Beef Tongue Recipe

I know ya'all have been DYING to know the outcome of my Beef Tongue Extravaganza!!!

(And I'm not even from the South - so "ya'all" isn't even a 'natural' term for me!)

Okay, for starters, there's a borderline pornographic pic + recipe here... No, I didn't use that particular recipe, but the photo made me giggle 'til margarita shot-up my nose, so I felt it was worth sharing, at least!!!

I actually Googled "How to cook Beef Tongue" and got a buttload of "hits." Here's what I ended up with (merging most of 'em into ONE) (My modifications are noted in [brackets]):

1 3 lb large beef tongue
1 Onion, quartered
1 Carrot, sliced [I used about 6-8 baby carrots, actually]
3 Ribs of leafy celery
6 Sprigs of [fresh] parsley
3 Bay leaves
10 Peppercorns, cracked [actually, I ground the peppermill about 15x]
[3-5 Cloves fresh garlic, sliced]
[3-4 Bouillon cubes]
[4-5 Tbs Onion flakes]

[*Addendum: Might want to add a bit of salt to the water! No, I don't know how much - but I ended up needing to "salt" the meat slices when I ate it the next day.]

I started out by scrubbing the tongue, then soaked it in cold water for appx 90 minutes (changed the water about 3 times).

Then I filled a large pot (I'm guessing it's appx 5 qts +/-) with cold water. Enough to cover the tongue + appx 2". Then added the above ingredients. Put it on the stove... Brought it to a boil, then covered it, and turned it back to "simmer" (low, rolling boil). Let 'er boil for about 60 mins/lb. So, about 3 hours in my case. I did stop, midway through, to flip the tongue over (it kept wanting to float to the top and the topside would tend to dry out. I covered it w/the wet veggie matter).

After appx 3 hrs, I pulled it out and plunked it into a bowl of COLD water. Grabbed a pair of cooking shears, a knife and a fork, and proceeded to "skin" the tongue (outer surface of the tongue turned white during cooking). I did my best to "preserve" the meat underneath and actually did a halfway decent job of "skinning" it (Plunging it in cold water was a *very* good idea!).

It seems pretty tender, now - but, after skinning, I decided to plop it back into the pot 'o water/veggies on the stove to let it simmer a bit longer...

[Addendum: I'd turned off the burner, but let the tongue sit in hot water for appx an add'l 20 minutes. You definitely *don't* want to overcook it, or it'll get tough and gross!]

I did slice a hunk or two off of it - and it tastes GREAT!

Although, personally, I am more "familiar" with Beef Tongue as cold-cuts/lunch-meat. I'm anxious to put it in the fridge, then thin-slice it with my Deli-Slicer tomorrow. I'm *sure* it'll make deeeeeee-licious sandwiches tomorrow!

Okay, that's it from my world! Hope I haven't grossed anyone out TOO badly!!!

The funny thing about irony is...

[Image - used with permission - from gimmecorn.com]

...it's so damned ironic sometimes!

Okay, Two (long-winded) Blurbs - then I'll be on my way!

1 - Okay, this is less "Irony" than "Adding Insult to Injury:"

So, after yesterday's run-the-truck-thru-the-car-wash-with-a-full-bladder debacle (No, I didn't wet myself! Thankyouverymuch!!!)... And - BTW - this wasn't the CHEAPEST Wash they offered - Ohhhh nooo! This was the $9.00 "Touchless" Wash option, with Bottom-Blast, and Wheel-Wash, and Clearcoat Crap, and Blow-Job, and Whatever...

Well, I walked out to the truck this morning and it looks even WORSE than it did before I ran it through yesterday!!! Whatever Ultra-Premium Clearcoat Whatchamacallit Krep they sprayed on it seems to dry as WHITE spots. I've got a damned polka-dotted black truck now!!!

2 - This one falls under the "Irony" Category:

So DH is in Deutschland right now. Berlin, to be precise. And he had a little bit of free time today (he flies home tomorrow), so I'd asked him to run to the grocery store and pick up a hunk of Raclette Cheese (something I've not been able to find around here - and even if I could, I doubt it'd be as good as the Real Deal). Raclette is a semi-firm cheese from Switzerland (that smells like old people's feet!!!) and it's really tasty when melted and poured over "other stuff."

