Cattle were a vital part of Dad’s farm. There were always cows for milking and a
bull – the “big animal” as Mom called
him. (That bit of Victorian prudery was
picked up, I suppose from the Englishwomen Mom worked for as a little “hired
girl”.)
Every few years so as to avoid inbreeding the stock, there
would be a new bull, but he was always called Jim.
One Jim was a sturdy young Hereford, but I
heard one of my brothers telling Mom that Young Jim just wasn’t doing his job.
my brother, George (195?)
“”What’s the matter with him?” Mom asked.
George shrugged. “We
made a mistake keeping him in the pasture with Old Jim. When he used to try to mount the cows, Old
Jim always drove him off. Now it’s his
turn but, when the cows come into heat, he won’t do it. Scared maybe.”
“What are you going to do?”
“The vet said to try digging a trench, put the cow at the
bottom, and lead Jim onto her. If that
doesn’t work, it’ll be good-bye Jim.”
Beef hardly ever
appeared on the farm table. A cattle
truck would roll into the yard and bawling steers were driven up its ramp. But before that, there would be an exciting
round-up in which everyone took part; waving arms and shouting to discourage
steers from charging past us instead of into the corral.
It’s not that we didn’t like beef though, and, over the
years, my chef-lovik and I have prepared it in many different ways. Savella’s recipe for Hetmanska Roulada is an
elegant choice for company:
**************
FOR EVERY DAY:
Julia
Child’s BRAISED BEEF POT ROAST from Mastering the Art of French Cooking
I marinated the beef for 6 hours,
browned it,
reduced the marinade by half & added only 1 cup of beef
stock (instead of the 4-6 cups Julia suggested)
I also omitted the veal knuckles and calf’s feet.
Three hours in the oven was definitely long enough.
(Julia had suggested 3 ½
to 4 hours for a smaller roast)
The braising juices made a delicious sauce for the beef. Serve
with horseradish.
Best of all, the leftover POT ROAST is
perfect for making sandwiches!
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