Visiting Hoffman's Family Farm is always a pleasant and gratifying. We have been friends with the family since they first moved to their beautiful farm, Keith, Brad and Bart were just little grade school guys. Thanks to Little League Baseball the parents got to meet each other and then we became friends. Life is good in our little community. So, back to our Saturday visit to their meat shop. It is amazing and part of me wants to not spread the word and the nice part of me (yes, sometimes I am nice) says, let this family owned business flourish with all their wonderful products and kindness.
Carol, the mom to this clan was there along with her daughter, Tricia and daughter-in-law, Heather. I am not going to get into what we talked about because the conversation had a wide range of catching up with each family's news. Tricia showed me some new items they now have. Oxtail being my, oh........yes I want them. Then I noticed they are now selling lamb which they said is sold out quickly. They had one package of ribs and one package of ground lamb left. I am now on the call when you get more in list. I believe I have said this before but just a reminder..........no water weight!!! You know, the ground beef you buy in the store when you fry it there is a great amount of water in the pan. Yes, that is what you pay for, might be a few cents cheaper, or not but you are getting water. When I fry Hoffman's ground beef......NO water. All good healthy farm raised right in our area.
As I type I can hear the oxtail sizzling in the pressure cooker getting nice and brown, then add to pressure cook for about 30 minutes. Once the pressure is released I will add carrots, potatoes, onions, celery, barley, baby butter beans, peas and green beans. Throw in a couple bay leaves and a small jar of tomatoes. It will simmer for about an hour. Perfect day for Oxtail soup......rain and 65 degrees. Leftovers for the week while we work in the new garden beds and screen in our back porch.
Pressure cooker singing and dancing
About the baby butter beans, I start with the dry ones, cover with water and simmer until tender. If you like butter beans then give the home cooked dry ones a try. No contest for store canned vs home cooked. I never add seasoning until my food is cooked. This way I control the amount to taste. I recently read that salting fresh vegetable before cooking causes the cook time to be longer. Since I don't salt prior to cooking I can't say for sure if this is true.
Typing away and waiting for the pressure cooker to start the cha-ching noise I realized it should be dancing and cha-chinging to me by now. The little top safety gasket is worn out and letting the pressure escape around it. Lucky when I buy it is in quantity, as in 3 at a time. Usually every 2-3 years I have to replace one. The next time I do will leave me only one so out will go the Amazon order for 3 more. It is now dancing and singing to me. Thirty minutes and the Oxtails will be nice and tender. Ready to finish off the soup for supper. Because we have supper for our evening meal and dinner on Sunday 😍
The rain has let up so it is time to caulk the places that need it on the back porch. The next sunny day we will be painting the frame work. Once the painting is done, set the screen door and put the screen on the frame work. Then it is off to find some outdoor bargains for the room. Love the thrift stores.
Take time to enjoy the sun and the rainy days. Both have a special time in our lives. Remember without rain there would be nothing. It refreshes and nourishes the Earth and all living things. Smile