We actually have a Raclette Grill and it makes for good "Dinner Party Fare." More on Raclette (it's a cheese, as well as a style of meal) here - if you're interested...

Then I got to thinking... Ooooh, something else I absolutely CANNOT find around here (and this is gonna sound Super-Gross to some, I'm sure!) is Beef Tongue - which is, like, a Bavarian delicacy.

Now bear in mind that my dad was stationed in Germany during WWII - and he had a definite fondness for German Food. Some of it was pretty weird, I'll admit. But since I grew-up eating this stuff, it doesn't seem strange to me, at all (Now my mom and sister would have *nothing* to do with most of his bizarre culinary creations! But I loved it! - Guess that's why I was always "Daddy's Girl!")

Now this was "back in the day" when Delicatessens were small, independent shops with all kinds of meats and cheeses and whatnot (and grocery stores carried mainly Oscar Mayer ham, bologna, Head-Cheese [ICK!] and maybe turkey!). I also have a vague recollection of standalone Butcher-Shops as well! (Heck, I even remember the clink-clink sound of the Milkman delivering BOTTLES of milk - to our house, even! Okay, *now* I'm showing my age!!!)

(Requisite Digression: "Gather 'round, kiddies... Let me tell you about the Old Days when you could pull into the Gas Service Station ["DING-DING!"] and 3-4 neatly-dressed guys would appear to fill your tank, wash your windshield, put air in your tires, check under the hood, ANNNNND you could "Fillerup with Ethyl" for less than five bucks!")

("No-No-NOOO! I *don't* have Dementia or Alzheimers! It *really* was that way!!! Go rent 'Back To The Future!' You'll see!!!")

Anyhoooo:

...Nowaways, all of that has been absorbed into the local Mega-Grocery-Store. And the Grocery Stores cater to, well, the General Public - most of whom would think "Beef Tongue?!! Ewwwww!!!"

The last time I saw beef tongue offered was at a rinky-dink little New York Style Deli up in San Rafael (which is a HELLUVA long drive from here!).

Anyway, I shot-off an email to Rog last night - unsure of whether he'd get it in time (Berlin is 9 hours ahead). Then I realized he probably couldn't just walk into the local grocery store and ask for "Beef Tongue" - I needed the proper German words.

I tried Babelfish but couldn't come up with the right translation. I ended up calling our local German Restaurant, Teske's, and asked if there was anyone who would translate it for me! Sho 'nuff, they had a german-speaking waitress who gave me the translation and even spelled it out for me!

"Rinderzunge, geräuchert" is smoked beef tongue, if anybody cares!

Well, we exchanged a few emails, and Rog made his way to the grocery store. He found the cheese, then proceeded to the meat counter. Well, the lady at the meat counter didn't speak a word of English! He told her what he wanted, and he was able to discern that they didn't have it - but couldn't tell what else she was saying! Luckily, there was an Old Hippie at the store (Rog is an Old Hippie Magnet!), who did Sprechen Sie Englisch and Deutsch and was able to convey that Rog would have to go to the Butcher Shop across the street.

In the meantime, the question arose about whether or not Rog could actually bring a meat product back into the states!

He chose not to get the meat which - as I discovered @ 3:00am - is a prohibited item anyway! ("Das ist verboten!") So I emailed him back and agreed that it was "just as well" that he didn't get it.

So this morning I started Googling - trying to determine if there's any way to find/order a beef tongue. The "key-word" seemed to be to Google "Smoked Beef Tongue" (I'd Googled "Beef Tongue" in the past and really didn't have much luck). But when I added the word "Smoked" - I got a hit! Found a place, Bavaria Sausage, in Wisconsin that sells all kinds of Bavarian Fare and *does* carry Beef Tongue (Yay!). So I went ahead and ordered one...

