Making Kefir

I have begun drinking kefir, for the probiotics. From my research I have learned that kefir contains a more diverse range of probiotics (often 10-30+ strains) and beneficial yeasts, while yogurt typically contains only 2-5 bacteria strains. It's recommended by the "Steak & Butter Gal" and many other high profile carnivore diet fans, so I'm giving it a try. I'm a fan of yogurt, so I'm hoping I will like kefir, as well. 

I bought dried kefir starter yesterday and put it into the recommended amount of whole milk (about 2 cups) in a clean jar. If I had more cream, I would have added cream to it for the extra fat content. It's not necessary to heat the milk first, as it is with yogurt, and it makes at room temperature. Both of these make it much easier to make than yogurt. I set it on the counter, in a clean jar with paper towel on top. I poked a few little holes in the paper towel, so it could get even more air. It needs to breathe. I set it out of the way, to make for 12-14 hours. Some people that like it extremely tart, leave it for 36 hours but I don't think I will do that. Not until I get used to the taste, anyway. I think I'll start at 12 hours when it is developed but still mild tasting, just to give me and my gut time to adjust to it.  

Kefir develops "grains" with time, that are used to make more kefir. They get strained out of the finished product before use and kept in a little milk in the fridge. (It is recommended to use a plastic strainer, as metal will degrade the kefir strength over time.) These are used as starter for the next one. Apparently these grains grow with time and can be given away to friends who want to start their own kefir at home. 

I'm looking forward to tasting it tonight, after 12 hours, when it should be ready. I might leave it a bit longer, as it's very cold in the house in the winter mornings. I'll see how it goes. 

 

Freezing Cooked Salmon

 

 

 

I cooked a very long salmon for dinner. It was huge, several meals worth of salmon! I had to cook the entire thing, as it had been frozen. I thawed it then baked it. I added salt and pepper and lots of butter, then I wrapped the entire thing in foil. I baked it for about 40 minutes at 400F. 

 

It was cooked through, flaky and perfect! It's important to cook salmon, and all fish, completely to avoid getting parasites. Fish is opaque, white and no longer slimy when it's done. It should be all firm and flaky. This was perfect! 

 

I cut it into serving size pieces, wrapped each one separately and froze them. It's an experiment to see if the cooked salmon will be just as good after freezing as it is freshly cooked. 

 

Follow up a few days later: I thawed a piece for tonight's dinner earlier on the counter. I reheated it for dinner and it was delicious! I could not tell the difference between this one, cooked then frozen, from the freshly baked one a few days ago. I couldn't be happier with it! 

 

  

Cutting Board Safety

One Solid Piece of hardwood

2" hardwood board, no stain

I thought, since this is a blog of a carnivore, that I should cover cutting board safety. Raw meat should always have it's own cutting board and it should be washed with hot soapy water immediately after use. Oiling it after washing will help it to last longer and prevent cracking. You can buy special food grade oil for this or just use olive oil. Rub it in well before putting the board away. 

One solid piece of hardwood

The best boards to use are one solid piece of dense hardwood, no glue. That will make it very expensive, but they do last a long time. You can make these yourself if you have access to larger planks of hardwood and have the tools and time. 

 

Bamboo

Also good is bamboo. It has good antibacterial properties. They are making toothbrushes out of it now. The drawback to bamboo is that it doesn't grow here in North America, and it especially doesn't grow up here in Canada. It probably does grow in the hot regions of the US but they don't seem to be using it to make things there. All of our bamboo things come from china, which makes them not very sustainable. I'd rather get a locally made hardwood board, or make it myself. 

 

The plastic boards are not a good substitute for hardwood cutting boards. They cut and scratch easily and these are hard to disinfect and can harbour bacteria. If you have one, I'd recommend only using it for things like bread. I wouldn't cut raw meat on it. Meat should have it's own bard anyway. 

I have a bamboo cutting board that I like and I plan to get a larger hardwood board in the near future, when I get around to it. I can probably order one form Amazon but I'm happy with my little bamboo board, so haven't felt the need to get a bigger one yet. 

The Scoop on Salmon

I was recently given some "farmed" BC salmon, bought at a grocery store here in British Columbia. Never having eaten farmed salmon, I did some cooking research. I learned that farmed salmon are about 10x higher in fat than "wild caught" and, therefore, a lot higher in omega-3s. They are also much milder tasting, a softer more "buttery" flavour and texture. I decided to give them a try. I know I said I didn't care for salmon, but that was after dry frying wild caught. This was an entirely different experience. (Instructions below.) This is a huge piece. I cut it into servings and will freeze each one separately. I aim to eat it 1 - 2 x weekly. 

