Beasts, Mythical and Edible

Not a mythical beast, but Mr. Chippy checking out the pig head

 (By the way, Blogger was down for quite a while yesterday, and at about the same time, my computer cord decided to stop charging my computer. So I went to bed without writing--my apologies, again! This morning, after talking with an Apple Genius, I got it working. Gonna be getting myself to an Apple store in Seattle next week....)

I could do a whole post on this, but I just want to mention that die-off can be beastly. A vicious beast, at that.

I have had odd moments of it, making me less than fun to live with--as grouchy, tired, unfocused are all symptoms that I have been experiencing. They are such vague effects that it can be hard to pinpoint the cause. So die-off it is. My friend who is just five days into Intro is having the triple whammy dance with the Beast. She is doing Intro with her 5 year old daughter, and the nursling came along for the ride. And it's not been fun so far (is it ever?) I can offer lots of platitudes ("it's only temporary" "these are signs of healing" "many people have the same experience") but while it's all true, that doesn't quell the nausea. Check out her blog and offer whatever advice you've got, because a community makes this all more bearable, don't you think?

I promised you a post on headcheese, so let's get to it!

First of all, I do know that people often hesitate--or even blanch--at the thought of something like headcheese. I am not sure why that is, because some of the same people will happily eat bologna or Spam or hot-dogs. What do you think goes into lunch meats? A bunch of bits and pieces; if you are lucky they are from the same animal. We have forgotten to value offal or "the nasty bits", but we still eat them--often employing the "look the other way" approach (also known as "what I don't know won't bother me" method). If reminded, we do our best "grossed-out" teen imitation. But we still eat hot-dogs (what does "all-beef" mean, anyway? Does that say which parts are in the mix? Nope, didn't think so.)

My biggest pot is still not big enough. Luckily the lid fit over the snout

Headcheese--which is not cheese at all--is one of the best examples of culinary thrift around. It uses parts that are either thrown away, incorporated into pet food or luncheon meats. The whole head is cooked until the meat is falling-apart tender, then cooled. All of the edible bits are chopped and mixed with the gelatinous broth, then set in a large pan in the refrigerator. Pretty much everything except for the bone is edible: the meat, fat, glands, skin, and so on.

Not much to dispose of!

I was literally given a number of pig heads in the Autumn, when a local farmer butchered her pigs. We bought a half pig for our freezer, but none of her customers wanted the heads, trotters or livers. I now have all of that in a freezer locker at the local custom butcher. This is the third batch of food I have made from that amazing storehouse of fresh local food, most of which was a gift (I paid for the livers, which will become pate and liverwurst). Every time I make headcheese (also called brawn or souse) I glean about 15 pounds of food for my family. Did you grasp that? Fifteen pounds of food that costs only my labor.

We Interrupt Our Regular Programming...

With an important message:

The Blogess is currently having an intimate moment with Karma. It seems that now she will have to be the butt of her own strange humor, after capitalizing on the suffering of her loved ones.  While she has not yet vomited, the resident stomach flu has reached her with a vengeance. She is languishing on her bunk with Mr. Chippy, the ship's cat, when she is not on the commode.

We hope that this is not an inconvenience, and expect to resume our regular content shortly.

Or maybe it was the squash...

"If Mama Ain't Happy" or The Art of Slowing Down

I am nothing so much a tired at this point.

Finishing my second day of intro, still on Stage 1, I am feeling sort of woozy, tired, slow. My mind is pretty clear, and I have no specific physical complaints. I suppose that the first night's broken sleep is contributing, but I rather think this is a product of doing Intro itself. I am not sure if we are talking "die-off"here, or just adjusting to simpler, cleaner food and the removal of all extra substances (tea, supplements, etc).

What I really think is that this my body's way of telling me to slow down. I even believe that is why I got a migraine the first day. The voice in my head says: "Slow Down! Rest. Don't try to do everything." But isn't that what a mom is supposed to do? Meet everyone's needs? I have lived that way for a long time, being the mom of nine, including five I birthed. It has been easy to shove my needs to the back of the line. Which is probably how I developed more physical issues than a young-ish basically healthy woman should be experiencing.

Well, you have heard the phrase "if mama ain't happy, ain't NObody happy"... It's true! Over the past few years I have seen that taking better care of myself is good for all of us. And I have learned to let my sweetheart do more to take care of me, to make me happy. I don't have to be the one satisfying everyone's needs. Not now, and maybe not ever.

That is hard for me, a real "control junkie" and organizer. I am sure that others recognize this trait, the inability to let others do for us (or even for themselves!) because we think we can do it better, more efficiently, or because "it's our job." I have news for you, though, if this sounds familiar: if we don't do it, it will still get done! Really. We may have to ask, delegate, whine a bit (ok, no whining. How about sweet-talking?) People can't read our minds, even wonderful partners and perceptive kids will usually wait to be asked/told/directed to do something. But that's ok, because we created the pattern, so it may take a while to break out of it. Just ask!

Today I did very little. I ran a few errands, came home to eat, then went to a friend's house for a detox bath. She was so sweet, happy to let me languish in her tub as long as I liked. I brought a catalog for some mindless entertainment and emptied my brain of any concerns. Afterward, she fed me oxtails in broth--yes, you too can find friends who will make you food worthy of Intro! It was such a pleasure to allow myself to slow down. And to allow myself to be cared for.

This is what I wish for you today (whether you are doing Intro or not) find someone who really gets what you are doing for yourself and ask them to help, in some small way. Maybe they can watch the kids, or cook a meal, or sweep a floor for you. Take some time to just BE. Slow down and allow yourself to be happy...