At this point, I'm really, really CRAVING beef tongue! So I'm good now. Just have to wait for FedEx to deliver it (hopefully sometime next week).

* * * * *
Yeah, well Guess What?!! I went to the "higher-end" Grocery Store this morning: Nob Hill (it's the only store that carries Hood Calorie-Countdown [Low-Carb] Milk). Normally, I'd just get one or two things there, then do the bulk of my shopping at Lucky ("The Low Price Leader!") - but it's Saturday, and I didn't want to deal with the crowds.

Sooooo annnnnyywwaaaaaaaayyyyy.. I'm wandering through the meat section, right? What do I spy in the Bizarro-Organ-Meat Section (next to the liver, and tripe and Gawd-knows what else)???

Gawd-Damn!!! They had one lonely fresh Beef Tongue!

Swear-to-GAWD I have NEVER seen that carried at ANY of the stores around here!!

Well, into my cart it went!

So now I gotta hit Google again and figure out how to cook this monstrosity!!!

Too friggin' funny if you ask me!

Anyhooo... I'll post the results after I satiate my Beef Tongue Jones!

Tip of the Day...

When you've got to pee like a race horse... is NOT the best time to drive your vehicle through the Car Wash...

Just sayin'!

"Mental Health Day"

Actually, it's more a case of "I'm maxing out my PTO again!" day...

I'm takin' tomorrow off to run some errands, get my hair touched up, and probably putter around in the yard for a few hours.

I'd started hacking-down some of the cannas a few days ago. I normally use an ancient pair of K-Mart Hedge Clippers (the old fashioned "chop-chop" monster-scissors variety). But with the quantity of stuff that I have to hack down, that really wasn't the most productive tool...

So, while thumbing through the Sportsmans Guide Catalog, I spied a machete for a decent price. "Heeeeyyyyyy!!! That could work!" I could don my fedora and hack-and-slash my way through the jungle, Indiana Jones Style, right?

Welllllll... For twenty bucks, I shouldn't have had my hopes set *too* high! But the item description clearly said stuff like: "Whack! Clear foliage with a single swipe!" and "fine razor's edge with "toothy" serrated saw on top."

Okay, they were right about the toothy serrated saw (which I haven't tried b/c I've already got a good pruning saw). But the "fine razor's edge" is cerainly open to debate!

"Well, maybe if I whack REAL HARD..."

Nada! Not even on wimpy half-dead cannas - which are just fleshy-stemmed plants, maybe 1" in diameter.

At first, I was worried "What if I slip and hit my leg?" - and envisioned myself with some gaping, gushing leg-wound. HA!!! This thing wouldn't cut warm butter!!!

I wouldn't even attempt to cut anything woody with this thing. It'd probably bounce-back and I'd end up giving myself a concussion!

I have an ePal whose S/O is into knives, so I've sent off an inquiry. What little Googling I've done seems to indicate that inexpensive machetes aren't worth the effort to even TRY to sharpen. :::sigh::: I'll hope for a better answer than the one I'm expecting to get!

So I suspect I'll be doing LOTS of deep-knee-bends and hacking away - ever so slowly - with our antique hedge clippers tomorrow...

But once it's done, it's done! (At least for THIS season!)

Then, if my energy holds out, I'll probably whip out the cordless drill and jigsaw - and think about building my Self-Contained Planters. Then maybe rummage through the shed and try to retrieve my Jiffy Peat Pellets so I can start my tomato and pumpkin seeds in the bathroom.

It's supposed to be 69* and sunny tomorrow - so it'll feel good to get outside!

Latest (Gardening) Project...

Note: Lotsa "linky-love" today. Blogspot doesn't give me a simple option for "open in new tab" so please "Right-Click" and "Open in New Window [or Tab]" so you don't navigate away from my page!!!

* * * * *
Okay, DH is out of town again.

And the weather is starting to turn NICE again (Ooops - Not Good!!!). It's still a tad chilly for full-on gardening (although I do still have more cannas to chop down - and TONS of weeds to pull!).

It's also too early to start any serious planting b/c nighttime temps are still dipping into the 30's. But that doesn't stop me from "planning" next year's garden! (Damn those seed catalogs!!!)

