Text 20432, 147 rader
Skriven 2012-01-25 22:45:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DAVE DRUM
Ärende: crops
=============
-=> Quoting Dave Drum to Jim Weller <=-

 DD> Hardly anyone around here pastures cattle any more.
 
 JW> It is still prevalent back home in eastern Ontario and in northern
 JW> Alberta where my inlaws ranch. Pasture in summer, hay in winter

 DD> Well, when you've got miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles

Full of millions of acres of just acres.

 DD> In the Great American Outback it's pretty much still "all about
 DD> money". High-value cash grain is king in these parts. Corn and
 DD> soybeans, mostly.

It is everywhere. But corn and soy need a hotter climate than we
have. Canola is big in southern Alberta. Further north wheat is
King. The cattle pastures and hay fields are further north again,
or in the rolling foothills of the Rocky Mountains, with poorer
soils and harsher weather, which won't support wheat or even oats
and barley. My BIL Ike has 8 whole sections of marginal land. He is
at the northern limit for agriculture; in fact the last road ends in
the middle of his ranch with nothing but wilderness to the north of
him. He raises beef cattle, which he sells off to be finished
elsewhere and grows just enough grain for his own use as animal
feed. His grain isn't high enough quality to use any other way.

To find him, find Hines Creek, Alberta, on Google Maps, zoom in to 2
miles per inch to see all the lesser roads, follow Highway 64 west
towards Dawson Creek for 25 miles until you spot secondary road 726,
go north 10 miles to the tiny unincorporated hamlet of Worsley, then
2.5 miles west to range road 84, then four miles north to the dead
end. That's where Ike's holdings are. Switch to satellite view and
you can see the grid of 160 acre quarter section fields. If you
really zoom in you can see his two houses and his barns and dugout
ponds along RR 84.
  
Naturally his steaks are all prime.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

      Title: Lulu's Grilled Rib Steak with Artichokes
 Categories: Beef, Steak, Marinades, Wine, Grill
      Yield: 8 Servings

  1 2/3 c  Olive oil
    1/4 c  Chopped flat-leaf parsley
    1/4 c  Chopped fresh winter savory,
      4 ts Dried
    1/4 c  Chopped fresh thyme plus
      8    Sprigs, or
      5 ts Dried
      2 tb Chopped fresh rosemary, or
      2 ts dried, crumbled
      2 ts Chopped fresh lavender
    -flowers
    1/4 c  Fresh-ground black pepper
      3    Rib steaks on the bone,
    -about 1-1/2 inches thick
    -(about 5 pounds)
    1/4 lb Butter, at room temperature
      8    Nicoise olives, halved and
    -pitted
      2    Anchovy fillets or
    1/2 ts anchovy paste
  2 3/4 ts Salt
      1    Lemon, cut in half
     20    Baby artichokes
      4    Cloves garlic, chopped
      4    Bay leaves
      2 lb Yukon Gold or baking
    -potatoes, peeled and cut
    -into 1/4-inch slices
    1/2 c  Dry white wine
    1/2 c  Water, more if needed

  In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the oil, the parsley, savory,
  the chopped fresh thyme or 4 teaspoons dried, the rosemary, the
  lavender flowers, if using, and the pepper. Trim off the fat from
  the edge of the steaks. Put the steaks in a glass dish or
  stainless-steel pan and rub them on both sides with the marinade.
  Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

  In a food processor, puree the butter with the olives, anchovies
  and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Cover and chill. Remove from the
  refrigerator 1 hour before serving.

  Squeeze the juice from the lemon and add it, along with the lemon
  halves, to a large bowl filled with cold water. Working with one
  artichoke at a time, remove and discard the tough outer leaves,
  leaving the pale-green inner ones attached. Using a small knife,
  trim around the bottom of the artichoke below the leaves to get
  rid of the remaining bits of the removed leaves. Peel the stem,
  leaving it about 1 inch long. Cut off the top third of the leaves.
  Cut the artichokes lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices and put them in
  the lemon water to prevent darkening. Repeat with the remaining
  artichokes.

  In a large frying pan, heat 1/3 cup of the oil over moderate heat.
  Add the garlic, the thyme sprigs or the remaining 1 teaspoon dried
  thyme, and the bay leaves and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add
  the potatoes, 2 teaspoons of the salt, the wine and water. Cover,
  reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer until the potatoes
  are just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the artichokes thoroughly
  and add them, with the remaining 1/3 cup oil, to the potatoes.
  Cover, bring back to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally,
  until the artichokes are tender, about 10 minutes longer. If all
  the liquid evaporates, add up to 1/4 cup water during cooking. Set
  aside, covered.

  Light the grill or heat the broiler. Sprinkle the steaks with the
  remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Grill or broil the steaks for 6
  minutes. Turn them and cook to your taste, about 6 minutes longer
  for medium rare. Transfer the steaks to a carving board and leave
  to rest in a warm spot for about 5 minutes. Reheat the potatoes
  and artichokes while the steaks rest. Cut the steaks into thin
  slices.

  To serve, put a mound of the potatoes and artichokes in the center
  of each plate. Arrange the steak slices, overlapping, on the
  vegetables and top with a spoonful of the room-temperature olive
  butter.

  Substituting Large Artichokes: If you're using large artichokes,
  cut off the stems. Remove and discard all but the pale-green inner
  leaves and cut off the top third of the leaves. Cut the artichokes
  into quarters and remove the fuzzy chokes. Cut each quarter in
  half from top to bottom.

  A spicy young Rhone red such as Chave's Hermitage or a Chateauneuf
  du Pape from Beaucastel marries well with the herby charred beef
  and the olive butter.

  Restaurant LuLu,  San Francisco

MMMMM

Cheers

YK Jim


... 3/4 of all Argentines eat steak well done

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Since 1991 And Were Still Here! DOCSPLACE.TZO.COM (1:123/140)