Eating better

In the summer I was sent this book. I was very busy so I have only just managed to have a good look at it. Thanks to the content of my books I've done many interviews with paleo diet followers. I am not an advocate, dairy and grains play an important role in my diet. However, I do applaud any book that encourages people to eat pastured meat and quality animal fat as this book does. It covers almost every part of the pig, from its fat, chitterlings and there is even a meatloaf-style headcheese. The approach is a straight forward and informative making this book an excellent source for the novice cook. 

I was disappointed to discover that the authors perpetuate the myth that the pancreas is a sweetbread, it is NOT. The pancreas is a pancreas. The sweetbreads, there are two, are the thymus glands located in the neck and above the heart in young animals and only in young animals. 

This book encourages people to cook and think about what they are eating and that is good, well done Stacy and Mathew. For those of you interested in the paleo diet check out their website. 

Group of 7 Odd Bits Dinner

I've been looking forward to this night, since Scott from Beast and Matty from Parts and Labour first suggested it. As members of the Group of 7 Chefs they thought an Odd Bits dinner would be fun and a way to help them raise money for their trip to New York to cook at the James Beard House later this year. Importantly it would be a way for offal lovers and neophytes to try a range of dishes not often found on restaurant menus. All seven chefs picked an odd bit and created a dish. The list was bone and tendon, lamb kidneys, lamb tripe, tongue and testicles, pork heart, veal brain and pork blood.

How beautiful is this?

I love head cheese but this must be one of best ways to cook half a head. Braised, then glazed with a spiced honey mixture and finished with a blast of heat to crisp up the skin.  A perfect fatty, crunchy meal for 2 or maybe 3.

Sorry, pork again

These arrived at my door this week. Daffodils from the garden and have an odour not really a perfume but a pleasant fresh plant smell that my store bought daffodils never do. Even better accompanying the daffodils were three pig's heads cut in half and a big bag of kidneys. So it is more pork for me.