I've already ordered a buttload of seeds from TomatoFest. I've never actually ordered from them before, but they're somewhat "local" so I'm hopeful that the varieties they grow/sell will do well here. I'll start the seedlings in the bathroom window-sill using 3 Mini Jiffy Greenhouse thingies (with Peat-pellets - I bought about a bazillion pellets off of eBay a few years ago!). I've had "so-so" success with them in the past (they don't transplant SUPER-well, unfortunately).

I'll also start some of them in my hydroponic Mega-Garden. The plants I started hydroponically, last year, did *not* transplant-to-dirt well. But the plants that I left in there (roasting in the greenhouse, all summer long) did EXTRAORDINARILY well. Verrrrry prolific producers - especially when you consider that I'd planted them in 16 oz plastic drinking cups (and never potted-them-up)! I had a TON of tomatoes - but I have to admit that the dirt-grown 'maters did taste a lot better than the hydro-grown...

And I'll undoubtedly end-up making a trek to Ben Lomond at some point, this spring. Love Apple Farm grows/sells a wide variety of SUPER-COOL tomato plants. And, toward the end of early-spring, they generally have a Seedling Sale.

I've tried other growing experiments:

One was making a planter out of a 2 liter soda bottle. Topper's Place has the instructions for that (Note: I used a drill for making the holes - rather than a soldering iron - either way would work, though!). Might be a fun project for any gardening moms with wannabee-gardener kids, actually (Gardening+Recycling=About-As-"Green"-As-You-Can-Get!). The pop-bottle planters were actually good for starting seedlings (for later transplant), and I did manage to keep one Micro-Tom tomato alive, in the soda bottle for most of the season (But Micro-Tom Tomatoes are itsy-bitsy-small!). IMHO, I didn't think it was one of my more successful experiments. Still, it's a good "Green" thing to do - and it really *did* work well for starting seedlings (I didn't have any deaths from transplant shock, anyway).

One Utter-Failure (for me, anyway) was the Topsy-Turvy tomato planter. I'd planted yellow cherry tomatoes in that and it did grow - but it was verrrrry leggy (in spite of being in a very sunny, very hot part of the yard). Watering it was kind of a pain b/c I had it hanging pretty high-up (and you need a STRONG hanger for it - once you water the plant, it's verrrry heavy!). I did get quite a few tomatoes from it (although the dogs probably ate the majority of them!). But overall, I really wasn't impressed. But that's just me! Maybe I just had lousy luck!

(And yes, I'm sure I'll "try it again" this year!)

I would *never* discourage ANYONE from trying New Things in their garden!

Soooooo... Along those lines....

Paul James, The Gardener Guy, is My Hero! He's a bigtime organic gardener who hails from Tulsa, Oklahoma. His show, Gardening By the Yard, is on HGTV - and it really is one of my favorite shows! It used to be on every Saturday and Sunday morning - and that's how I'd start my weekends: Plant my @$$ in the recliner with a cup of coffee, watch Paul James, then get "inspired" to go toil in the yard. Even Rog knew better than to try to talk to me while Paul James was on! "You got somethin' to say - you'd best wait 'til the next commercial break, Bucko!!!"

Well, friggin' HGTV, in it's infinite wisdom, keeps changing their format, and shuffling shows around - to the point where I almost never watch that channel anymore! They moved GBTY to friggin' 7:30am EST on Sunday mornings (Yes kids, that's 4:30am, Pacific!). Now I think it's on @ 4:30am Sunday, and 4:00am Tuesday - or something like that. Of course, they never ANNOUNCE the change, or anything. The only way I find out about it is when I fire up the DVR (Yes, Rog - bless-his-heart - has set the DVR to record "My Show!"), and see that GBTY didn't get recorded (@#$%!!!!).

Ya know - I don't even care that 70% of the episodes are re-runs - I GOTTA have my Paul James Fix!!!

Sooooo Anyhoooooooooo (Yes, I digress!)..........................

