Braised Beef with Butternut Squash - Winter Comfort Food

Braised Beef with Butternut Squash.

If you are like me you have at least one big butternut squash left from last year's garden.  And, if you are like me you have been moving it around and wondering what you were going to do with it.  Well, here is a suggestion for some hearty winter comfort food.  This recipe was real hit with my family.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (or about 180 degrees C).
Peel your butternut squash like it is a giant potato.  It helps me to cut the top and bottom off so I have somewhere to start the peeler.  BTW, the bigger the peeler the better.  Once you have peeled and there is no more white inner-peeling left, split it lengthwise.  Note of caution here: the butternut will be slippery on the outside and hard to cut through.  Be extra careful of your fingers.  Once it is split, scrape the seeds and stringy stuff out.  I save the seeds and roast them with a little salt or, as I did this time, toss them out to the chickens.  Then you cut your squash up into bite-sized pieces, about 1"X1".  Set your squash aside.
Cut up one large, white onion and a few garlic cloves.  
Pour a few tablespoons of vegetable oil into a large dutch oven.  Heat it to medium/high.  Once you oil is hot, place beef stew meat or beef tips into the oil and brown it well.  Stir it, adjust the heat and be careful not to over-cook it.  Once your meat is browned take it out of the pot and set it aside. 
Saute your onion and garlic in the dutch oven. Once your onion is starting to clear add a small amount of water to the pot, just enough to deglaze the yummy bits that are sticking to the bottom. 
Return the beef to the dutch oven.  Add enough water to cover the mixture well, then add two packs brown gravy mix.  I like the Knorr Classic Brown Gravy Mix, which is widely available at grocery stores and even on-line.  Add two bay leaves and about a teaspoon of thyme, maybe a little more. Cover the dutch oven and put it in the oven for 90 minutes.  At the 90 minute mark, take the dutch oven out, add the butternut squash chunks, mix well so that the squash is covered, and return it to the oven for 30 minutes.  When you remove it, check the squash with a fork to ensure it is done all the way through.  The blending of the braised beef with the hearty squash is awesome.  Thankfully my wife took a picture of her bowl to post on Facebook or I would not have a picture at all.  I guess if she's posting it she must like it enough to share!  Now I have requests for this recipe from her friends.  I hope you enjoy it!

Night.

