(Above: Padre took a picture of me procuring the first harvest of salad-bowl lettuce.)
1/15/2023: Today began in the high 20s and warmed into the high 50s.
The frost-laden dawn of 1/15/2023. 
A glance toward the central feeding barn on the same frosty morning. 
2 filets of wild caught salmon along with 2 filets of Ahi tuna. I lightly salted them and then placed them in the refrigerator to dry-brine. 
The aforementioned fish after a pan-searing on the outdoor skillet, accompanied by a salad, and topped with some sliced avocado. 
A dessert of sliced Granny Smith apple sprinkled with cinnamon. 
Dinner of 1/15/2023: A brothy beef & cassava soup garnished with red cabbage, fresh arugula, steamed broccoli, and even some sliced avocado. I think it was the first time I had avocado in a soup since Taxco. 
A dessert akin to that which I enjoyed after lunch except this time accompanied by some Greek yogurt.
1/16/2023: Today began in the high 20s and warmed to the high 60s. Sunny.
Morning shenanigans on 1/16/2023: Prometheus and his Belgian Blue sidekick pushing and flipping troughs in the close-up lot. 
A sushi lunch enjoyed shortly after noon on 1/16/2023. 
An improvement in the kitchen: The addition of rubber bumpers to the south wall to protect the conduit from being repeatedly bumped by the table when preparing food. Dough was a real culprit when it came to this. 
Dinner of 1/16/2023: Reverse-seared Wagyner Blue burger-steak (coffee & salt seasoned) accompanied by a fresh salad inundated with Jacobhouse Garden produce. 
Cutting into the burger steak. Due to a slightly longer time on the skillet over a lower flame, it was more of a ‘medium’ rather than ‘medium-rare’. However, because I reverse seared the beef, the steak remained quite juicy.
1/17/2023: Today began in the mid 30s and warmed into the mid 70s. Sunny throughout.
Early morning of 1/17/2023: There was a dispute in the central beef pasture. I should note that I did not procure an image of lunch today. It was enjoyed at Latinos y Más and consisted of an Avocado Salad, Mero filet, and chips & salsa. 
#686: The Milk Buffevine. 
Three radishes harvested from the Jacobhouse garden on the afternoon of 1/17/2023. The front is a Misato Rose radish. The other two are Scarlet Globes. 
Early-evening activity: taking down a piece of galvalume and 2×6 to unveil the postern side of the Jacobhouse shower. After fixing the tin up at the top, I may leave it like this for easy access. 
Dinner of 1/17/2023: A delicious dinner of Wagyner Blue #730 London Broil, cucumber / cabbage / radish salad, and glass of Merlot. 
Cinnamon-sprinkled Granny Smith apple enjoyed for dessert.
1/18/2023: Today began in the low 50s and warmed into the high 70s. Mostly sunny.
Dawn of 1/18/2023. 
2 Wagyu & 2 Belgian Blue steers gathered at the postern gate to the feed barn. 
Lunch of 1/18/2023: Sautéed eggs along with a Padre-made & Madre-dressed salad. The clearly visible radishes were obtained from Jacobhouse garden. 
An apple, yogurt, & cinnamon dessert enjoyed after the midday meal. 
Following lunch, I cut up about 5 lbs of beef suet and removed any visible impurities. I placed this suet into a steamer basket which I proceeded to lower into a 20 qt stock pot. After that, it was roasted in the oven for what would be about 20 hours on 230 F. 
Late day in the south-easternmost pasture, looking west. 
Mushroom-pan pizza made & enjoyed for the evening meal of 1/18/2023. 
An attempted photo of a cross-section of the pizza. The plenteous cheese, however, obfuscated the molcajete-wrought tomato sauce and the dough. 
To accompany the pizza was an especially verdant head of steamed broccoli. 
A dessert of Granny Smith apple – cinnamon sprinkled & served along with Greek yogurt.
1/19/2023: Today began in the low 50s and warmed to the high 70s. Mostly sunny morning followed by a partly cloudy afternoon.
Dawn of 1/19/2023. 
A morning task: Processing the beef fat that I placed in the oven yesterday. 
Beef fat, post-rendering for 20 hours at 230 F. 
After making sure to squeeze all the fat out of the pieces in the strainer basket with the back of a soup ladle, this was the result. 
I ended up with four 24-oz jars and half a 16-oz jar of tallow. 
A delicious and healthy lunch consisting of eggs and a green Padre-made & Madre-dressed salad. 
A dessert consisting of sliced Granny Smith apple accompanied by Greek yogurt and a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. 