A couple-three years ago, Paul featured a Self-Contained Tomato-Planter System. Even though, admittedly, he's not a huge tomato fan. Details of the show are here (I reluctantly post a link to HGTV's site! I'm p*ssed at them!). It looks like a pretty cool gizmo and, in fact, in a subsequent episode - during a Q&A segment - someone had asked how the tomato planter was working out and he said it was doing an awesome job (or words to that effect).

Wellllll... I got a flier for an Earthbox with a recent purchase. I looked into it and thought "Hmmmm..." But @ $29.95 + 7.95 shipping (apiece!), it seemed a bit steep. Not outrageous, but I'd like to experiment with several of them - and that could "add-up" real quick!

I really like the idea of the self-watering feature. I'd tried a few container-grown 'maters last year and my biggest problem was keeping them watered. The hottest, sunniest spot in our yard is on the [solid concrete] back patio (so I can't easily run the automatic sprinkler lines to them). And since it's sooooo sunny and hot, they tend to dry-out Super-fast!

So I "Let my fingers do the walking" - not thru the Yellow Pages, but good ol' Google! I found a couple of sites that offered-up DIY Plans for making your own "Self-Contained Gardening System."

This one has the best instructions - and I'm giving credit where credit is due! Josho's Home-Made Self-Contained Gardening System. I think I'm gonna build me one-a them!

This afternoon, I ran over to Big Lots and bought a 6 plastic bins [18-gallons] with lids. $5.00 each, less 20%-off coupon. And I stopped off at Home Depot and picked up 3 pond baskets for $2.47 apiece. I've already got 1/2" sprinkler tubing that I'll use in lieu of the PVC pipe. We've already got the jig-saw and drill, so I think I'm Good-To-Go. Added Bonus: Big Lots had 1.5 cubic-foot bags of soil for $5.00@ (again, less the 20% off coupon!). So, all-told, I think I'll end up with three COMPLETE planters for less than $20 apiece - "SCORE!!!"

I think I'm going to experiment with plastic mulch this year. Maybe plant one with red-plastic mulch; one with silver (I'll use a mylar "space blanket"); and one just using the plastic top drilled with holes.

So I'll be tinkering around with making my planters this week...

Another New Experiment this year will be growing a Giant Pumpkin. I bought some Dill's Atlantic Giant Pumpkin seeds. I don't think I'll be growing any Record-Breakers this year (since it seems I should have started soil-prep last year!), but it'll be fun to give it a try! Those, I'll grow "in the ground" over by the back gate. I've done nothing to improve the soil back there (yet!). But I plan to dump some compost and steer-manure, and create a kinda/sorta "raised" mound where I'll plant the pumpkin seeds and hope for the best...

Yep - I think "Spring Fever" is starting to kick-in now.... (But DAAAAAAMN, we need more rain!!!).

Am I slackin'?

Looks like I'm not exactly the most prolific blogger on the intertubes. Although - ya gotta admit - once I get goin', it's difficult to get me to shut-up, right?!

Honestly, there hasn't been all that much going on lately. The last couple of weekends, we had extraordinarily nice weather. So I spent a fair amount of time puttering around in the yard. Posted about that, yes... And yes, I did manage to get all of the fruit trees pruned and Rog sprayed 'em with Dormant Oil/Fungicide stuff... Annnnd I started hacking down some of the dead Cannas (They'll come back - with a vengeance!)...

Plus, I managed to yank out all the dead plants from my raised veggie bed. I'm hoping to add a layer of leaves and compost and maybe another bag of topsoil and/or steer manure to that so it can get amended into the base before I start my next season's garden. The Hounds are eager to do their part to "help" with the cultivating. Of course, their idea of cultivating more closely resembles "excavating!" And now that the rains have started, that makes for a damned muddy mess! (Muddy Paws + Ugly '70s Brown Shag Carpet = Well... Not much!!!).

...Now why can't The Hounds can't exercise their "cultivating"/"excavating" abilities in the hard-packed CLAY soil elsewhere in the yard??? (Ohhhh, excuse me - I guess they prefer the nice "fluffy" soil in my raised bed - Of COURSE!!! Silly me - what WAS I thinking?!!)