  I recently finished reading a book, entitled "Night", by a holocaust survivor named Elie Wiesel.  Mr. Wiesel is famous for his depiction of the holocaust as a young man.  In many cases the book is required reading in colleges and universities worldwide.  There are many remarkable themes in the book, but the one I wish to discuss, and one which I do not believe Mr. Wiesel meant to convey, was the one of self-delusion among the Hungarian Jewish population to which he belonged.  The Hungarian Jewish community to which Mr. Wiesel belonged, in the town of Sighet, was tucked away in a fairly remote region of Hungary (now the Romanian region of Transylvania), and the political situation at the high point of the Second World War allowed the Jews of this region to remain isolated from the horrors that surrounded them.  Then the political situation changed to their disadvantage.  Before long German soldiers arrived in their village.  At first, the German soldiers were polite and cordial, but it did not take long for the orders to arrive that all non-Hungarian (foreign) Jews were to be deported.  One day the order was given and the foreign Jews were rounded up, placed on trucks and taken away.  Reassurances were given that they would be taken to relocation camps and sent to work in factories.  That was a lie.  In fact, the trucks were driven by "Einsatzkommando", special purpose troops, who took the foreign Jews into the forest.  They were forced to dig trenches and then lined up in front of the trenches and machine-gunned to death.  Miraculously, one of them, a student of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, and a friend of Elie Wiesel's, survived after being shot in the leg.  The survivor managed to make it back to Mr. Wiesel's village to warn the Jewish community of what lay in store for them.  He went into the village and the Synagog and warned them.  One would think, in 1943, that this eyewitness account of mass murder of Jews would have caused the Jewish population to flee or fight or hide or go underground or....  but they didn't.  They didn't believe the survivor.  To believe him would have disrupted their relatively easy lives.  To believe him would have forced them to take action!  And they didn't want to.  They didn't want to leave their homes and their comfortable existence.  They were not prepared to arm themselves and resist.  So they chose not to believe him.  They simply ignored him, called him crazy.  This formerly happy, although decidedly different, Jewish man, became down-cast and outcast.
   One day in 1944, Mr. Wiesel's father, a prominent member of the village's Jewish community, was called to the Jewish council. They were informed the Germans had mandated that all Jews be moved into separate living areas, known as Ghettos.  A couple of different Ghettos were established in the village.  The one in which the Wiesel family was establish in the Jewish neighborhood in which they already resided.  They were able to stay in their house, but many friends and relatives had to move in with them, since they were now homeless.  The Jewish Ghettos of numerous European cities had already been "liquidated", but still, no one believed the survivor.  He stood in the Synagog and on the streets and warned them repeatedly.  No one listened.  Jews were forced to wear the now famous yellow stars on their clothes, proclaiming their Jewishness to the world and for their enemies to see.  They complied.  Some even embraced it, after all, there was no shame in being a Jew.  They didn't see the deeper meaning, the separation, the demeaning of their heritage and their persons.  At least, they chose not to see it.  They were now separated. Marked.  No Jews were allowed to travel outside the Ghetto without a pass.  Still, the Jews of Sighet refused to believe they were being set up for annihilation.  To believe that would have been too disturbing.  To believe it would have caused them to take action.  Instead, they believed that it was good to be together in the same neighborhood.  After all, here they were together. No one bothered them.  They had their own Jewish police force.  They were able to maintain their traditions and being separate was not all bad.  The Germans were seldom in the Ghetto.  The Jewish Counsel represented them.  Slowly, their freedoms eroded.  They were no longer allowed to own and run businesses.  They began to stash away their riches, to bury them in basements and open lots, lest the Germans seize them.  Jews were no longer allowed to own expensive items.  They had to be turned over.  Wealth was hidden away.  Family heirlooms were sacrificed to satisfy the demands of the increasingly demanding government.  Food was less available.  Barter and black market items were the rule of the Ghetto.  Freedom was nearly gone from their grasp, and then...
  On the 6th of May, 1944, the Ghettos of Sighet were liquidated.  It was too late to do anything now.  As they formed up in the streets the survivor came to Elie's window.  "I told you..."  What else could he say?  He TOLD THEM!  Over and over HE TOLD THEM!  Now they stood sweating in the heat, role call after role call, counting after counting, sweating in the sun, no water, the old suffered, babies cried, the Hungarian police and the German soldiers pushed, shoved, hit, slapped, used clubs and fist, yelling, screaming, insulting (which they were used to by now...  sticks and stones).  The Jewish Police assisted the Germans and Hungarians in their brutal task.   The first Ghetto was liquidated and the second waited another day.  Elie's family waited in their house, in their Ghetto, another night, and they pretended still.  "They will not hurt us, we are their workforce.  They need us."  Elie's mother made a meal and sent the kids to bed early because tomorrow would be a long day...!!!
  In the morning they began their obedient journey to the death camps, to the ovens. It is a tragic story of mass murder, of children and parents, brothers and sisters, ripped apart.  Innocents murdered in the arms of their loving parents.  The same responsible adults who had failed to act, failed to prepare, failed to fight, failed to run away.  Entire generations were destroyed.  Entire populations murdered.  In the name of a madman and the self delusion of those who were too deluded, too lazy to fight back.  "What could they have done?", some ask.  What indeed.  What would you do? 

Hungarian Jews arrive at Auschwitz death camp in Poland, summer 1944.  Photo: German Bundesarchiv

God save us from our comfortable existence, lest we fail to act to preserve ourselves and families in order to preserve our comfort. 
 

Smoked Cayenne Pepper and Roasted Garlic Hot Sauce

Red and yellow Cayenne peppers,
Fajita Bell peppers, small, red bell peppers,
onion, garlic and end-of-the-season tomatoes
and three carrots (not shown) go into this
 scalp-sweating hot sauce!

