LETS COOK MEAT!

this and the following recipes have the dreaded MEAT in them, so, from the ultimate hunters who brought us meat..a clip from the tv show doomed to only 6 episodes, CAVEMEN

Well, I can't go further without mentioning Sweeney Todd!!
Most people think he is a myth, some dark fairy tale to scare children with, but, unfortunately, he is a part of English criminal history.

Check out the rime library at: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/weird/todd/bogeyman_1.html

Mrs Lovett sold Sweeney up the river and into the hangman's noose and got away far easier than he, but, he was not the poor downtrodden soul that Johnny Depps' movie portrayal would lead one to believe, he was simply a rather nasty, uncaring killer who liked money and got it however he could. The darker heart was Mrs. Lovetts, feeding so much of the surrounding people with her human meat pies. She would have had limited access to good cuts of beef, in short supply then [18th century England] and so, the tender meat she obtained through a black union with Sweeney not only saved her money, but, created a demand for her pies.

I have looked up pie/pastry making from that time, and they call for cold water, flour, egg, and butter. I am certain Mrs Lovett did not waste good butter in her pie crusts, so she no doubt used pork renderings, or rendered the fat of the meat source for her crusts, and probably used no egg, which would drive the cost of production up. it would have been course ground flour, lard, salt and water. She also most likely did not include any veggies, heaven forbid!!
so, I made my own meat pie today and here is the picture of it just from the oven, and the ingredients and prep below.

recipe follows this wonderful clip

Start with roast beef. get a reasonably priced roast, and if its not frozen .. freeze it.

The next day, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place the roast, frozen, into a roasting pan [that has a lid]to this pour 2 cups of water, spritz on A1 steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce and add one medium onion, chopped, cover and cook till it is well done, not rare, not for pie!!

once cooked let it cool over night, covered in the fridge. then, cutting about 1/3 of the roast into small chunks, place in a sauce pan with onion, carrots sliced round, peas, potatoes cut into small bite sized bits and pour the juice from the roaster over this and more water and perhaps a beef bullion cube for taste. bring to a boil, then add 2 tablespoons of flour mixed in milk with salt and pepper added, to thicken the juice.
the pie crust is simple.
to two cups of flour add salt, pepper, 1 egg beaten, and Crisco [about 1/4 cup] cut this together till it looks like grain, or the flour is in bits smaller than peas.
add cold water so you can press it together and have it hold shape but not be too wet. then cool for one hour in the fridge.
on a floured surface, take 2/3 of the pastry mix and roll out, not too thin and put in the bottom of a 9 inch pie pan, be sure its thicker than the crust you would roll out for fruit pies, it has to hold the beef mixture and stay in place, to prevent it being soggy on the bottom, trim it out around the edge of the pie pan and bake it for a few minutes to seal the bottom so it doesn't absorb too much when the filling is added. Roll out the remaining pastry and make the lid, fill the bottom with your beef mixture and place the lid on carefully, do not trim this top lid, use the extra to pinch the pastry together forming a large ridge around the edge of the pie pan, make a few slits to allow steam out and place in the preheated oven till golden brown. serve 4 easily, don't forget a side salad with a light dressing, and while you have the flour out, follow the same pastry recipe, leaving out the pepper and adding 1/2 cup sugar, use a prepared/canned pie filling and make a pastry desert.
Of course, now you have 2/3 of a roast left. hopefully, you bought a small roast, so, here's what to do with the rest:
slice it as thin as you can. I swear, my mom could slice a roast so thin, you could read the paper through it, a tiny roast would last our family of four thru several meals!!
Anyhoooo, once you have it sliced thin, you can make roast beef sandwiches which I guarantee will taste better than Arby's, by a long shot. Boil potatoes, mash them with butter and milk and use a mixer to whip them fluffy and smooth, serve on the plate with the roast beef sandwich covered in a nice gravy, for this you can cheat, good brown gravy can be bought in packets by lowerys or the store brand, it cooks up quick and thick and you can ladle it over the potatoes and sandwich. If you still have a lot of sliced beef left over, package it good and freeze it for a quick meal when everyone has forgotten the overwhelming amount of beef you made.

NAVY BEAN SOUP:
ingredients are pretty simple:
one bag of navy beans
three stalks of celery, with the leafy area still on.
one small onion or four or five green onions.
a handful of baby carrots.
2 chicken bullion cubes.
the day before, take one cup of navy beans, rinse them to make sure they are clean and small rock free, don't forget, these are products of the soil and get combined like soy beans, so, small rocks, pebbles can pass through to processing into bags.
once they are rinsed, and debris free, place them in the container [with a lid,] that you will use to cook everything, and pour 2 1/2 cups of water over them. let them sit over night to rehydrate.
next day, add the celery, chopped up coarse, with the leaves in place, chop them too!! they have a slightly richer flavor and add to the taste.
take the baby carrots and slice them up, a handful in this case should be about 12. toss them in the pot, coarsely chop the small onion, or slice in 1/4 inch slices the green onions. add the two cubes of bullion, and bring to a boil, let it boil for about 15 minutes, then turn heat down to simmer and cover the pot, leave it simmering for about an hour, check on it frequently so it doesn't cook down too far.
this is great served in mugs with either French bread, or croûtons. great for a chilly day and stays well, making you feel full longer. to reduce gas from this and other dishes with beans, add a tsp of baking soda.