Friday, February 15, 2019

What’s wrong with Frankenbeef? aka cultured meat~ synthetic meat ~vitro meat


I love taste of meat, I hate the animal cruelty. So this topic intrigues me. But I can also see a very dark side to this concept.The process to which they collect the cells is as bad or worse.

The act of draining a cow’s unborn calf of blood is a legal practice but it often results in intense pain and suffering. The research companies leave the pregnant cows standing for hours in pens and cages while they await their fate.
Some of the pregnant cows give birth while in transit, which is a violation of animal welfare codes.
While the practice is legal (in some respects), a whistleblower obtained by the Herald On Sunday is calling out the industry for its brutal practices. The whistleblower has chosen to conceal their identity as a way to mitigate any potential ramifications for exposing the vaccine industry.
“Some will leave the cow pregnant as long as possible to get a bigger fetus to get more blood, to get more money,” the whistleblower said.
“And that cow has already given her life to produce milk, I just don’t see how they justify it. I think it’s an appalling practice.”
Pharmaceutical companies use calf fetus blood to grow cells for purposes of vaccine creation as well as making laboratory meat.

Anyone heard of Cultured meat?


Cultured meat, also called clean meat, synthetic meat or in vitro meat, is meat grown from in vitro animals cell culture instead of from slaughtered animals.

The stuff is made from stem cells drawn from the necks of living cows, then dosed with antibiotics and bathed in blood from cattle fetuses. 


Hmmm...I thought we were getting away from overly using antibiotics in meat due to the lowered effectiveness over time and the increase in super-bugs . 

The in vitro meat is given  the heavy antibiotics to keep the cells alive and grow on the serum from the blood of unborn cows gathered from slaughterhouses .

https://slate.com/technology/2017/07/the-gruesome-truth-about-lab-grown-meat.html?fbclid=IwAR3LI5-D3AQ40DfzWMw_ZANbBZVuYt-9oqq9mECFDnToTHkhvQqyEKDE7X8

Netherlands-based tissue engineer Mark Post served up a patty of pure cow muscle, reared from stem cells in a dish. Ruetzler, one of the two people who were allowed to sample it, declared the synthetic burger crunchy and hot, and a bit like cake. Well duh...no fat cells whatsoever will have that effect...Also for it to be recognizable as meat, it also had to be colored, as its out-of-the-tube state is yellowish-white. (Yum!)

Why in the world are they doing/spending so much just to make hamburger, of all things?

 Hardly the most healthful choice, if part of the point is to discover something that lots of people round the world are supposed to enjoy and to keep coming back to for more.

 Being kind to animals and land now dedicated to grazing, being kind to the atmosphere, are all terrific and super-high-priority goals; but what about being kind to human beings, health-wise?


I may have watched too many movies, but this has a Soylent Green approach to me. 



The fact that conglomerates Google and Amazon including {Sergey Brin, Bill Gates, Cargill ,Richard Branson} 
http://fortune.com/2017/08/23/bill-gates-richard-branson-invest-meat/ started testing their products in Australia already is scary. It also explains who is paying congress men and women to push their agenda (green new deal) ... 

I always follow the money to see what/who is actually behind the curtain. 


Our cancer rate has already spiked due to all of our fake food, I just have to wonder how much worse it could get, and is anyone going to take notice? I don't think our bodies were designed to process all this frankenfood for nourishment.




Have you ever heard of BiteLab ? See the you tube video above: 

A company called Bitelabs claims they're going to create meat, which will be "grown" using tissue samples from celebrities.


I don't know whether to laugh or scream.
Someone on line actually emailed BiteLabs. 
Instead of a winking reply, he got a series of lengthy, sincere responses that had obviously been written by someone who'd internalized Silicon Valley's vernacular, but didn't overtly appear to be mocking it. They were signed only 'Kevin from BiteLabs."
Kevin says there are five employees who "are working full time on this" and that while there is no product ready for market, they are "100 percent serious in prompting widespread discussion about bioethics, lab-grown meats, and celebrity culture—this is very important to us. Making celebrity meat a reality from there will all depend on our ability to build a user-base."
But he did insist that there was a product on the drawing board.
"The product is indeed salami," Kevin says. "Each salami will have roughly 30% celebrity meat and 40% lab-grown animal meats (we're currently looking into ostrich and venison but it pork and beef are more popular in our early research). The rest will consist of fats and spices. This break-down comes from consultation with expert food designers and chefs." If BiteLabs' Tumblr  is to be believed, it will look something like this:

Actual picture from bite labs tumbler account
Kevin says the project was indeed inspired by Google: "Our process is very similar to existing methodologies used to make the Google Burger, just tailored to human muscle instead of cow."
Kevin refused to disclose any of the names of the people involved in the project, including the "bio-engineers and food designers," saying they "requested to remain anonymous due to the controversial nature of the product."

In 1931, Winston Churchill predicted a future in which all the world’s meat would be grown in labs.



We could always switch to eating insects to get our proteins with less environmental impact and ethical problems, and with less technological challenges than synthetic meat:...Hmmmm...who is on board??

 Who will be a major steakholder?

I could skirt around eating real steak. Flank it, if you will.