   This year we are growing cayenne peppers in the garden.  One of the great things about cayenne peppers is the amount of yield a couple of plants will give you.  I planted both red, standard US style cayennes and something new I had never seen before.  A yellow colored cayenne pepper from Central America.  At the end of the day the red peppers are larger and produce at least twice as many peppers (probably more) per plant.  Cayenne has a lot of uses and I have pretty much run out of ideas for using them up.  I have dried peppers and crushed them for crushed peppers to add to any dish, like pizza, and powdered them for use in recipes and against ants.  So I tried something new; hot sauce. First I looked at a bunch of recipes on line, on YouTube, etc, and I figured out pretty quickly that hot sauce is very versatile.  Stay tuned for my chili paste!  That's next, maybe.  If you like the roasted chili, Thai stye hot sauce, this is for you.
   I smoked about a pound of cayennes, three fajita bell peppers, and a couple of small "pimento" red bell peppers over hickory smoke in a wire basket for about two hours.  The fajita bell peppers come from Bonnie Plants and taste wonderful!  I'll be growing more next year. The small red "pimento" peppers have an awesome taste as well.  Smoking them over hickory smoke gives them a flavor that will make you want to eat them before they ever get to the sauce.  Some of the skins may blacken a little but that is fine.
   I roasted the garlic head whole as I smoked the peppers.  I cut the bottom from the head, drizzled it in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, added about a teaspoon of kosher salt, a sprinkle of white pepper, wrapped it up in tin foil and placed it near the fire.  In fact, I placed it on top of the cast Iron box that holds the wood for smoking.  When it was done the meat of the garlic cloves were gooey balls of yumminess. Wait until it cools to peel it. 
   Once your peppers are smoked and your garlic is roasted, which takes about two hours or four to five beers, let the peppers and garlic cool while you prepare the other ingredients.  Cut up a large white onion into large pieces, peel and chop your carrots into chunks.  Peel your garlic.  I dare you not to lick your fingers!  Take about two pounds of tomatoes, peel them by blanching them in boiling water for two minutes then plunging them into ice water and peel off the split skins.  I am using end-of-the-season tomatoes from my garden.  In fact, the only thing that didn't come from my garden is the garlic.
   Put two cups of white vinegar into a stock put.  Add one and one half cups of water and an 8 oz. can of original V8 juice.  Turn the heat to high and start the mixture to boil.  Add about a tablespoon of kosher salt to the boil, then put in the onions and carrots, then the tomatoes, smoked peppers and the roasted garlic.  Let the mixture boil, then place the heat on medium and low-boil it for an hour.  Your house will smell so good the neighbors will come running over to see what's for supper.
   Some of the recipes I saw on-line used pectin to add "body" or thickening to the mixture.  None of them used tomatoes. Use tomatoes.  They taste better and will add the body the others were looking for but didn't know how to get.  When the SHTF, you will be hurting for pectin, not for tomatoes.  You will be the best fed, post-apocalyptic family for miles around.  Maybe you can barter some hot sauce for .22 bullets to shoot small game with.
   Once your mixture is boiled and your house smells like heaven, let the mixture cool to room temperature.  I let mine cool overnight on the stove.  I dreampt all night of eating at Ralph and Kacoo's in Baton Rouge.
   Take your cooled mixture and place some into the blender.  Blend it until it is smooth, them strain it through a wire strainer with a large wooden spoon into a large pot.  This will keep the remaining whole seeds and the larger pieces of pepper skin from getting into the final sauce.  Repeat until it is all blended and strained.  Bottle it in your favorite bottles and refrigerate.  I tend to re-use bottles I like.  In the picture is a re-purposed olive oil bottle with a wine bottle cork in it.  I also used an empty soy sauce bottle and standard canning jars.
   This sauce has a that sumptuous smoked pepper flavor that makes you eat more than you know you should.  It has a good heat, no doubt, but draws you in with the garlic and smoke.  It is not stupid hot.  Man vs. Food will not be doing a challenge on this sauce.  But you may very well wish you had stopped before you did!  Enjoy. 
   

  

Breaking trust with the American people

A Dark Day in Washington

The United States Congress, in collusion with the White House, has decided that their political infighting is more important than executing the duties to which we, the American people, elected them.  No one party or independent representative or senator is immune.  Not one.  The United States government has broken trust with us.  Again. 

