Page 61 - Spring2013

All Thumbs Book Reviews

Long Way on a Little: An Earth Lover’s becomes very interesting, she and her family
Companion for Enjoying Meat, Pinching began to develop health problems much more
Pennies, and Living Deliciously typical of mainstream America than of organic
By Shannon Hayes self-sustaining farmers: weight gain, fungal in-
Left to Write Press, 2012 fections, digestive disorders, and dental caries.
By process of elimination Hayes discovered that
Author of Grass-fed Gourmet, The Farmer she and all members of her family suffer from
and the Grill, and Radical Homemakers, Shan- varying degrees of grain and legume intolerance,
non Hayes makes her most innovative and prob- and by strictly avoiding these foods their health
ing foray into the world of grass farming and has been happily restored. Hayes decided that if
the growing-in-popularity locavore movement she couldn't test these recipes because she and
with her newest book. After attaining a PhD in her family couldn't eat them, then they would not
sustainable agriculture and community devel- appear in her book. Hayes also acknowledges that
opment, Hayes returned home to work with her a significant portion of her readers likely shares
family raising grass-fed meats in upstate New these same food sensitivities. A small handful
York. Grass-fed Gourmet introduced readers of the very best of recipes that include grains
new to grass-fed meats to the finer points of their or legumes do appear, but the great majority of
proper handling and preparation, and encouraged the recipes completely exclude these potentially
those who refused to eat feedlot and factory problematic foods.
farm meat in grocery stores to support and shop Preparing excellent bone broths and render-
from their local grass farmers instead. Hayes has ing animal fats at home are the foundations of
now further expanded her topic by developing many of the mouth-watering recipes that grace
recipes and culinary advice for those like the the pages of Long Way on a Little. These skills
customers of her family's enterprise who were are requisites for enjoying a bounty of nutrition
unaccustomed to preparing the less familiar parts and flavor, and Hayes reminds us that broth and
of the animal and in fact were often throwing animal fats are "some of the most nutrient-dense
away shameful amounts of useful, nutritious, foods imaginable." It is absolutely essential that
and delicious bits. the frugal gourmet learn to prepare these staples
Hayes initially assumed her current book of the diet. Americans have nearly lost the art of
would be a snap to write, but instead it took her making and eating soup on a regular basis—after
four long years to produce when she tripped over all, soup and supper are closely related words—
her own first approach to the topic of frugality and the delectation of a daily dish of soup confers
in meat consumption. Surely, she reasoned, the pleasure, health, and wealth in terms of superior
pairing of meat leftovers with grains or legumes nutrition.
would be the logical and economical way to prove Utilizing bones and skin from grass-fed
that regular meat consumption need not be a animals goes a very long way to avoid the mas- Americans
luxury enjoyed only by a gustatory elite. Along sive waste that can occur when these parts of have nearly
this line of reasoning she developed and tested the animal are disregarded. As Hayes points out,
many recipes featuring grains or legumes that there is no way that small, grass-based farmers lost the art of
had been soaked to neutralize their anti-nutrient can "feed the world" or even feed their neighbors making and
content, cooked carefully in meat broths, and if the only thing people choose to eat are choice eating soup
augmented with smaller amounts of meat to boost cuts that are in very limited supply such as rib-
their nutrient profile. eye steaks and chicken breasts. However, by on a regular
Unfortunately, and this is where the story utilizing all the parts of the animal wisely, many basis.
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