Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and The... (86 page)

Cut kidneys into small pieces and marinate for several hours in mixture of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Meanwhile, prepare rice. Saute onion in 3 tablespoons each butter and olive oil. Add rice and stir around until milky. Add chicken stock, salt, pepper and raisins and bring to a rapid boil until the liquid reduced to the level of the rice. Cover and place on lowest heat. Cook without removing top for at least 2 hours.

Drain kidneys and pat dry. Saute onion in remaining butter and olive oil until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Saute kidneys in batches until well browned. Reserve. Pour out cooking fat, add wine, beef stock and garlic to pan and bring to a boil. Return onions and kidneys to pan. Boil, uncovered, until liquid has reduced and thickened to the consistency of thick cream.

To serve, press rice into a ring mold and turn onto a large round platter. Place kidneys with sauce in the center and garnish with pecans and chopped onions.

There are two absolutely essential fatty acids—omega-6 linoleic acid and omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid—and there are several other conditionally essential fatty acids. The former cannot be made by man and must be provided in the diet. . .. Fatty acids range from 3 to 24 carbons in length; the two major essential fatty acids are both 18 carbons long.

Essential fatty acids are needed by each animal, humans included, for proper nutrition and health. However, the essential fatty-acid status of individuals cannot always be predicted with ease, in part because the range of levels of
trans
fatty acids in people's diets has complicated the situation. . .the minimum amount of the essential fatty acid linoleic acid thought to be required in the diet is 2-3% of calories; the minimum amount of the essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid currently thought to be required in the diet is approximately 0.5-1.5% of calories. Balance between the two fatty acids is important. Unfortunately, currently some American are getting up to 20% of calories as linoleic acid and almost none as alpha-linolenic acid.

The conditionally essential fatty acids include gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), arachidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docasahexaenoic acid (DHA). These conditionally essential fatty acids are 18, 20 and 22 carbons long. All four of these fatty acids can be made by cells in the body, but there are a number of interfering food substances or illnesses or genetic inadequacies that make these latter fatty acids become dietary essentials for some people. These interfering conditions include consumption of
trans
fatty acids, overconsumption of omega-6 linoleic acid from commercial vegetable oils, zinc deficiency, alcohol consumption and various vitamin deficiencies. People whose ancestors were largely meat eating often cannot make these conditionally essential fatty acids and must obtain them from dietary sources. Sources of EPA and DHA include organ meats, egg yolks from properly raised chickens, fish eggs and fish oils. Sources of AA include butter, tallows and organ meats. Sources of GLA are evening primrose oil, borage oil and black current oil. Mary G. Enig, PhD
Know Your Fats

PREPARATION OF LIVER

Buy liver that is organic and very fresh. The butcher should remove the surrounding filament; otherwise, the edges will curl when it is cooked. Liver should be sliced about ¼-inch to
³
/
₈
-inch thick. All liver recipes will be greatly improved if the liver slices are first soaked in lemon juice for several hours. This draws out impurities and gives a nicer texture.

LIVER AND ONIONS

Serves 4

1½ pounds sliced liver

juice of 2-3 lemons

1 cup unbleached flour

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon pepper

4 tablespoons
clarified butter
or lard

4 cups onions, finely sliced

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Marinate liver slices in lemon juice for several hours. Pat slices dry and dredge in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper. In a heavy skillet and over a high flame, saute the slices, two at a time, in clarified butter or lard. Transfer to a heated platter and keep warm in the oven. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, saute the onions in butter and olive oil over medium heat for about ½ hour or until golden brown. Strew over liver and serve.

Variation: Liver and Mushrooms

Instead of onions, saute
1 pound of fresh mushrooms, washed, patted dry, and sliced
.

