side and DONE!

KEEP ON EGGIN'

Home Grown Organic Bibb Lettuce

Home grown in home-made compost...no chemicals, no pesticides, rainwater only...disappeared too fast for me to get a picture after we wilted the lettuce and added some ham and potatoes...oh my.

Fire Ring Upgrade Improves High Heat Cooking Results

I like to cook hot but it causes problems (only occasionally) so I picked up a 2" fire ring to raise my grid and the results were outstanding!

This is tonights spiral stuffed pork loin (Recipe is in an earlier Blog entry - Spiral Stuffed Pork Loin).

And this is the 2" Ring Adapter in action.

Organic Lump Charcoal

I would LOVE to have some of this LUMP...wonder what shipping from that part of the world would cost? Ouch. http://www.graigfarm.co.uk/

Produced close to Graig Farm on the English/Welsh border, their charcoal is produced by an independent producer, Woz Young, who works alone to produce high quality, sustainable hardwood charcoal.

It is produced with materials sourced from sustainably managed woodlands. These hard woods are produced by the practice of coppicing (cutting stems on a 10-15 year cycle), thinnings (removal of poor quality stems in a stand), and 'Lop and Top' (waste material from mature felled timber).

Small diameter materials are preferred. These are then slow cooked in situ in large steel bins for 24-36 hours, removing all moisture and volatile gasses from the wood, leaving its basic carbon structure - charcoal.
The charcoal relights and burns well at far greater temperatures than the original wood and without the smoke. It also weighs 1/6th of the weight of the wood.

Charcoal can be used for a variety of purposes, including drawing, dying, smelting metals and water purification and improving the quality of our local native woodlands.

Only VIRGINS allowed near my Big Green Egg!

Olive Oil; a primary tool in the Egger’s arsenal of condiments and food preparation, should not be taken ‘lightly’ (forgive the pun). This valuable product comes in a variety of grades that are assigned by the International Olive Oil Council and are reflected below in the order of quality (closely associated with their grade which reflects their flavor and composition).

At the top of the list is EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (a.k.a. EVOO). EVOO is a product of the nearly perfect olives that are crushed (pressed actually) almost immediately after they have been harvested. These olives are processed without heat. It is extremely low in fatty acids and has the best flavor and aroma of all the varieties.

The rest of the oils are hardly worth mentioning for use other than coating your grill grate for storage, or wiping the inside of your carbon steel pots and pans for storage, but here is some information in case you aren’t convinced yet.

Next on the list is VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (VOO) which must contain 100% olive oil (seems obvious doesn’t it?) and must be produced in a manner (from pressing to canning and everything in between) that doesn’t change the natural product (like additives and preservatives or flavorings).

After VOO (I get tired of typing this all out) you get 100% Olive Oil (1OO). This product is a combination of both Virgin and Refined Olive Oils (steamed to remove acids and some flavors) but still contains no additives.

LIGHT OLIVE OIL (sac-religious in the BGE community) again combines Virgin and Refined Oils that are vigorously refined which in essence removes anything that resembles flavor all together.

There is actually a science associated with these oils ( and the list goes on to include Pomace Oils, etc. that gets so involved we would all fall asleep so why bother…just buy and use a good extra virgin olive oil and if you want to do some more research look for one that remains very stable at high temperatures.

Conclusion: Only EXTRA VIRGINS allowed in My BGE Kitchen (OILS THAT IS)!

How do I shop Sustainably? (Organic)

You’ve read about sustainable food; you’re ready to make a change, but what do you do? Below are different guides and resources to help you shop sustainably. 1

If you shop in a large, chain supermarket and prefer not to change where you buy food, look to see if any of the fruits and vegetables sold in your store are organic or from local farms. Ask the butcher or manager of the meat department if any of the meats sold are organic, sustainably raised and if they are from local farms.

If you feel your supermarket is not selling the type of food you want, and is unwilling to stock it, you can always search out other stores. Many areas have natural or health food stores that sell a variety of organic and sustainably-raised food. If you decide to switch to another store, let the manager of your former supermarket know. Stores work on very slim profit margins and will generally listen to what customers want.
Sustainable food is not just found in supermarkets – find out where else it is being sold. For instance TGI Friday's; though not advertised, Friday's serves hamburgers from antibiotic-free, hormone-free source verified Angus cattle.

An important part of being sustainable is buying vegetables and fruits, and even meats, when they’re in season. Visit our Eat Seasonal page to find out what foods are in season in your area.

