A day in the life of TylerDurden

[TylerDurden]

I've been to an exhibition on the Romans, and it was mentioned that they would routinely put up for sacrifices the animal-organs they valued the most, namely hearts, livers and lungs.

[Josh]

I'm going to try Lex's instructions in June and will make lots of  raw horsemeat jerky.

That should be delicious. I love beef jerky and have tried venison biltongs, so think a horse jerky will be amazing.

[TylerDurden]

OK, I just got a question from a RVAF diet newbie on another website and am not sure re the answer. He/she has asked whether the raw coconut chunks stored in glass jars, sold in stores, have previously been heat-treated or not. All I know is that some coconut oil manufacturers strenuously claim that they have not used any heat on their product, but I have no idea as to whether coconut chunks are routinely pre-heated.  I assume,for now,  that all such jarred products have been heated unless they strenuously, officially, deny that it has been heated. Anyone know different? Also, the questioner wanted to know about other jarred products in general, if they were heated or not. Any info appreciated!

[Löwenherz]

OK, I just got a question from a RVAF diet newbie on another website and am not sure re the answer. He/she has asked whether the raw coconut chunks stored in glass jars, sold in stores, have previously been heat-treated or not. All I know is that some coconut oil manufacturers strenuously claim that they have not used any heat on their product, but I have no idea as to whether coconut chunks are routinely pre-heated.  I assume,for now,  that all such jarred products have been heated unless they strenuously, officially, deny that it has been heated. Anyone know different? Also, the questioner wanted to know about other jarred products in general, if they were heated or not. Any info appreciated!

I have never seen coconut chunks in glass jars!? Very interesting.

But very often I have seen fresh coconut chunks sold in supermarkets in so called 'read to eat' plastic boxes with transparent foil on top (same as used for pieces of fruit etc.). Such products are usually fresh, unheated, untreated, made by the supermarket staff in the morning.

Löwenherz

[TylerDurden]

Sorry it was so-called "raw" coconut butter, not coconut chunks.

[klowcarb]

Sorry it was so-called "raw" coconut butter, not coconut chunks.

Do you know  the brand? I get the big 1 gallon bucket of Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin CO on amazon.

[TylerDurden]

Do you know  the brand? I get the big 1 gallon bucket of Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin CO on amazon.

  Artisana.

[Löwenherz]

  Artisana.

Coconut butter is usually made of coconut oil plus finely ground, completely dehydrated mature coconut meat. It's full of fiber and very high in minerals. It tastes much more like coconut than pure coconut oil. Most of all available coconut products are definitely NOT raw.

I know only two producers of allegedly really raw coconut butter:

Artisana in USA  and  Dr. Goerg in Europe.

Löwenherz

[Haai]

That artisana coconut butter reaches up to 43C during its production. I emailed them about it a while back.

[TylerDurden]

Interesting.


Anyway, right now, I am considering a new direction. I was considering using WWOOF for a few months  to get experience on running a farm. I have often been aware that it is a bit absurd for me to ask questions about grass-feeding etc. when I can, instead, be 100 percent sure, if I move to the country and raise my own animals to some extent. If WWOOFers could give me some idea, I would be grateful. I like the notion of being mostly or wholly self-sufficient as regards food or anything else.

[goodsamaritan]

Interesting.


Anyway, right now, I am considering a new direction. I was considering using WWOOF for a few months  to get experience on running a farm. I have often been aware that it is a bit absurd for me to ask questions about grass-feeding etc. when I can, instead, be 100 percent sure, if I move to the country and raise my own animals to some extent. If WWOOFers could give me some idea, I would be grateful. I like the notion of being mostly or wholly self-sufficient as regards food or anything else.

Send an email to Eric Knight / Yon Yonson.  He's been WWOOFing for some time now.

[Löwenherz]

Interesting.

Anyway, right now, I am considering a new direction. I was considering using WWOOF for a few months  to get experience on running a farm. I have often been aware that it is a bit absurd for me to ask questions about grass-feeding etc. when I can, instead, be 100 percent sure, if I move to the country and raise my own animals to some extent. If WWOOFers could give me some idea, I would be grateful. I like the notion of being mostly or wholly self-sufficient as regards food or anything else.

Great!

I myself am visiting farm after farm for months now. Lots of great talks with experienced farmers. I will skip the WWOOFing thing and intend to just start this year (jump into the cold water, so to say). Can't wait to 'produce' good food.

Löwenherz

[White Tiger]

Anyway, right now, I am considering a new direction. I was considering using WWOOF for a few months  to get experience on running a farm. I have often been aware that it is a bit absurd for me to ask questions about grass-feeding etc. when I can, instead, be 100 percent sure, if I move to the country and raise my own animals to some extent. If WWOOFers could give me some idea, I would be grateful. I like the notion of being mostly or wholly self-sufficient as regards food or anything else.

I decided to do a similar thing and started my apprentice training in biodynamic agriculture three weeks ago. It's a 240 ha mixed farm in East Sussex. I'll blog about it in more detail in few months' time but feel free to email me if you have questions.

I also did a bit of woofing in the south of France for a few months many years ago.

