MOO!

I haven’t ever been a big meat eater. I’d much rather have a good piece of fish or some seafood but since having “mutiny in the kitchen” (see Thank God For Multivitamins posts) I’ve had to buy more and more meat for the boys and my poor husband who hates seafood. We decided once Lucas was ready for table food to that we would try and buy (for the most part) organic fruits/veggies, dairy and meats and it seemed very reasonable when it was just him because he’d basically just eat everything off our plate. Now with three boys under 6 the cost of buying organic for a family of five almost seemed unattainable so we pick and choose carefully when it comes to organics. I began researching vegetable co-ops, other ways of buying locally and finally decided to ask my brother in law if we could buy half of a cow from him. I didn’t really know if I would enjoy the amount of beef that we would be getting, but I have to say, I thought I loved Central Market and Whole Foods meats? His is better. VICTORY in the Noonan house!  Everything that we've eaten has been perfect, the right ammount of fat, extremely flavorful and organic. He has worked hard at perfecting his beef. It’s lean, high in omega-3’s, all grass fed and finished off on clover to help in the marbling. We received steaks, roasts, ribs, ground meat, you name it we got it. Best of all, we love knowing where our meat came from, how it was handled and who processed it. If you’re at all interested in buying locally and supporting local farmers, this is a great way of knowing where your food came from AND supporting your community.

Big Bertha

I made a pound cake today. I named it…wait for it…Big Bertha.  Normally, I make an old recipe that my mother shared with me a long time ago which uses two loaf pans. It’s a “no fail” winner and is great for strawberry shortcake. This is not that cake. I used a bundt pan for the recip today and the cake, my friends, is huge. I guess I was feeling quite confident this afternoon so I thought I’d kick it up a notch. I’ll admit, we had a 5 lbs container of sour cream that needed to be used up so I conveniently googled “Sour Cream Pound Cake” and of course the first thing that pops up is Paula Deen’s recipe. Dang that woman.  I skimmed the recipe, already knowing that I had all the ingredients including this awesome Mexican vanilla (thank you Michelle) that was a gift from a friend. I could feel my thighs enlarging. People, this is a serious pound cake so make it at your own risk I have to say though…it turned out BEAUTIFUL!!!! Pound cake is one of the easiest recipes to make so if you’re ready for summer, try this recipe and get out the fresh berries and whipped cream. It’s absolutely perfect…but, it’s really big J.