The Disappearing Omega 3's

In my most recent issue of Prevention Magazine I found this most interesting article 'The Vanishing Youth Nutrient' on the disappearance of the vital Omega 3's from our diet. It is becoming more and more clear to me about the problem of grains, not only in our own diets, but in the silage of our meat animals!

We have not yet purchased a pasture-raised, pasture-finished side of beef for our freezer, but have been living for the most part on our own meat chickens that we raised, wild pork and the rare traditional lot raised beef from the grocery store. We occasionally will buy a huge pork loin, which we slice into chops and freeze...because of the low price. I really want to eliminate all commercial meat...it is still a work in progress for us. It's not happening nearly as fast as I would like. We have changed MUCH in the way that we eat and think about food, but the changes that we still need to make will require even more dedication.

Once again, I say that 'Organic' is not good enough for my satisfaction if the animals in any way subsist or are finished on grains, especially corn. It is greens in the diets of our livestock that make the meat Omega 3 rich (which we need) as opposed to an excessive amount of Omega 6 (which we do not need) in the grain fed livestock.

Let me reiterate that I am not opposed to using a small, balanced amount of healthy, toxin-free whole grains in our diet. The problem is that in this country, grains tend to be used in an unhealthy way. Not only through refining, but also over-use (compared to greens and other complex carbs), and not least of all is the problem of fungal toxins that exist in stored grains, expecially the universally contaminated corn.

'Strawberry' onions not so sweet

Well, Mom gave me Grandma's recipe for her freezer pickles the other day so I had to make half a batch. Since I had already put up all of the Vidalia Onions, I pulled one of my white onions from the strawberry bed to use. Slicing them thinly for the freezer pickles, I popped a piece into my mouth...just had to see if the experiment worked...Nah! I guess the ol' sulfur in our Midwest soil wins out. The strawberries just didn't seem to do any good. I'll bet the people who make such a claim for interplanting onions with strawberries must already live in an area with less sulfur.

Here is the recipe for the freezer pickles:


Grandma’s Freezer Pickles

2 Qt. thinly sliced cucumbers
2 Tbls. salt
2 medium onions, thinly sliced

Sprinkle salt over the sliced cucumbers and onions. Let set for 30 minutes then drain off salt water.

Syrup-

1 ½ cup sugar
½ cup vinegar

Bring to a boil long enough to melt sugar. Remove from heat and let cool.

Pack cucumbers and onions into four pint jars. Mix 4 tsp. celery seed into syrup then pour into pint jars. Leave some head space to allow for expansion. You can use canning lids and rings or plastic lids. Freeze the pickles and you can eat them the next day if desired. Leave in the freezer until the day you want to eat them.

Dilly Beans

I put up a batch of Dilly Beans the other day. I have never had these before, but the recipe sounded good so thought I would give it a try. The recipe calls for either a head of fresh dill or a teaspoon of dill seed in each pint jar. I went out to the garden armed with my kitchen scissors to snip the dill heads... once out there among my jungle of 4 foot tall dill weed, I realized that I didn't know what stage of dill heads is generally used. I was pretty sure that it wasn't dry heads with the seeds... but do I want dill heads still in bloom or with green seeds? Back inside I went to call Mom. Dill heads still in bloom was her answer. This will actually give more dill flavor than dill seeds, remarkably.

After cutting about two pounds of beautiful green beans into four inch pieces, in went the dill head, a clove of garlic and some cayenne pepper into each pint jar. Finished that off with the pickling solution and a water bath for ten minutes. I was surprized in that my new "So Easy to Preserve" Book called for processing in a water bath as opposed to pressure canning. I guess there is enough acid in the amount of vinegar to make it safe.

I will wait until Mom comes for her visit to give these a try.

Update: tried the Dilly Beans. YUM! The beans were nice and crisp and the cayenne gave it a real kick! Plenty of dill flavor and the garlic a nice background.