 

The Scoop on Salmon. I baked a huge farmed BC salmon. It's important that it be a BC salmon, if farmed, as North American (especially from BC) farmed salmon are much, much lower in PCBs and a lot safer than European farmed salmon. From the research I've done lately, European farmed salmon are so high in poisonous PCBs that they are usually above the allowed "safe" limits. See more about the safety and farming practices of BC farmed salmon below. 

 

The argument against eating farmed salmon in BC is more about protecting our own native species, than the safety of eating the fish. Something to consider, for sure.

 

This is some of the info I found:

Safety Monitoring: Companies, MOWI and Grieg Seafood, conduct regular testing for dioxins, PCBs, and other contaminants to meet strict, safe, and regulated standards in BC. Tested Contaminant levels: British Columbia farmed salmon (including from these major producers) is generally regarded as having low levels of PCBs.

 

Farmed salmon supplied to our store here is "open-net" farmed in the ocean, which is a frowned upon method of farming fish as it does some harm to the surrounding wild ones, although probably a lot more healthy for us than fish farmed in a little pond. BC has a plan to outlaw this type of fish farming in 2029, due to it's propensity to possibly harm the native wild salmon.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COOKING SALMON:

Salt and pepper salmon, add a bit of garlic and lots of butter. Wrap completely in foil. Bake until completely cooked. Mine baked in a  at 400f for about 30 mins but it was a big fish. It needs to be completely white and solid throughout. I will never, never, ever eat any kind of fish that's not well done. period. (Worms!) If it's even a little clear pinky, cook it longer. (I don't eat suishi.)

If you take it out of the oven and let it sit on the counter for a bit, it may continue to cook in the foil. It was absolutely delicious!! 

 

 

 

Ground Turkey Meatballs

 

I made carnivore ground turkey meatballs today. They were delicious! As we all know, ground turkey has little fat so I added lard and cooked them in butter. I used a pound of ground turkey and added two eggs, about 1 tablespoon of lard, salt and pepper and a pinch of my own dried spice mix. Mixed well and made balls by hand. 

 

By this time the butter in the cast iron skillet, was hot. I added the meatballs, browned them well, turned down the heat and put the lid on. They were done shortly. It didn't take long. I cooked them until they were over 165f. 

I removed the meatballs from the pan and added more butter. When melted and bubbly, I added a glug of heavy cream and a few tablespoons of high fat cream cheese, salt and pepper. This made a delicious white cheese sauce for the meatballs. I ate about 5 of them smothered in the cheese sauce. Delicious! 

 

These photos are not my own. They come from a free photo site, of which I am a member. I forgot to take pics of mine but they were very similar to these.

 

Tallow for Skin Care - Pros and Cons

 

 

Tallow is the new go-to for natural skin care on the internet. There are pros and cons for using it on your skin. 

 

In my search for natural things to use that don't have chemicals and poisons added, I might try tallow for skin care. I'm hoping to remove a lot of the modern things we use that are poisonous. Commercial deodorant with aluminum went last year in an effort to get my memory and clarity of mind back. I accomplished a great deal of that just switching to the carnivore diet. Shampoo with sodium laurel, -th sulphate is going soon too. I ditched shampoo a few years ago for about a year and it went well, from what I can remember. I don't remember why I went back to shampoo. I wish now that I had not done so. It's important not to get carried away and stress about these things. Peace and a less stressful life are important too. I change the things I can and I don't worry about the things I cannot change. Also, one thing at a time. 

Tallow can be very good for the skin. It has similar fatty acids, oleic, palmitic and stearic, that moisturize, protect and repair the skin. It may also help sooth psoriasis. That said, the composition of the tallow can change, depending on the age, breed and diet of the animal. 

It needs to be frozen for long term storage and kept in the fridge for short term use. It can go rancid, since it is an animal product. So these things need to be considered. It can carry bacteria, as well, if it has not been stored and handled properly or if it has not been well rendered. It has to be thoroughly rendered a few times to make sure it is cleaned of all meat which can bring bacteria with it. Rendering several times in water is the best way to do this.  

Tallow, as a skin care product, is not for everyone. If you have oily skin or are prone to acne, you should not use it. It does clog pores. 

It has been my experience that it is important to wash the face to remove bacteria and impurities before adding moisturizer, especially one with oils, like tallow. If you put it on your skin without thoroughly cleaning it first, you will probably get pimples. This can happen to anyone who uses any moisturizer without cleaning the skin first. Just water is not going to be enough to cleanse and remove impurities before using a moisturizer. 

So, with all the information above, I might give it a try. I have had success using vegetable oils on my skin in the past, but I have very, very dry skin. If you have oily, acne prone skin, I wouldn't do that. Ditto for coconut oil.