2/24/2020
(Above: A french omelet garnished with jalapeno and picanha (cheddar and caramelized onion within). Served with a piece of Padre’s arugula bread.)
Active Summary: This day began with the early morning routine which was ensued by pipework at Madre’s workshop, tending to a Master Blend customer, filing down the sliding glass door frame at Jacobhouse (to reduce curtain snagging), a garden harvest, a little bit more writing, and then lunch preparation. Lunch today consisted of Picanha (more in TIL) laid in a bed of parmesan polenta*, a garden salad, and a glass of Nero d’Avola wine.
(7:58 PM Update:) After my brother and I showed our friend, Shae, the Jacobhouse and all the varying projects scattered about the farm, I rested and then went out to perform a lengthy list of cattle-related tasks. These included: shoveling feed, catching / weaning calves, checking herd health, and chasing bovines back into their appropriate pen.
TIL: Today I learned a new and quite effective way for cooking Picanha. Here are the ingredients and method.
Ingredients / Materials:
- 1 full Picanha (rump cap)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- Bowl with about a handful of kosher salt within.
- Cast iron skillet
- Roast Pan
Method:
- Preheat oven to 250 F, a cast iron skillet to medium heat, and prepare a roast pan (add foil if needed).
- Score the picanha’s fat side with a knife (I like making a crisscross pattern), and season liberally with salt.
- Add olive oil to the preheated skillet and then place the picanha fat-side down. Cook on medium heat for about 8 minutes.
- Season the muscle-side of the beef with salt before flipping and basting. The beef will cook on this side for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Place the pan-seared beef onto the roast pan and then place the roast pan into the preheated oven. Allow it to cook at 250 degrees for 10 minutes (medium rare) to 20 minutes (medium).
- Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes covered with tin foil before serving.
- Enjoy!
Recipe learned from Irish Beef: here.
Commentary: Once again, I have had a very active day. Much was accomplished, and at present I am about to venture up to Oldhouse to enjoy a baked sweet potato after putting together some form of picanha & jalapeno omelet for my brother (picture above). A couple evenings from now he’ll be on his way to a new and very different life in Seattle. As for highlights, I’m afraid I did not capture any images of the delicious picanha or parmesan polenta that I made for lunch (we were visiting with a friend at the time), but it was a truly spectacular repast**.
On my way up to Oldhouse, I decided to stop by Madre’s workshop (to take a picture of today’s progress). I got more of an adventure than I bargained for:
Just a couple palm-sized spiders to navigate past… 
Fully glued CPVC setup within the workshop. The right stub-ups are for the sink, and the left are for the washer machine. 
On my way from Madre’s workshop, I saw and heard a large dark form running around beyond the container’s east side. I went to investigate and found this. 
The culprit – a furry and rotund steer that we have (aptly) named Bad Boy.
Final Note: Tomorrow I plan on fastening the CPVC pipes to the wall in Madre’s workshop, testing out my new phone / internet plan, and determining what I’m going to do about a new desk (shall be explained in the near future).
*A simple Italian dish similar to grits and with a base of coarsely ground corn meal.
** I went back for ‘seconds’ at least three times.