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, trust can be defined as, "(1) : a charge or duty imposed in faith or confidence or as a condition of some relationship (2) : something committed or entrusted to one to be used or cared for in the interest of another" 

We sent them to Washington to execute the duties of looking after the affairs of this country, according to our standards, by which they campaigned and were elected to represent us. 

Sequestration is upon us.  A nation at war will allow its elected representatives to severely damage the ability of the nation's war fighting men and women to execute their constitutional duties to provide for the common defense.  All in the name of partisan politics.  Out going Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said, 
“There isn't anybody I've talked to on Capitol Hill
 that doesn't think this is crazy. No one that I've
talked to doesn't think that this a dangerous tool to
impact the country."
 And Panetta is one of them, a hand picked Obama cabinet
member. A man who has made his living in Washington
politics.  A former Clinton White House member.  His 
politics represent the conventional, left-wing, tax and spend,
big government, Democrat Party ideals of the post Vietnam 
era.  If even he can see the danger and articulate it clearly,
what is wrong with the rest of our government?  
The money to pay for sequestration will come, according to 
Secretary Panetta, from readiness.  The seven members of 
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a letter to Congress, said,

"Should this looming readiness crisis be left unaddressed, we will have to ground aircraft, return ships to port, and stop driving combat vehicles in training. We will also be unable to reset and restore the force's full-spectrum combat capability after over a decade of hard fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan."

At a time in our history when we have numerous military threats looming, our Congress cannot pass a Defense Authorization bill..  Our troops in Afghanistan continue to engage the enemy on a daily basis.  By the end of 2014, we will need to remove vast amounts of military personnel and hardware from Afghanistan.  That massive redeployment of forces has yet to be paid for.

North Korea is threatening to attack.  Nothing new, of course.  But do not be lulled into complacency by the fact that they have not done it - YET.  North Korea has the will and capability to kick off a regional conflict that will engulf Asia and the United States.  They have yet to demonstrate the intent, but they have stated their intent.  We are much closer to conflict in Asia than most are willing to believe.  

But Congress cannot pass a bill to fund Defense.  "Provide for the common defense" - Failure.

The conflict in Syria is out of control.  The US Government does not know what to do.  What it does in regard to the Syrian conflict is strategically unsound.  According to numerous press reports, including the New York Times, commie rag that it is, the US government is not sending arms directly to Syrian rebel groups.  We are, instead, providing support to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, who are shipping arms to the rebels.  Unfortunately, the rebels groups that Saudi Arabia and Qatar are supplying are the very hard-line Islamist groups the United States does not want in power in Syria.  The more moderate groups, those who support a broad coalition government in Syria, are left out in the cold.  Groups like Al Qaida in Iraq, and numerous other Al Qaida affiliated armed groups, are operating in Syria under the banner of "Anti-Assad Syrian Rebels".  The longer the conflict continues, the stronger their influence grows.  Hezbollah is running rampant across Syria, and always has.  Iran is sending "volunteers" and weapons into Syria to fight for Assad.  The last thing Iran wants is to lose it's access to Syria.  The Israelis have conducted bombing raids into Syria to keep Syria's chemical arsenal from falling into the hands of Hezbollah.  At least Israel has a clear goal that supports US interests in the conflict.  We don't.  Iran promises retaliation against Israel.  They have the capability, the will, and have stated their intent to do so.  Let us not act surprised when they do it.  The potential for Israeli intervention to control Syria's WMD is realistic and present.  If Israel is forced to react to protect itself the United States WILL be drawn into the conflict.  And the conflict will be largely conventional, requiring bombers, fighter jets, massive amounts of airlift, missiles of many varieties, Naval task forces, tanks, armored personnel carriers and troops.  All of which are now gutted and not ready for war.  American military equipment will not be ready.  American military personnel will not be ready.  The American military will be thrown into the conflict, ready or not.  Much of our equipment will fail.  Many of us will die.

But Congress cannot pass a bill to fund Defense.  "Provide for the common defense" - Failure.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Straits of Hormuz in response to the United State's policy of isolation and sanctions against them.  It has promised to do so if any strikes against their nuclear program were to occur.  Iran has the capability to engage us in the Arabian Gulf and inflict extensive damage to our Naval capabilities.  A war game conducted last spring in the Pentagon resulted in escalation with Iran and ended with massive US military engagement.  The possibility exists, may even be considered probable.  Fortunately for Iran, unfortunately for the United States, were are not going to be ready for a massive military engagement.  Iran will get its way.  If we are forced into conflict our equipment will not be properly maintained.  Our equipment operators will not be properly trained.  Our equipment will fail.  We will die. 

Should any of our global adversaries decide to push their agendas in the near future the US will be incapable of responding in a manner that can guarantee success for our nation.  Incapable.  UNREADY.  

Both China and Russia are bullying Japan over islands in dispute.  Should the US wish to respond in defense of Japan, we will be UNREADY.

NATO might as well fold up and go home.  Article 5 will be meaningless.  Russia will be the strongman of Europe and Eurasia.  The United States will not be able to respond if Russia decides to push its agenda in the Baltics or Central Europe.  Europe should get used to buying heating oil from Russia at inflated prices.  The country of Georgia should be prepared to have a Russian-backed regime change.  The military might of the United States is the backbone of NATO.  Plain and simple.  No other NATO country has the capability to conduct military operations in Europe with any chance of success.  Only the participation of the NATO partner countries in alliance with massive US military might can prevail in another land war in Europe.  But we are not READY.  

Secretary Panetta also said that allowing sequestration to happen, with its subsequent cuts to Defense, would result in the US becoming a second-rate power.  At the end of the 1991 Gulf War, Saudi Arabian General (Prince) Khalid gave a speech, in which he said, "If there is only to be one superpower on earth, thank God it is the United States."  The United States of America is abdicating its superpower status so that two groups of politicians can blame each other for failing to cooperate and pass a budget.  An historic, ground breaking, permanent, appalling change.  The fall of Rome to the barbarians had less impact on the future of the planet.  Utter FAILURE. 

Let there be no doubt; there is blame enough to cover everyone in Congress, but history will record Barack Obama as the president who dropped the ball.  He who, during the presidential debate with his challenger stated the Sequestration would not happen.  Broken trust.  He will go down in history as the man who destroyed America's standing in the world.  There are plenty of conspiracy theorists who will believe it was his intention all along. 

Old books and the plight of American veterans

Yesterday I picked up an old book from a box of old books that had been rescued from an old farm out building, a corn crib to be exact, that was due for demolition.  My wife, ever industrious and thrifty, was given the opportunity to salvage the wood from this century-old structure for re-use.  Since many of these older farm buildings here in the Olde Dominion were constructed from virgin timber and rough milled nearby to where they were constructed, such opportunities are hard to pass up.  The old corn crib timber was used to construct a hen house that may well last another half century or more.  But I digress.  Inside the old corn crib was a treasure trove of neat old books, secured within a large cabinet.  The last owner of these books had been a history teacher in Stafford County and shared an interest in American history with me.  Had Stephanie not rescued the old books they would have been burned with the remnants of the other old farm buildings to make room for the new construction that was going in.  Unfortunately, "rescue", for most of these books, was defined as a box in my old garage.  So they went from one old farm outbuilding to another.  Some of the more interesting books that caught our eye came quickly into the house to sit on the shelves with other books, both old and new, but most languished outside unnoticed unless or until a reason to root through a box presented itself.  I love old books.  Call it a sickness.  Walking into a library or a used bookstore reflects a element of heaven for me.  I'm sure the streets of heaven are paved with gold and lead to libraries full of ancient manuscripts and cartoon books of Calvin and Hobbes.  I enjoy the musty smell of old books.  Like I said, it's a sickness.  The one I picked up is a perfect example.  It was published in 1947 (third printing), its dust jacket is best described as tattered and worn.  The pages are all intact and the very edges are yellowed from the many years of storage in corn cribs and garages.  It is complete, clear, readable, musty, and very enjoyable.  A brand new printing of the same book would not bring me nearly as much joy.

