Thankful Thursday ~ Abundance of Beef

Yesterday we received our beef from the butcher. We have a bit of a problem with freezer space. There's still a lot of meat left over from previous years' animals, so it took some problem solving to make room for this year's cut order. As I organized various cuts, trying to make the most room I could, it felt a bit like playing a strange version of Tetris..."I can fit two packages of Sirloin on top of the T-Bones, and fit six bags of ground beef around the perimeter...hooray! I formed a new row!" 

Organizing last year's remaining beef in the freezer.

Then I thought about how it really was a pretty good problem to have. We get to eat our own beef that we raised ourselves on our farm. As my husband so eloquently stated last night, "I know about every bite of grass and feed that animal has eaten and every (poo) it's taken since it was born." He probably watched its birth, too. The only part of the cycle from birth to death to food on our table we miss out on is the actual slaughter and butcher process. For that, we have to outsource.

When I was growing up, my farm experience was pretty limited and our meat came from the meat counter at the grocery store. I can remember watching as my dad approached the meat counter and ordered a few cuts we'd use throughout the next week or so. I knew that beef came from cows, yes, but for me, it came from that meat counter at Fairway. We trusted that the store sourced their meat from reputable places. For most Americans, this is how meat is purchased. In some cases, people struggle to make the connection from living animal to food on their plate and have no idea how that cycle works. I feel pretty lucky and thankful to be integrated into that process, and to get to enjoy the tasty fruits (or meats?) of our labor.

Steak salad I made for lunch yesterday, including spinach from our garden.

My friend Stennie, who has been to our farm for extended visits a few times, has a really nice essay published on the topic of eating animals: Whose Muscle is On My Plate. She goes into the meat-raising and eating cycle in detail as she's experienced it in some of her work. Very interesting ideas, and ties in quite well, I think, with being thankful for one's food source and the methods used to raise and slaughter that food.

The longer I live here, the more I learn about how to prepare and cook with various cuts of beef. We certainly don't eat beef exclusively, but we do eat it more than I probably would if I were not living on a ranch. Jeff and I even had beef served at our wedding. Prime Rib, to be exact. Since I was definitely a newbie to beef cuts at the time, I remember asking during the wedding dinner exactly where on the animal a prime rib cut would come from. This produced lively discussion among my new in-laws, with Jeff and Tom and the rest of us, in our wedding day finery, gesturing and demonstrating on their own bodies where a prime rib would be located.

Because beef cuts are a common topic at our family dinners, my Mother in Law got me this awesome beef-cuts platter a few years ago for Christmas!

Since joining Team Beef Montana a little over a year ago, I now know even more about the health benefits of incorporating beef into a balanced diet. Beef has zinc, iron and protein, among other helpful nutrients, to help fuel your run and your recovery. It's an efficient source of protein, too, meaning that you don't need much to pack a big nutritional punch. And, a recent article in the Washington Post highlighted a study done right here in Montana, that showed that eating a cheeseburger after intense exercise can be just as good as refueling with other options. Check out the article to read more:  Need To Recover After A Workout? Eat A Cheeseburger.  I guess all those post-track meet stops taking the team to fast food weren't such a bad idea after all!

Image from www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com

Yesterday, I actually did get in a short three mile run and then followed it up with a delicious cheeseburger at dinner. There's not much better than a hamburger or cheeseburger fresh off the grill!

Team Beef sent me some cool stickers, right!?

With beef on my mind this week, it was pretty easy to be thankful for the abundance of it that we do have and to be thankful that we are part of the process of bringing quality beef to our own table as well as to those of consumers. Now, I'm off to get my workout in and you know what's for dinner tonight? Beef and asparagus stir fry! 

What are you thankful for this week?  Do you have any favorite beef recipes? What foods fuel your life?