Since the organs, particularly the livers of animals, are storage depots of the vitamins, an important source of some of the fat-soluble activators can be provided by extracting the fat of the livers and shipping it as liver oils. Modern methods of processing have greatly improved the quality of these oils. Weston Price, DDS
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration

BREADED LIVER

Serves 4

1½ pounds liver, sliced ½-inch thick

juice of 2-3 lemons

1 cup unbleached flour

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons Dijon-type mustard

1 tablespoon shallots, finely chopped

1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and mashed

2 cups whole grain bread crumbs

4 tablespoons melted butter

This recipes requires that the liver be more thickly sliced than usual as it undergoes two cookings, once in the pan and once under the broiler. Marinate liver slices in lemon juice for several hours. Pat slices dry and dredge in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper. In a heavy skillet and over a high flame, saute the slices, two at a time, in butter and olive oil. Saute until liver becomes just slightly stiffened but not cooked through.

Make a mixture of the mustard, herbs and garlic and brush it well on the liver slices. Dredge in bread crumbs. Arrange slices on an oiled broiler pan. Dribble half the butter over. Broil for a minute or so until well browned. Turn, dribble over remaining butter and broil the second side in the same manner.

George Bernard Shaw seems to have come into vegetarianism mainly because it was one of the trendy things to do among the English intellectuals he admired and envied. He had been drawn to the original Fabians. . .and through their interest in diet reform to Henry S. Salt, author of the book that had revolutionized Gandhi's ideas. . .. While Shaw did not remove the image of peculiarity from the public view of the vegetarianism, he did a tremendous amount to convince the public that it was an eminently healthy regime. . .. However, Mr. Shaw was forced to remind his correspondents "that vegetarianism does not mean living wholly on vegetables." Shaw ate cheese, butter, honey, eggs and on occasions cod liver oil. He also had to take extracts of liver for anemia, which began to affect him seriously in 1938, when he was 82. This is a common ailment with vegetarians who do not eat many eggs and is due to deficiency in vitamin B
₁₂
. . .. This vitamin is only found in animal foods, liver, kidneys and clams being rich sources, and, unfortunately, cannot yet be synthesized in the laboratory.

However, journalists found out the situation [that George Bernard Shaw took liver extract for anemia] and naturally considered it a good story that the Grand Old Man of vegetarianism was "cheating" on his diet. Alexander Woolcott spread the story in America and there was an immediate outbreak of fury in the American Vegetarian Party that their idol should have taken liver extract. Symon Gould of the Party wrote letters to Shaw in such a fierce vein that one can only imagine that he would have preferred the playwright to die unsullied than to go on living a useful life with the help of animal food. Shaw finally wrote a long, open letter to Gould in 1948 telling him bluntly not to exaggerate the benefits of vegetarianism and to keep the moral and religious claims for the diet in some sensible proportion. He also made the point, which is unfortunately still valid—that a strict vegetarian diet without dairy foods can cost a lot of money to keep up because of the need for nuts and similar rather expensive sources of protein to replace the animal protein: "What you have to rub in," wrote Shaw testily, "is that it is never cheap to live otherwise than as everybody else does, and that the so-called simple life is beyond the means of the poor." Terence McLaughlin
A Diet of Tripe

LIVER WITH BALSAMIC VINEGAR SAUCE

Serves 4

1½ pounds sliced liver

juice of 2-3 lemons

1 cup unbleached flour

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon pepper

4 medium onions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons
clarified butter
or lard

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

4 cups
beef stock

2 tablespoons arrowroot mixed with 2 tablespoons filtered water

Marinate liver slices in lemon juice for several hours. Using a heavy skillet, saute the onions in butter over medium heat about ½ hour or until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm in the oven. Pat liver slices dry and dredge in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper. In a heavy skillet and over a high flame, saute the slices, two at a time, in clarified butter or lard. Transfer to a heated platter and keep warm in the oven. Pour out browning fat. Add vinegar and stock to the pan, bring to a boil and reduce to about half. A spoonful at a time, add the arrowroot mixture until desired thickness is obtained. Divide liver between individual serving plates, top with a spoonful of the onions and pour sauce over.

HEART KEBOBS

(Antichuchos)
Serves 4

1 beef heart

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup raw vinegar

¼ teaspoon powdered cumin

1½ teaspoons sea salt

¾ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon annatto seeds (available in Latin American markets)

1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped