It's A Mad, Mad Cow World

In honor of this week's record-breaking beef recall, I am posting my friend Debs' recipe for Oxtail Soup. We should all do as Debs has done. Get to know your meat purveyor, buy half a cow and cook your own food. If she can manage it from the depths of the urban jungle of Chicago, so can you. I will be calling the organic farm down the street to find out what's in their freezer. To keep your diet balanced, Debs also sends her recipe for kale.

A Few Notes Before You Start...

Debs says:
"I find this is something best to do when you're at home for a while because it requires cooking on the stove for several hours. Perhaps it can be retrofitted for a crock pot, but I haven't figured that out yet."

Clever Gretel replies:
"Yes, you can do this in a slow-cooker (Crock-Pot is a brand from Rival). It will need to cook about seven hours total, with a break for skimming fat after five hours. But, check it periodically because oven cook times and slow cooker times will vary. We will be posting more about slow-cookers this week. We just bought one and our initial response is that they rock."

A Few Words From Debs About Beef Soup Bones:
"Beef soup bones are best bought from a butcher, I think, as I've never really seen them for sale at a grocery. The soup bones usually are meaty and the nice thing is that you can use that meat in a beef soup, which of course, was the original intention of soup bones (hence the name). If you have leftover bones from roasts or steaks, throw those in (or freeze them until you get enough.) Same thing here, the meatier, the better. I've learned that throwing in a tablespoon or two for any stock, like chicken, pulls more of the calcium and magnesium from the bones, which we can all use!"

Beef Stock
Makes 4-5 quarts.
4 lbs beef bones
2 large carrots, cut into large chunks
3 ribs celery, cut into large chunks
2 onions, peeled and quartered
7 quarts of water
3-4 sprigs thyme
3-4 sprigs oregano
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled and crushed
1 tomato, coarsely chopped (or use a 14-oz can of diced tomato w/juice)
2 tsp salt
2 tblsp vinegar

Preheat oven to 450 F
Place the bones and carrots, celery and onions in a large roasting pan and roast for 40 mins, or until, the bones are thoroughly browned. Periodically turn them over, basting the bones and the vegetables w/any drippings. Pour the bones and vegetables in a very large stock pot. If you don't have a large enough stock pot, you can always divide it evenly between two of your largest pots. Set the roasting pan on the stovetop and pour in 2 cups of the water. Scrape up any of the browned bits and add to the stock pot with any other drippings. Tie the thyme and oregano sprigs together and add to the pot, along with the garlic, tomatoes, salt and remaining 6 1/2 quarts of water and vinegar. Let sit for 30 mins. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least six hours. The longer it cooks, the richer the stock. If you like, you can cook the stock all day, refrigerate it and then cook it further.

At this point, if you are using a slow-cooker, transfer the stock to the cooker, set the cooker on high and cook for five hours on low, skim the fat off the top and then switch the cooker to high and cook for two more hours. However, you must keep the slow-cooker on the entire time. DO NOT turn it off and try to re-heat the stock to continue cooking. Slow-cookers are not designed for re-heating foods.

Remove the vegetables, the bones and the herbs. Completely cool the stock before pouring it into freezer containers. What I do is put it in the fridge, then the fat rises to the top and it comes off easily.

Now you're set with a lot of stock. Here's a away to use it!

Oxtail Soup With Meatballs

One oxtail, cut in to chunks, trimmed of excess fat
1 bay leaf
1/4 to 1/2 half tsp red pepper flakes
1 onion minced
noodles and vegetables of your choice.

MEAT BALLS
1lb ground beef
1 egg white
bread crumbs - about 1/4 to 1/3 cup, enough to bind togther.
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp Maggi (or Worstechesire sauce)
Mix every thing together and form into small balls

Get out your stock pot again. Cover oxtails with a 1/2 and 1/2 stock and water combination so that there is 2" of liquid on top. Add onion, bay leaf and pepper flakes. Bring to boil and simmer 4 to 5 hours till tails are done. At this point you can also add the meatballs and cook about 15 minutes until meatballs are done. Refrigerate overnight. The next day, remove fat from top. Here it's up to you if you wish to take the meat off the bones, or leave it in there for contrast. Add 6 to 7 cups of stock to oxtails. Bring to a boil. At this point you can add noodles and any vegetable you wish (i'm partial to carrots and celery). Simmer, stirring occasionally for a half hour or until noodles and vegetables or done.

At this point, check the spices, since the noodles and vegetable take some of the flavoring away. If you wish, you can add a beef bouillon cube, but keep in mind the amount of sodium this adds. Separately you can cook your vegetables and noodles and add to soup when done.

Further Notes From Debs:
I know this is a lot of time and it can take about two days if you made the stock, then the oxtails, but you could make the stock, freeze it, and then make the oxtails. This is really winter comfort food at its finest. This recipe will make at least 10-12 servings, so keep it in mind that you can make it and then freeze it for whenever you need some beefy goodness.

Obsessive Compulsive Kale Or Kale ALa Debbie
Debs Says:
"Have I told you of my newest vegetable obsession? It's the humble kale.
I discovered it at my farmers market last summer when I went to a dinner benefit for the farmers market in early October. The restaurant prepared meals using only local ingredients, and one of them was kale, with a free-range roasted chicken. Truly I was amazed at the flavor and texture. Plus it's very healthy for you! It's loaded with calcium and I think it's part of the cabbage family, This is the perfect time of year to eat it, as I found it's a fall-winter-early spring vegetable that is one of those amazing crops that taste better when touched by frost. I've found the easiest way to cook it is to simply saute it. I also found using a nut oil, like peanut, or sesame, really enhances it. But, if your guest has a food allergy, olive/canola works just as well."

Makes six (or 3 if you really dig kale)
2 lbs dark green kale, stemmed and coarse chopped.
1 tblsp sesame oil
1 tblsp olive oil
1 tblsp sesame seeds (optional)
2 small cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper taste

Rinse kale, but do not completely dry. Put kale in large pot. Cover and cook over low heat in the water that clings to the leaves after washing, until the kale wilts and is tender, about 4-5 mins. Drain in colander. Heat oils in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and cook for 10 seconds. Add the kale. Cook the kale, tossing with a fork or tongs, until cooked through, about 3-4 mins. Season with salt & pepper. Serve very hot, sprinkled with sesame seeds.