1 Paraphrased from articles listed at http://www.sustainabletable.org/shop/

Grilling Grass-Fed Beef

Grass fed or pasture-raised meat is cooked differently than factory produced, grain fed industrial meat. For example, grass fed meat is leaner than grain fed so it doesn't have a lot of extra fat. This means you must take a little extra care when cooking grass fed meats.

Wondering what exactly grass-fed, pasture-raised meat is? 1
Truly sustainable livestock farming requires the use of a pasture-based system. Pasture-raised animals roam freely in their natural environment where they're able to eat nutritious grasses and other plants that their bodies are adapted to digest. In addition to dramatically improving the welfare of farm animals, pasturing also helps reduce environmental damage, and yields meat, eggs, and dairy products that are tastier and more nutritious than foods produced on factory farms.

The number one rule for cooking pastured meat is not to overcook it. It needs about 30 percent less cooking time than most common beef and is best if cooked medium-rare to medium. Otherwise, it might be too tough. Overcooking is the number one problem most people have when they switch to pastured meat, so don't give up if it takes you a couple tries before you master cooking pastured products.

If you're cooking hamburgers made with pasture raised beef, add caramelized onions or other moisturizing ingredients to compensate for the leaner meat. (Grass-fed hamburgers are generally 80 to 90% lean)

1- Parphrased text from The Sustainable Table

http://www.sustainabletable.org/features/articles/summergrilling/#hamburger

Grass or Grain on the BGE?

If you purchase a BGE you are very likely going to eat a LOT more beef and chicken than you ever have in your life; so how do you do this without packing it on unnecessary? Well, first look for meat, eggs and dairy products that come from grass-fed animals because “grass-fed products are higher in important nutrients and lower in fat than grain-fed products.”1 Don’t forget that animals are seasonal (just like veggies!) and you may not be able to find grass-fed, pasture-raised animal products all year long… but when you do, you can stock up! Buy more and freeze until the next season comes around.

Pasture-raised animals roam freely in their natural environment where they're able to eat nutritious grasses and other plants that their bodies are adapted to digest. Grazing on pasture is especially beneficial for cattle and other ruminants, whose bodies are developed to eat grass. The roughage provided by grasses and other plants allows ruminants to produce saliva, which helps neutralize acids that exist naturally in their digestive systems. When taken off pasture and put on a diet of grain, a ruminant will produce less saliva, causing an increase in acidity within its digestive tract. As a result, grain-fed cattle often suffer from a number of health problems including intestinal damage, dehydration, liver abscesses and even death. Despite the fact that grain diets can sicken cattle and other ruminants, factory farms feed these animals grain (usually corn or soybeans) because it's a cheap way to fatten animals and force them to grow to market weight as quickly as possible. On pasture, animals get all the nutrients they need from grass and forage (other plants), and some animals, like chickens, get additional vitamins and protein from eating insects.

Interestingly Humans benefit from all this as well. A growing body of research indicates that pasture-raised meat, eggs, and dairy products are better for consumers' health than conventionally-raised, grain-fed foods. In addition to being lower in calories and total fat, pasture-raised foods have higher levels of vitamins, and a healthier balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fats than conventional meat and dairy products. Studies have shown that milk from pasture-fed cows has as much as five times the CLA (a “good” type of fatty acid) as milk from grain-fed cows. iii And meat from pasture-fed cows has from 200 to 500 percent more CLA as a proportion of total fatty acids than meat from cows that eat a primarily grain-based diet.

Free-range chickens have 21% less total fat, 30% less saturated fat and 28% fewer calories than their factory-farmed counterparts. Eggs from poultry raised on pasture have 10% less fat, 40% more vitamin A and 400% more omega-3's. Keep in mind that the consistency, texture, color and flavors of food from pasture-raised animals differ from those of conventionally-produced foods. Pasture-raised chickens produce eggs with brighter, more orange-colored yolks than conventional eggs, and butter from pasture-raised cows tends to have a darker yellow color than the butter you get at the supermarket. Since pastured meats contain less fat, they must also be cooked more slowly than conventional meats.

FUN FACT: If you, like the average American, eat 67 pounds of beef per year, then switching from conventional beef to pastured beef would reduce your yearly calorie intake by 16,642 calories!

What’s a Ruminant you ask? Ruminants are hoofed animals with four-chambered stomachs which enable them to digest cellulose. After eating, ruminants regurgitate a semi-digested material called cud, which they chew, then eat. Cows, goats, sheep, bison, deer, camels, llamas, and giraffes are all ruminants. All ruminants are vegetarians by nature.

1-Source and text from The Sustainable Table http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/pasture/