Stirring the Cauldron

New Moon Newsletters from Jessica Prentice

New Milk Moon

May moondark kitchen notes
from Jessica Prentice

Happy New Moon! We have just moved into the month of the Milk Moon, when the cattle are heavy with milk in the pastures. Or at least they should be on pastures. A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend the annual "Wise Traditions in Food, Farming, and the Healing Arts" conference, which spent a full day focused on cattle. We heard from a rather revolutionary cattle rancher in Virginia named Joel Salatin, whose method of pasture feeding and milking his cows is copied by hundreds of small, environmentally committed ranches across the country. He uses cows, chickens, pigs and lambs on his farm in a brilliant cycle to improve the health of his pastures, and thereby raise the healthiest, most truly "free-range" animals you can imagine, supplying the best eggs, milk, and meat possible. It was wonderfully inspiring.

We also heard from an organic cattle rancher in England who was suspicious of inconsistencies he noticed in the prevailing theory of the origins of mad cow disease, and set out on a world-wide scientific investigation into the causes of the disease in both its bovine and human manifestations, as well as cases found in sheep and deer. His hypothesis based on years of research was mind-blowing to me, and much too complicated for me to explain, but if you're curious to learn more you can go to www.WestonAPrice.org or do a search online. The rancher's name is Mark Purdey.

And we heard from another American rancher named Mike Callicrate, who is an activist on behalf of smaller ranchers against the huge corporate feedlots, and is working hard to develop ways for people to be able to buy direct from ranchers rather than many times removed from corporate outlets and distributors, as well as developing a more humane system of slaughter. It was so heartwarming to hear all these rancher-activists speak, and to know that there are people out there who see the perils of our current system of ranching on health, the environment, small farms, local communities and economies, and on the animals themselves -- and are doing something to change it! Blessings to them!!

As for milk on the New Milk Moon: don't believe the hype you hear about the perils of milk and other dairy foods. Most of the problems with milk are actually problems with commercial milk: how we treat and feed the cows, and then what we do to the milk for commercial sale (namely: pasteurization, homogenization, ultra-pasteurization, and 'lowfat' and 'nonfat' fabrications). Whole milk from grassfed cows (and goats and sheep) is one of the most nourishing foods there is, especially if it is from Jersey or Guernsey cows and is not pasteurized. Unfortunately, it is illegal to sell raw milk in stores in every state but California. Fortunately, I live in California, and so am very lucky to buy raw milk at my health food store. As a way to honor milk on the milk moon, I highly recommend you check out the website www.RealMilk.com. And if you live in California, check your health food store for raw milk and try it. My father, visiting me, said "it tastes like you imagine milk is supposed to taste!" Indeed it does.

In Ayurveda, milk is sacred food, as the cow is sacred, and carries with it the cooling and calming energies of the moon. I hope that we can find a way to restore honor and dignity to this precious, life-giving food, and the animals that offer it to us.

In my own kitchen, I love dairy products and use them joyfully for cooking and eating: raw milk, raw cheese, raw cultured butter, organic cream-top yogurt, crème fraiche, ghee, and rich cream. I love the quote from ecological nutritionist Joan Gussow: "As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists."

I have also been cooking lots of snap peas, which are fabulous at the farmer's markets now, with juicy, sweet, bright green edible pods. Sometimes I snap off the ends, pull out the strings, and cook them quickly, either blanched or sauteed in butter. Other times I just eat them like chips or popcorn, crunching on one after another, straight from the bag.

And I finally tried cooking farro, an Italian whole grain similar to spelt, that has a texture similar to barley but with a nuttier flavor. It is traditionally used to make a risotto-like dish called "farroto", or is put into a flavorful soup and stew where it just soaks up wonderful flavor. I cooked it both these ways and loved it both times!

I also had the pleasure of cooking my first cornish game hen. While buying chicken at the farmer's market, I saw the little bird and was inspired to buy it by the fact that I had just put my partner on a plane for a business trip, and thought what a nice little meal it would make for me in my solitude. At home I found a recipe for cornish game hens with liver-rich stuffing, which said: "think of these as neat little packages of well-cooked pate, surrounded by bird." Sounded good to me! I had the liver from the chicken I bought, and some leftover bread, and so made a rich stuffing, roasted the little hen, and ate it with sauteed beet greens in the middle of the afternoon, and felt quite decadent and luxurious doing so. It was delicious and filling, and my dog happily gobbled up the little bits of stuffing I couldn't finish, and the leftover bones went into the chicken stock the next day. I think I'll do it again sometime!

Happy Month of the Milk Moon!