The book I picked up is book by Bill Mauldin, the WW2 cartoonist for Stars & Stripes, the US Military newspaper.  Mauldin's characters Willie and Joe are depicted throughout the stages of their induction, training, overseas combat tours and, eventually, through the reintegration and discharge process at the end of WW2.  Mauldin's dry, irreverent sense of humor speaks to today's military generation just as it did in WW2.  The first page I flipped open to has a cartoon drawing depicting a newly discharged GI standing by the side of the road with his thumb out.  Two cars are shown.  One zips past the GI without pausing.  That car is labeled, "John Q Public", and the other is an old jalopy driven by an older man who stops, opens the door and says, "Hop in, kid. I'll take ya any place ya wanna go," and is labeled " Professional Veterans Organizers". 

As a veteran of Iraq I stopped and stared at this depiction of theWW2 veteran's plight in America.  Even the Greatest Generation, the WW2 vets who fought the evil empires of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, felt as we do.  I have often regarded the complete lack of participation by "John Q Public" in the wars we are fighting and have been fighting since 9/11.  No doubt, we are fighting the evil empire of Global terrorism and Islamic extremism.  And yet, the recent elections brought clearly to light the fact that the average American is not remotely involved or invested in the wars we are fighting, in spite of the lives lost and damaged by these conflicts fought on their behalf.  Those who are invested either are in the military or have a loved one in the military.  Most of us have experienced multiple deployments to war zones.  Yet the average American is not more concerned about the war than they are about the daily events in their lives.  The left will always have an excuse to blame the wars for the national debt while ignoring the failed tax and spend policies that put the debt out of control long before 9/11.  Those on the right, while looking to reduce the national debt, are pondering the costs associated with veterans' programs and see them as a fiscal burden along with Social Security and Medicare.

During WW2 American households suffered and sacrificed to support the war effort.  The country's industrial base was turned from consumer goods to war material.  IBM manufactured small arms, GM and Ford manufactured tanks and military trucks.  The textile mills of America focused on producing uniforms and tents.  Gasoline was rationed and cars could only be driven on "A" days or "B" days.  Meat, milk and cigarettes were in short supply.  Victory Gardens were the standard for American families looking to supplement the food on their tables.  The draft took every able bodied male into military service.  American housewives went to work in the factories and government offices.  In short, life was hard and not just for GIs and the ones they left behind.  Everyone felt it and the average American was motivated to see the war come to a successful end, not just take the fiscal monkey off their backs and get back to consuming Chinese imports.  There were drives to collect scrap metal and rubber to be recycled into war material.  Being fit and not serving in the military was a disgrace.  Being unfit and not serving was still a disgrace.  Many men would lie about their age and their fitness level so they could serve.  Today, 1% of Americans serve in the wartime military.  Employers fire their Reserve and National Guard employees who get deployed.  There is a cottage legal industry that teaches employers how to do away with the positions of mobilized reservists so the government cannot sue the employer.  There are no rations of gasoline or "A" and "B" days, but the price of Middle Eastern gasoline is a major point of discussion and frustration while the wounded warriors among us go largely unnoticed.  Some Americans sacrifice by spending a couple of dollars on a bumper sticker to support the troops.  The American government has done a piss poor job, as have the various veteran's organizations, of telling the American people HOW to support the troops. 

I guess my point is that few Americans seem to be involved in the war effort or care about the troops, in spite of the rhetoric.  For all of those who do care, I thank you.  Your prayers and support are felt.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

This year we have bell peppers growing in the garden, along with Ancho Chilies, Red Chilies, and Jalapenos.  We have red, yellow, and green bell peppers.  I recently fixed a batch of stuffed green bell peppers and was asked for the recipe.  So I guess this blog is turning into a recipe and food blog.  So much for religion and politics for the moment.  I'm too disgusted with politics and religion takes too long to express adequately, so maybe food is the best subject for this medium at the moment.