I have installed new low-wire fencing/borders that *should* keep my Little Helpers OUT of the garden now!

* * * * *
Yeah, so... I *really* enjoyed the gorgeous weather we were having. Record-breaking temps into the mid 70's! And I did get more than a twisted thrill (or two) from calling Joisey Kathie on the phone (who was hunkered-down and doing her best to get through ice-storms!) - just to let her know I was heading out in Shorts-And-A-Tank-Top to go work in the yard... (I was definitely "feelin' the love" when she responded!)

...But it was a "bittersweet" kind of enjoyment - because we DESPERATELY need rain.

In fact, we took a little drive last weekend and stopped off at Chesbro Reservoir. Chesbro is one of several reservoirs that supply our drinking water. Located west of Morgan Hill, in the lovely Santa Cruz Mountains, it's the lake where we do most of our sailing b/c it's not TOO huge, but it *is* nice 'n deep with pretty decent winds (afternoons can get rather "challenging" even!), and it has a terrific launch ramp. (Long-winded boat-restoration project and sailing stories here - Warning: Sound!)

Well, we snapped a couple of photos w/Rog's Camera Phone and things are looking... Well, "dismal" would be a gross understatement! Chesbro was built back in the 50's when they dammed up a valley surrounding Llagas Creek. Evidently, there was a road and a bridge that went over Llagas Creek back then. I had no idea b/c it was at the BOTTOM of the reservoir, right?

Here's a shot from last weekend:





Note: Off to the right, I've indicated where the "normal" water level is! Yeah, Chesbro Reservoir is turning back into Llagas Creek! Not Good!

Just for point of reference, this page has a little bit of Chesbro's history, and also has an aerial view of the reservoir when it's full. Our bridge pic was taken at just-past the mid-way point "up" the lake. Right above where it widens and "juts-out" to the right, then starts to get narrower.

And here is a shot of the launch ramp:

I figure it's probably about 15' (or more) from the bottom of the paved part of ramp before you begin to hit "mud!" And I guess that floating dock doesn't stand a chance of floating anytime soon! Plus, you can clearly see the dam in the background and where the water-level is *supposed* to be!

So yeah, we definitely DO need rain. LOTS of it. In fact, the prognosticators are already shrieking "Drought!" "Water Rationing!" And, honestly, THAT would suck because my Garden sure as hell *ain't* a Xeriscape!

Fortunately, the nice weather has left us and we've had *some* rain. Although it's mostly been just piddling/wimpy showers, so far (Naturally - they hit when I need to commute to the office!) (And Californians can't drive fer sh*t in the rain!!!). We actually need some serious downpours, and a LOT more snow in the Sierras (since much of our water comes from Hetch Hetchy and the Sierra snow-melt).

So fingers are crossed for some more wet-weather!

Won't be long before I start b*tching and moaning about wanting to see the sun though!!! (I GARE-OWN-TEE!!!)

Wow. Just Wow.

I don't normally post Political Stuff here. I kinda view Politics in a similar light as Religion, to be perfectly honest: Everybody's entitled to their own beliefs and no amount of proselytizing is gonna sway others to your way of thinking...

And it's just plain "dangerous territory!"

Nevertheless, it's no big secret that I tend to lean toward the left-end of the spectrum. Although, by San Francisco Bay Area Standards, I'm actually kinda "Conservative." But many folks in the South would probably consider me a complete Left-Wing-Nutcase...

In any event, I decided to work from home today, so I could catch the Inauguration on TV.

Pretty damned inspiring, if you ask me. I even got a little choked up in spots (which is *definitely* not ME!).

Barack's speech was Right On The Money and... [Must consult thesaurus!] Hmmm... Encouraging, Heartening, Motivating, Stirring (Stringing 'em all together is a bit over-the-top! So no!)

Well, Inspiring really is the best word, I think!

I just really, really hope he can lead us out of this mess! So far, I'm encouraged. Let's see what the coming weeks and months bring our way.....................................