New Blog on BlogsMonroe: Michigan Beer Buzz
Posted on 10 November 2007 under Beer, BlogsMonroe | 2 Comments
Very quietly this week, a new blog has appeared here on BlogsMonroe.com. Michigan Beer Buzz is written by Sarah Nash of the blog The Place Where We Live, along with her husband Kevin. They are joined in this new venture by Monroe News staffer Rob Gorczyca of the TechBox blog. Even this early in the life of this new blog, Rob posted yesterday about the Redwood Lodge, a family fave about 10 miles from my parents’ home in the Flint area.
And yes, Rob, I’ll certainly point out the use of the same blog theme I’ve used here on Luna Pier Cook, implemented with some beautiful modifications to create a warm and friendly look for Michigan Beer Buzz. I particularly like the beer mug next to the Search box … nice touch! These themes are generally freely available (SteamyKitchen uses an elegant “pro” theme she had paid for) and are highly customizable. It’s always interesting to see how someone has implemented a given theme differently for another topic.
Michigan Beer Buzz is already a good read. I think it will likely prove to be quite popular. Head on over and check it out!
Blog Weirdness, and PETA Nonsense
Posted on 27 October 2007 under BlogsMonroe, Notes, Rants | 5 Comments
Back on my posting from last week about the Rabbit & Sausage Gumbo, Stephanie left a comment yesterday evening about her guy J (a chef we know) making rabbit dishes at the restaurant he works at. To be honest, looking at that comment from Stephanie, you can’t tell who she is, but Mary and I know who Stephanie is. Because of her work and her specific request to keep her identity a secret, I intentionally help hide her identity in this blog.
But in a second comment from last night, Stephanie wrote:
What’s weird is that someone just delivered some literature about eating animals to my desk about five seconds ago. Did you have something to do with this? I’m going to blog about it right now.
Over in the blog Behind The Headlines, Stephanie continues the story:
One of my coworkers just came back from a game and checked the drop-off box for whatever reason, found some fliers and jokingly said “these must be for you” while delivering them to my desk. There’s no way he could have read the comment since he was at a game all night … The fliers are all about animal cruelty. One asks “Why call some animals ‘pets’ and others ‘pants’?” and then goes on to ask “What if leather shoes were made from cocker spaniels? … The other flier is about KFC and cruelty to chickens with a rendition of the Colonel on the front, smiling, bloodied and holding a knife to a frightened, scalded chicken. Both are from PETA … Did someone read the comment and feel compelled to pass along the literature? Is it just a coincidence? Am I thinking about it way too hard? Is it simply time to go home and instead of doing yet another political brief (as I felt my head may explode) this blog fodder was a twisted gift from the gods?
As I said, because of how Stephanie comments here, there’s no way even coworkers can tell who she is unless they know about the connection with the anonymous Chef J. Of course, I can’t stand PETA so I had nothing to do with it. I’ve actually accepted literature from someone from PETA on a street in Columbus, calmly torn it up, dropped it on the sidewalk, and walked away.
The timing of what happened to Stephanie yesterday is what’s weird, as she wrote, “a twisted gift from the gods”. Those brochures would have likely arrived even if she hadn’t made the initial comment on this blog. There’s a sense of foreshadowing on her part, that she would comment on such a blog entry from over a week ago, as though she somehow knew the brochures were coming. Yeah, Stephanie, you’re using The Force … 
And why would a co-worker “jokingly” think of her that way? I’d be dropping dead chickens on his desk sometime soon.
Here’s my thing about PETA; There are Biblical and other ancient writings regarding the use of animals in food. PETA says animals are not ours to eat. I worship a God who says otherwise. In my life, PETA has no authority over that connection I have with God’s word, and because of this, PETA appears to me as an aetheist organization.
While some methods of animal husbandry are cruel, not all are, especially when it comes to smaller family farms. PETA’s generalizations in this area are irresponsible, especially considering the amount of hunger on this planet. If they had any sense of perspective, they would be attempting to assist in solving this massive human problem rather than harrassing people like Stephanie … even when it’s through a co-worker of hers who thinks it’s supposedly funny to do the same.
I might lose readers because of this. But I’ll tell you what, this is my opinion. If you agree with PETA, go ahead and do so. Just don’t try to force that opnion on me. I’ll tell you how I feel, and if you’re a mature individual, you’ll realize this posting is only about me expressing my opinion, not about my trying to force that opinion on you.
This is where I stand. “That’s all I have to say about that.”
Come to think of it, I think I have some Rabbit & Sausage Gumbo in the freezer. That’d make a nice lunch on a chilly Saturday like this one.
Recipe from Pel-Freez: Rabbit & Sausage Gumbo
Posted on 17 October 2007 under BlogsMonroe, Food Blogs, Recipes, Shopping | 7 Comments
Over on the Home Life blog here on BlogsMonroe.com, Sarah asked an interesting question a couple weeks ago:
Lately my husband and I have been considering raising rabbits as a meat source for our family … I like the idea of raising our own meat as we know how it was cared for, what it was fed, and how it was processed … And there are a ton of recipes out there for rabbit that seem delicious. Care to share your own?
