THE RELUCTANT GOURMET COOKING COMMUNITY

[Druegan]

Hello all,

I'm new to these forums, so I popped into say hi. You might want to know some things about me, so here goes..

I'm 33 , male, foodie, opinionated, and of a slightly odd bent. I'm here to meet people, explore culinaria, and hopefully learn all sorts of tidbits.. and perhaps answer a question or two if I'm able :)

I guess I should perhaps explain the "opinionated, and of a slightly odd bent" remark. I am what might be called an "anti-modern" foodie. It's just a thing that's popped up over the last few years, but I'm getting increasingly passionate about it. I find myself deploring modern commercial food culture, trendyism, and the marketing and corporate profit driven mass market sludge being passed off as "food" these days. Lol.. I said I was opinionated, didn't I?

Just earlier this evening, I went to 6 different supermarkets trying to find a chuck roast, rib roast, or any kind of beef roast really... with the bone in it. Not a single one was to be found. Some of these stores were huge, and usually come through on even some of the more unusual ingredients I seek for new recipes... But nope! Not one single solitary bone-in roast! Bonelessness is one of those trendy, mass-market fad things I'm getting upset about.. Bones add flavor! So does fat! So I'm off to the local specialty butcher shop in the morning to find something that should be commonplace. It's a mess!

I'm interested in learning more about "heirloom" varieties of produce, traditional ways of cooking, "oldschool" or artisinal production of meats and cheeses, unpasteurized, unmodified, un-commercialised, do-it-yourself-cooking. Eventually one day I want to produce my own food from the soil upwards... but that'll take some time.

I don't do the modern "health nut trendyism" either.. I am not afraid to use lard, to deep fry, to add heavy cream, and I don't care if it takes a little longer to make the dish the old way if it means it has better flavor :)

In short... I'm kinda looking for the "old magic" in food. I seek the flavor that we've all but lost these days.. So please, help me find it if you can, and I look forward to getting to know you all!

Regards,
Druegan

[chefbear]

Welcome Druegan, can't say I would ever agree on all your points, but that's what makes this forum so good. So please feel free to jump in anytime.

CB

[Dilbert]

I'm another "bone in" fan - for exactly those reasons! actually I've had pretty good luck at our local megamart - but frequently I do have to ask at the meat counter (the store has a real butcher department - saws & knives and people who actually know what they're doing...)
'what you see' is not necessarily all you can get - but obviously they're packaging for the masses. I once asked the lead butcher if I was the only bone weirdo, he thought for a minute and said "No, there's another guy..."

sometimes they have to break down a cut "from the back" - other times I catch them with an empty larder.

we also have a local third generation butcher shop - that's all they do... you can't get designer coffee there. if I have a special need I can phone him and he'll have it today or tomorrow (the slaughterhouse is about 3 miles further down the road...so he's got an edge over the supermarket.)

as a rule I get all my pork from the local butcher shop - I'm guessing it's a different breed (it's all 'local') than the supermarket supply chain - it's superior pork to my tastes, no question about it.

I use cream and butter and lard - all in moderation <g> - which my take on 'healthy' cooking. eating a very tasty but fatty chuck roast three times a week probably will catch up sooner or later. but it's butter in my biscuits, half&half butter lard in pie crusts. then again, we don't have biscuits smothered in gravy every day either.

most of the reduced fat 'stuff' - and especially since the transfat issues - taste more like cardboard than anything else. we don't eat that many cookies for example - but dang it I want the few I eat to taste good!

a good bit of the question simply gets back to "home cooking" vs. 'nuking it.' if one has the time to make the dish 'old style' all the ingredients are still available. real oatmeal, grits - not "Quik" or "instant" - have you tried barley as a side dish? another "lost" yummy staple.

producing all/most of your own food is a tall order today. my grandmother did it - spend days and days and days in the kitchen shucking, snapping, shelling, chopping, blanching, canning.... it's a full time job as the crops start coming in.

I've got a good size vegetable garden - about 1200 sq ft - but eating fresh through the season and freezing the rest will not get us through the winter. 1200 sq ft can be easily fenced; 2-3 acres is a lot trickier to fence / control and if there's that much open space, probably have critter issues as well. a family of raccoons can decimate a fair sized corn patch virtually overnight. one visit by a batch of deer and the peas and beans are history. my grandfather (with hundreds of acres and a big garden) had to completely fence his corn plot - bury the wire, fence over the top as well - metal pipes around/on the gates (woodchucks would chew through wood) just to get a harvest of sweet corn.

[Druegan]

Thanks for the welcome, Chefbear. No worries, I don't expect anybody to agree with *all* my points.. in fact, I imagine some people would be horrified by some of them.. lol. But I agree, diversity is a key to interesting conversation. :)

Dilbert, I'm glad to meet another "bone in" fan here already! Usually my luck isn't so bad with finding bone-in meat.. I guess I caught them on an "empty larder" day... but 6 stores all having those simultaneously... just sort of boggles my mind a bit.

We have a specialty butcher shop here... it's been around for ages.. no idea how long.. but they've expanded past the "just meat" approach. I won't say their product is always the best quality, and it's a little more expensive.. but they do manage to usually come through for me when I need something. I just moved back into the central illinois area after about 6 years in Ohio, and I'm still re-learning where the goodies can be gotten.. But the food scene here lags badly behind the fun that was findable in Columbus, Cleveland, and Akron.

Yep, I'm also a barley fan, although I've been kind of limited thus far in the applications I've put it to.. mostly soups, cassaroles, risotto and the occasional stuffing... but I'm always on the lookout for new tricks with it :)

And yes, I know becoming "food independent" is going to be a huge job.. eventually I'm looking to go in on it with several friends and make it sort of a communal endeavor.. But we're also looking into ways to change some of the dynamics involved.. And even though it sounds very strange coming from a self-described "anti-modernist".. to use technology to our advantage.. Like working out a system to use full-spectrum LED technology to grow crops in year-round cycles in a controlled environment.. Again, this is all down the road.. but it also fits in nicely with plans for generating our own power, purifying our own water, treating waste, etc.

Ultimately, I'd like to go "full eco".. take the best of the old ways, with the best of the new, sustainable technologies, and marry them together to create a superior, sustainable quality of life. May take me a few decades, but that's the plan anyway. :)

Anyhoo.. as you can see, I tend to ramble a bit.. so I'll close this now.. but it's nice to meet you, and I look forward to some good discussions.

Regards,
Druegan

[Reluctant Gourmet]

Hi Druegan,
Welcome to the community and all your recent posts. I have been reading them the last few days and appreciate your sharing your food and cooking knowledge. Like Chefbear, I don't agree with all your points of view but I do respect your honesty and openness.

Look forward to reading more,

RG

[Druegan]

Hi RG, and thanks for the welcome :) I know some of my opinions are a bit unconventional.. but hey, it makes for some interesting conversation options :)

I'll try to pitch in where I have something to share.. and equally, I'll try to keep the ranting to a minumum.. lol.

Regards,
Druegan