My take is that if you want to start your own farm then interning is waste of time, better to just go cold turkey. Read a few books e.g. Joel Salatin's You Can Farm is good book to start with and trial-and-error yourself.

The biggest drawback I find with woofing and similar schemes is that the farmers are usually more interested in getting cheap labour rather than sharing their experiences/wisdom.

http://www.naturesharmonyfarm.com/ - their latest podcast mentions why not to do apprenticeships.

So why am I doing the apprenticeship? Well, a short answer is that I don't want to become a farmer. I just wanted to take some time off and the diploma is useful for my business and also if I wish to do my Masters in agro-ecology in the future.

[wodgina]

Who's that in your avatar?

[TylerDurden]

Who's that in your avatar?

It's an artist's reconstruction of what Cro-Magnon Man in Europe  looked like, presumably based on a real Cro-Magnon skull, like other similiar efforts online. It's from the Encyclopaedia Britannica online:-

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/36968/Artists-reconstruction-of-a-Cro-Magnon-an-early-version-of

It looks a bit better than the usual images of club-wielding thuggish savages one finds in google images.

[TylerDurden]

Now that I am no longer in the area for now, I heartily recommend that UK rawpalaeodieters visit Marylebone Farmers' Market in London. It's the biggest of the "LFM" assocation markets in London(lfm.org.uk) and has 1 fisherman selling dirt-cheap bags of raw wildcaught mussels(4 pounds a  huge bag of c.150-200) and very cheap raw wildcaught oysters at 70P per oyster. I got them often as double-oysters as other customers were squeamish re these. He also sells raw lobster and raw crab when in season. Other sellers include 1 guy who sells almost unlimited raw wild hare carcasses(as long as you always order beforehand the previous week), another sells raw, salt-marsh-fed lamb, while others sell oddities like raw medlars when in season, another sells raw heather honeycomb, and so on. Sure, there are some  other bizarre market-stalls offering raw organic, grainfed meats or very expensive, raw seafood, but these can be avoided with a little investigation...

[Ioanna]

i love your new avatar!  where is that?

[TylerDurden]

i love your new avatar!  where is that?

It's a photo of a lake("lac du basto") in one of the most beautiful regions in the world, the area around the "Vallee des Merveilles". The Vallee des Merveilles is situated  in the Mercantour national park some distance from Nice in southern France. It not only has great views all over, but it also has rock-carvings dating back to the Bronze Age, with multi-coloured volcanic rocks lying around. I visit it every few years or so as it's one of the few really wild areas left in Europe.

[TylerDurden]

OK, I have no idea re my  internet access in June. It could be sporadic or even nonexistent. So, no PMs please.

[Josh]

Have a good holiday

[p0wer]

It's an artist's reconstruction of what Cro-Magnon Man in Europe  looked like, presumably based on a real Cro-Magnon skull, like other similiar efforts online. It's from the Encyclopaedia Britannica online:-

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/36968/Artists-reconstruction-of-a-Cro-Magnon-an-early-version-of

It looks a bit better than the usual images of club-wielding thuggish savages one finds in google images.

I have a neighbor that looks exactly like this That man is like a rock, short but huge muscles, although now in his fifties he seems to be fattening a little bit from laziness I guess (but still looks like 30 overall ). His son is my age -- he's not doing any exercise and is eating the standard bad food, yet he's all muscular and you can clearly see even the most hidden tiny muscles on the body. Go figure it. With very little training he used to be at the top in boxing in the country in his category, now he's a cab driver. It's quite sad to see such good genetic potential wasting like that.

Edit: ok not exactly like this, this reconstruction would be more like a 60-70 years old version.

[TylerDurden]

My attempts in the last month to make "high-meat" by placing it in sealed boxes in the garden were not successful it seems. I only seem to make things work easily in the fridge. Also, when abroad in my garden in Italy, I plan on growing dozens more fruit-trees, over the next few years, so that I can eat more of my excellent home-grown fruits.

In September, I will be buying the equipment needed to produce Lex's beef jerky maker,so that I am fully experienced re jerky making by the time I go  for my next summer vacation in the mountains, next year.

[HIT_it_RAW]

How about wolf style? Just burying the meat. The bacteria in the soil would make it a very high quality high meat i'd say. A jar sealed with cloth to allow air to it instead of a lid might also help. I know you get wild carcasses every now and then so you could also try the inuit style. Stuffing a skin with meat (or small birds like the inuit do) and bury it for a few months.

[PaleoPhil]

The traditional Inuit didn't use sealed boxes. As I understand it, they put the meat in the hide of the animal (I wonder if the hide allows a small amount of oxygen in through the hide?) and tied it with the animal's tendons or something and then buried it either under rocks (just so other animals couldn't get it I think?), or in a grass-lined hole covered with loose dirt. I wish there was more detailed info on this process.

[HIT_it_RAW]

The traditional Inuit didn't use sealed boxes. As I understand it, they put the meat in the hide of the animal (I wonder if the hide allows a small amount of oxygen in through the hide?) and tied it with the animal's tendons or something and then buried it either under rocks (just so other animals couldn't get it I think?), or in a grass-lined hole covered with loose dirt. I wish there was more detailed info on this process.

There is. In one of ray mears tv shows the inuit clearly show every step of the process to him and the viewer.