I don’t have any of my own because, up until now, I’ve not cooked rabbit. I’ve eaten plenty, that’s for sure. If you look at the first comment on Sarah’s post, that’s my oldest son there. He and I both really like rabbit, as do his brothers and sister.
But my wife Mary has always reacted negatively to the possibility of eating rabbit … that is, until now.
Last week in response to Sarah’s question, I headed over to the Pel-Freez web site and ordered their free cookbook. As Mary browsed through this booklet a couple days ago, the recipe for Rabbit & Sausage Gumbo caught her eye. Before I could even wrap my brain around the possibility of cooking rabbit, she had half the ingredients for the gumbo in a shopping cart!
Once Mary had almost everything together, I headed out and picked up 3-1/4 pounds of the necessary frozen domestic rabbit.
But there was something missing. The filé powder.
Now this filé powder stuff doesn’t look like much. You don’t even add it until it’s time to serve the dish. But it was likely necessary. Had I ever had it in any of the gumbo I’d eaten here in the Great White North? I haven’t a clue. What the Heck is it anyway, the stuff you scrape off a French file?
Wait, it’s … what?? Ground sassafras leaves? Huh … I’d never heard of such a thing. Sassafras goes in root beer … some tea, but … gumbo? Well, alright, if you insist …
Try to find filé powder, aka Gumbo Filé, in SE Michigan/NW Ohio. Go ahead, I dare ya’.
Yesterday morning I was on the road over two hours looking for filé powder. I’d discovered Zatarain’s makes some so that’s the one I went looking for. I went to two Kroger’s, a GFS Marketplace, Lee William’s House of Meats, The Anderson’s … Staff at these stores kinda looked at me funny (I would have too), and tried to even correct me … “filet powder?” … “phyllo powder?” … “flea powder?” … yeah, sure, I put flea powder in my gumbo, don’t you??
So I’m wandering through the Sofo Foods store in north Toledo wondering why the hey I’m wandering through an Italian food supplier’s shop looking for something Creole-specific, when I suddenly stopped.
At the bottom of this page someone had written:
**Update** I recently noticed a container of Tony Chachere’s Filé powder at the store and picked some up. It’s the real deal, pure Sassafras, just like my homemade. Highly recommended!
Well I’ll be fo-shizzled. That’s exactly what I was staring at! Tony Chachere’s Gumbo Filé, in Sofo Foods in north Toledo. Who woulda thunk it??
After grabbing the Tony Chachere’s brand and heading up M-24 back toward Michigan, I had this crazy thought. Right there, south of the state line is The Fish Market I blogged about late last week. I had this thought, that maybe I should make some seafood gumbo at some point. I mean, there was enough filé powder there for …
D’OH!!!
I hit the brakes, parked the van and headed into The Fish Market. Steve Gale was behind the counter, and I asked if he had any filé powder. “Sure do, it’s right there”, he said, pointing at some glass jars on the counter.
I really need to not do these kinds of funky ingredient searches before ingesting enough caffeine for the day …
This evening as Mary tried this dish she just fell in love with it. She actually said, “Honey I get the feeling this is going to become one of my favorites, something I ask you to make.” Sounds good to me! This stuff is nice and chunky, the veggies al denté, the rabbit nice and tender, a spot of heat from the cayenne, and the amazing smell and flavor of sassafras, all rolled into one seriously-nice dish.
Mary didn’t like the thought of eating rabbit. She’s had this, and wants more, as do I. If you’re leary of trying rabbit for whatever reason, here’s where to start enjoying it.
That is, after you track down the danged filé powder …
Special thanks to the kind folks at Pel-Freez Rabbit Meat, Inc. for their express permission for me to post their recipe here at Luna Pier Cook.
Rabbit and Sausage Gumbo
From “Recipes from Around The World: Rabbit, An International Delicacy”
Used with permission of Pel-Freez Rabbit Meat, Inc., Rogers, Arkansas
2-1/2 to 3 lbs Pel-Freeze Rabbit, thawed
6 cups water
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 celery stalks, including leaves, chopped
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
6 oz Kielbasa (or other smoked sausage) cut in 1/2 ” pieces
1/2 lb okra, cut in slices
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1 16 oz can peeled tomatoes
2 tsp filé powder
In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, simmer rabbit, salt and pepper in water for 20 to 30 minutes or until tender. Remove rabbit from broth and let cool. Remove meat from bone in large pieces and return meat to broth in pan. In a skillet, heat oil. Sauté onion, pepper, celery and garlic for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add sausage, okra, cayenne, thyme and bay leaf. Continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes. Add vegetable mixture and tomatoes to rabbit. Simmer 30 minutes. Stir in filé the last few minutes before serving. Serve over rice with a green salad and crusty French bread. Serves 4 to 6. Gumbo can be frozen, but filé should not be added until just before serving.
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