Dolmas is a great idea. We have grapes, too, so I should see about pickling (?) the leaves. I read a post about that somewhere recently but it didn’t turn out well for that person … I should find a recipe.

One that I forgot about that we have enjoyed on more than one occasion (though not with this cow) is Russian meat patties called kotlety. Tasty.

Other things I like with ground meats are moussaka; dolmas (yum); tacos (for that greasy nostalgic feeling); larb (or thai salad with lettuce, lots of lime juice & chile, like this), so delicious. Also some recipes for spicy eggplant dishes also call for ground beef, though I prefer mine vegetarian.

meats. yeah. hmm. that’s a lot of cow in your freezer, dudes.

Great blog. Looks like you all are having a blast up there! Sounds like a lot of fun. For now I’m on a 1/4 acre and just starting gardening for the first time.

Thanks for sharing!

Does he not like dill or does he not like things pickled at all too? (Doesn’t Garth like olives? They have go through pickling process in order for them to even be edible.) Because 98% of pickling recipes do not use any dill. Are you teaching yourself how to preserve foods or were you taught by someone? I grew up canning and pickling with mom, grandmothers, and parents’ friends (I can barely say I am one generation removed from the farm since my parents still raise food in the backyard and they do the same things they were raised to do with food on the farm). I can give you some recipes if you want. Maybe John and I will eventually move back to Seattle and we could start canning together. You might also want to check with Washington State’s Department or Agriculture, because I know that the Alabama Extension Cooperative System (www.aces.edu as Garth pointed out–state program headquartered at Auburn and Alabama State) offers classes in each county on gardening, food preservation, etc. for free, and they might offer something similar.

I do indeed have a KitchenAid, and I’ve been lusting after the grinder and sausage stuffer for years. However, that purchase is postponed until John and I finish replacing all the plastic storage containers and pitchers with glass (and get enough extra for us to make our own frozen meals for work).

Shan: YUM that looks good. Not sure if the flavors would be right with beef? Might try chicken, though, if we can find it. We just emailed one of our favorite farms (http://www.skagitriverranch.com) to see about getting several frozen chickens to stock in the freezer, and they said they are not doing broilers this year due to increased organic grain prices. Suck.

She makes it with pork here and I don’t know if it’s sacrilege to substitute, but the flavors all sound really good…

Ground beef? Stuffed cabbages, borscht made with ground beef, and piroshkies! Stuffed peppers, stuffed tomatoes. The other day John said he likes stroganoff made with ground beef (I’ve never tried it with ground beef). Don’t forget about Chili, although I’ve taken to preferring Turkey Chili.

I need to get a grinder because I want some steak tartare.

The bottom round is a roast – does quite well in the crockpot cooked all day long.