In conclusion... Can a carnivore driving a Prius contribute more to global warming than a vegan in a Hummer?

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Aquafaba

 Did you know you can use chickpea/ garbanzo bean juice from the can as a replacement for eggs?? This also makes a great vegetarian option.

Its a unique mix of starches, proteins, and other soluble plant solids which have migrated from the seeds to the water during the cooking process.

Aquafaba a wide spectrum of emulsifying, foaming, binding, gelatinizing and thickening properties.

Bananas, apple sauce, prunes, pumpkin, flax, chia, nuts, and garbanzos have been long used as whole egg re-placers in recipes. These work well as whole eggs in some recipes, but they don't work for delicate egg white recipes like meringues. 


3 tablespoons drained chickpea liquid (each can yields about 1/2 to 3/4 cup) is the equivalent of about 1 egg.


Drain and reserve the liquid from a can of chickpeas. Save the chickpeas for another use {hummus} .

Aquafaba uses:
Meringue
Fudge
Mousee
Ice Cream
Buttercream Icing
Marshmallow Fluff
Brownies
Macrons
Mayonnaise
Egg white Cocktails
Butter
Cheese
Marzipan
"Egg" Noodles
French Toast
Cookies
Royal Icing
Omelettes
Smoothies

Aquafaba also freezes well. If you’re not going to use it right away, you can store it in ice cube trays in the freezer.

French Press Cocktails~ Old Fasioned infused with rosemary and Aquafaba




A French press obviously makes amazing coffee, but its uses go far beyond your morning cup of java. 

Get ready to have your mind truly blown by this incredible use for this flavor-infusing machine: Craft french press cocktails.I think I will call mine a "Cocktail Press" from now on.. 

I'm kinda surprised I didn’t use the French press for this purpose years ago. After closing my gourmet coffee shop/ restaurant, I have many french presses in storage..many never used. 

I would recommend using a new press that was not used for coffee to mix drinks, you don't want a residual coffee flavor that is not intended.

So here’s the just of it. 

If you put fruits, herbs, and other infusions into your French press and then pour your liquids ( booze, juices, etc.) over top, all those flavors are going to sit together and infuse. 

It’s pretty genius — it works in the same way that coffee beans infuse hot water. 

After a few minutes, you’ll press down  on the plunger, squeezing the remaining flavors and juices out of your ingredients, and corralling them on the bottom. 

Then you’re ready to use the press to pour the drink into a waiting cocktail glass with a garnish.

Imagine if you have guests..they will be given the opportunity to press the ingredients themselves as they steep .

Best of all, there are 2 servings in them so you won't have to make as many individual drinks. They won't get watered down either as your ice is served on the side.
Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet infused with rosemary and topped with aquafaba. What is aquafaba you ask? It is actually chickpea/ garbonzo bean juice from the can of beans.I add about 2 Tablespoons which when pressing the drink gives it this pretty foam on top. No..this does not taste like beans or anything else, it just gives it a smooooooth velvety texture that is simply decadent. For more info on aquafubu see my post at Everything you need to know about Aquafaba

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Home made Pot Pie with Love on Valentines Day

Did you know?

The first frozen pot pie was made in 1951. A pot pie used to be made in an actual pot lined with crust, but the crust was never actually eaten -- it was just meant to keep the filling from tasting like the iron pot.

Chicken pot pie is truly an heirloom recipe—cooks have been making it for centuries. One of the earliest New World mentions of a recipe for chicken pot pie was in the cookbook American Cookery, published in 1796.

So warm and savory, a pot pie is the perfect cold weather comfort food, not to mention a great way to use up leftovers.

Let's begin...

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs cubed
  • 1 cup sliced carrots
  • 1 cup frozen green peas
  • 1/2 cup sliced celery
  • 1 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts
  • 1  beaten egg (for egg wash)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
  2.  
  3. In a  large saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add chicken broth and boil for 15 minutes. 

  4. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

  5. In another saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and garlic. Add to the  chicken broth veggie mixture in first pan  . Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. 

  6. Remove from heat and set aside.

  1. Prepare pans with bottom pie crust and fill with chicken filling . 

  2. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. 

  3. Make several small slits in the top or cut strips for a lattice type to to allow steam to escape.

  4. Use any scraps for a rose, leaves and a heart. Brush the top with beaten egg for a glossy crust.You can add a little food color if you wish to color the leaves,rose and heart.

  5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. 

  6. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.


I cut strips for a lattice top..

I had to borrow the kiddos cutter from their play dough..hee hee


Ready for the oven...

Before baking...
















Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Crock~pot Cheesy Ranch Broccoli Soup















8 cups whole milk
1 package dry ranch mix
1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
1 pkg frozen cut broccoli
1 cup Velveeta

Add the milk, broccoli, and ranch mix to crockpot. Cook covered on high for 1 hour.

In a saucepan melt butter .Whisk in the flour until smooth and thick, this will make a roue.

Add this to the crockpot and mix it in well .

Break up the Velveeta  into 1 inch cubes,then add to the crockpot as well.

Cook another 2 hours on low.

Serve with crackers or bread...Yummm!