The basic ingredients for this recipe are:

• 6 large, ripe bell peppers (7 total, see below) with symmetrical  bottoms so they will stand up in a pan - color of your choosing 
• 1 pound of ground beef
• 1.5 cups of rice
• 3 cups of water
• unsalted butter or margarine as you prefer
• enough extra virgin olive oil to lightly coat your skillet bottom
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 eight oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 1 can of mild Rotel tomatoes with chili
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 large slices of mozzarella cheese to top the peppers  

To get your peppers to the desired ripeness (is that a word in English?) pick or buy them a few days prior to using them and let them sit before stuffing them.  When their skin is just starting to pucker they are ready.  Cut the tops off of your peppers and remove the seeds and white innards.  Retain the pepper tops and trim the excess from the bottoms.  Set them aside.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Boil 3 cups of water in a sauce pan, add butter or margarine and salt to taste.  Add your rice and simmer while you Saute your onion an garlic in the olive oil.  Add a little black pepper.  Once the onion is translucent, add the diced bell pepper and saute a few minutes, until wilted.  Add your ground beef and brown with the vegetables.  Drain any excess fat from the beef.  Add the Rotels, tomato sauce and the tomato paste.  Mix the ingredients together and simmer until the rice is done.  Once the rice is done, add rice to the mix until the mixture is pleasantly mixed to your desired consistency.  I know, that is a cop out.  Here is the key: don't over-do the rice.  You want a mixture of about 50% rice or slightly less.  You will probably have some rice left over.  Don't panic.  There is nothing "Hard and Fast" about this recipe.  Modify it for your taste and your family's.  Use the extra rice in your boudin sausage or feed it to the chickens.

Place your peppers in a baking pan and fill them with the meat and rice mixture.  Pack them full, don't be e'skeered.  Reserve the pepper tops aside.  Place your stuffed peppers into the oven and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  At 45 minutes, remove the pan, place a slice of mozzarella on each so that it will melt over the top and down the sides.  Place the pepper tops on top of the cheese and put the peppers back in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.  Remove the peppers and serve on a plate with a glass of sangria by candlelight while listening to Nora Jones' "Shoot the Moon."  

Squirrel & Dumplings

A Grey Squirrel Awaiting His Culinary Debut

A combination of a rediscovered love for hunting squirrels, my friend's desire to rid his property of fruit tree raiders and my dad's visit caused me to take a handful of squirrels I had in the freezer and whip up a game recipe that my dad has not enjoyed since he was a teenager in Florida.  Squirrel is a plentiful and pleasant game meat.  When I was a teenager in Florida we would spend days in the woods hunting and eating what we killed.  Most often, it was the ubiquitous tree rodent.  Cleaned and roasted on a spit over a camp fire sounds very romantic and appetizing to those who haven't done it.  Eaten in this fashion squirrel is as tough as an old tire and almost as tasty.  There are better ways to prepare it in the field, but this recipe is about the kitchen, or at least a hunting camp with some amenities.

The basic ingredients of this recipe are:

• 4 good sized squirrels, cleaned and quartered.  
• 1/2 gallon of buttermilk
• salt and pepper to taste
• biscuit mix for 9 biscuits (I use Bisquick but you can substitute biscuits from scratch or your favorite mix) 
• 2 cubes of beef bullion 
• 1 drained can of peas and 1 of corn, if you like

Soak your squirrel in buttermilk overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.  Retain the unused buttermilk for your biscuit mix.  In a large Dutch oven add the squirrel, the beef bullion and cover with water.  Boil the squirrel a long time, at least an hour, probably more, until the meat is tender and ready to fall off the bone.  Remove the squirrel and strip the meat from the bones.  I have found that you end up with small bone in your meal even when you are very careful, so pick carefully and eat carefully.  Be especially careful if you hunt with a shotgun to ensure you get all the shot out.  I use a .22 rifle, so I seldom have that problem.  Strain the broth through a fine, mesh strainer and return to the Dutch oven.  Bring the broth back to a boil while you prepare your biscuit mix substituting buttermilk for milk.  Form the dough into golf ball sized balls.  Once your dough is ready and your broth is boiling, carefully drop your dumplings into the broth, reduce heat to medium, cover, and boil for 15 minutes.  Watch carefully because the dough will cause the broth to form a thick froth of yummy goodness, which can overflow.  I usually vent the lid by placing it slightly to one side to reduce over-frothing and mess.  Stirring occasionally also helps.  This part of the process adds the thick sauce that gives the meal its heartiness.  After 15 minutes add the meat back to the pot, add the peas and corn, and simmer for 20-25 minutes.  Serve with cornbread, black-eyed peas and rice and a large glass of sweet tea in a quart Mason jar.