Following lunch, I removed the tallow from the refrigerator to take a picture. They almost looked like jars of milk. 
Late afternoon in the eastern-most pasture (looking south west). 
Padre took a picture of me procuring the first harvest of salad-bowl lettuce. 
Reverse-seared Belgian Blue sirloin & shoulder steak. The beef was both lean and especially tender. The large bone, meanwhile, provided some excellent flavor for post-meal ‘nibbling’. 
These steaks were accompanied by a salad whose produce, excepting the olives, was procured from the Jacobhouse garden. It contained: salad bowl lettuce, dinosaur kale, arugula, and scarlet globe radish.
I ended up using the pictures from the tallow-making process to create a post which I then shared on the Master Blend Cattle Co. Page:
1/20/2023: Today began in the low 60s and proceeded to warm into the high 70s. Mostly sunny.
The slightly foggy dawn of 1/20/2023. 
Morning activity of 1/20/2023: Fixing a leaky waterline leading to a float valve. In the process, I added a turn-off valve. 
After fixing the pipe, I repositioned some boards around it to provide full protection from inquisitive bovine tongues and horns. 
A lunch of skillet-fried eggs (on the outdoor skillet… hence the slightly unattractive carbon residue) accompanied by a Padre-made & Jacob-dressed salad. 
A dessert of cinnamon-coated Granny Smith apple & Greek Yogurt. 
Wagyner Blue short ribs salted for reverse searing later in the day. Paper towels wrapped around the mushrooms which will also be reverse-seared. 
#775 and her very-healthy offspring. 
Radishes harvested for the dinner salad. 
The dinner of 1/20/2023: Reverse-seared Wagyner Blue short ribs accompanied by a cucumber / cabbage / garden radish salad, homemade BBQ sauce, and a glass of seltzer water. They were probably some of the most tender short ribs I have ever eaten. 
A dessert consisting of Granny Smith apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon.
1/21/2023: Today began in the low 50s and warmed into the low 60s. Cloudy from the start and light precipitation starting at 1 PM.
Midday in the central beef pasture (1/21/2023). 
Padre, Madre, and I enjoyed lunch at La Hacienda Colombiana #2. The fare today was Pork & Chicken soup accompanied by a small salad and some fried yucca sticks. 
A close-up of the chicken & roast pork soup. It contained 2 chicken legs, a large hunk of pork, yucca, potato, corn, and plantain — all soaked in a light cilantro-filled broth. 
The afternoon beef pasture inspection was performed on foot due to precipitation which had persisted from lunchtime. 
After the walk, I helped Padre erect a small lean-to behind the barn. Our hope is that the calves use it to escape inclement weather. 
A Misato Rose radish harvested from Jacobhouse garden… moments before being cleaned by Prometheus. 
For dinner of 1/21/2023, I made a pizza topped with arugula, Parmesan, prevalent chunks of salmon, and a garlic-rosemary butter sauce. 
This pizza was accompanied by a Padre-made & Jacob-dressed salad (contained some radish from the one pictured earlier this day). 
A dessert of sliced Granny Smith apple & Greek yogurt under a light sprinkling of cinnamon.
Final Note: Even though there won’t be a month’s-long excursion to Mexico this coming March, it appears that there is another adventure in store. Here is one of the latest events that popped up on class list at the Fat Tuscan up in Gainesville:
March 19 @ 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
$125.00
*Special Class* – SUNDAY MARCH 19TH – SUNDAY BEEF DINNER – 5:30PM to 8PM – 15 STUDENTS MAX
OBSERVATION & DEMONSTRATION CLASS – WINE TASTING – LOCAL FARM FEATURE – FRESH COOKING
Whether for draft, meat, or milk, cattle have been our domesticated companions for over 10,000 years. Join us as we partner with Jacob VanWagner of Master Blend Cattle Company to celebrate the culinary bounty of these creatures with a 4-course cow-centric repast where we get to teach you how exactly each dish has been influenced by bovines (Yes, even dessert!). Main course will feature Master Blend Cattle Company’s Wagyu and Belgian Blue beef – free ranged, local grown less than 40 minutes away, and antibiotic & hormone-free – and what would a celebration be without a toast? We’ll be pairing the meal with some of our favorite beefy red wines. Come support our local farmers while learning how to cook from pasture to p(a)late. $125.00 per person and includes a four-course dinner and wine pairing. Special Pricing on featured wines and local-grown beef cuts from Master Blend Cattle Co. will be available for purchase after class. *Proper ID required
Wondering how you fit all that into one week… tremendous food this past week yet again, and it looks like your culinary adventures are expanding, the cooking class looks to be quite tasty.