4/13/2020
(Above: Tonight’s dinner consisted of beef-tongue stew, a couple slices of onion-bread, a bowl of cabbage salad, and a glass of Nero D’Avola wine.)
Active Summary: Today I woke up, participated in the morningly calisthenic regimen, wrote for a while, and checked the beef pasture with Padre. This was ensued by my preparing a couple IV bottles and then by my returning to Jacobhouse where I wrote for another half hour before tending to a Master Blend customer. I made my way back to the writing desk once more after that and remained there for another hour, working on an outline and then some Macro Economics. To finish off the morning, I ventured back outdoors and worked on framing the freezer room’s south window for about 40 minutes.
That’s what I call a cowmback.
(7:55 PM Update:) After lunch, I called four of the nearest welding supply shops to find 20-lb Co2 tank / refill prices. Airgas of Ocala had the best price for both – $177.64 for a tank and $29.63 for a refill. I ended up buying a tank online for a much lower price of $120.00 (free shipping), but it is good to know that I can procure comparatively cheap* refills at a place less than 10 miles away.
After a brief rest, I began the process of smoking & braising cow-tongue. I began by sautee’ing the vegetables and half-frozen tongues in a pot and then added more aromatics (garlic and thyme) and chicken broth to the pot before heading out to collect / chip up some wood. This was accomplished fairly quickly with the aid of the jaw-bucket loader **, and with the resultant oak-chips I was able to start the smoking process. I braised the tongues and vegetables in the smoker for the entire time I helped out on the farm, covering them midway through the cook.
As for farm activities, I helped with many cattle-related tasks including: catching / treating calves, feeding bovines, performing a herd health check, IV’ing another calf, and then patrolling the beef pasture with Padre. To finish off the evening, I processed*** the beef tongues into a smoky beef stew, and to go with this, I made a loaf of honey / onion / rosemary quick-bread. Now that I am about done writing this day’s entry, I am about to go partake of a unique and delectable dinner.
Final Note: Tomorrow, I intend to spend a bit more time writing than I did this day. Also, I must find a solution to providing an inventory list on Masterblendbeef.com.
*For reference, soda stream canisters are 14.5 oz, and refills cost $10.00 (about $0.68 per ounce). A 20 lb. tank refill is $0.09 per ounce.
**Padre gave my target piece of oak a couple hydraulic-powered squeezes to crack the extremely hard wood apart.
***Making beef tongue not look like beef tongue.
Interesting day by no doubt, excellent food along the way helped