What to do with beef soup bones ...

"Pölsa" is a very old Swedish dish. It won't win a beauty contest because it looks most of all like grey meat porridge. In some way, similar to the Scottish haggis, the scrapples from northeastern United States, buchada from northeast of Brazil, and tripas from Portugal. Many people find these dishes pretty disgusting when they think about what goes into them.

In the old days, "pölsa" was made out of minced meat, heart, liver or lung, (all parts of the dead animal could be used), cooked barley grains, onion and stock. My mother's recipe didn't call for entrails. She boiled beef bones with meat on in a large pot with water together with roughly chopped root vegetables and spices (bay leaf, allspice corns and pepper corns). She boiled the bones for several hours, or at least until the meat came off easily from the bones. Then she minced the meat and mixed it with the other ingredients. Cooked this way, it tastes better than it looks. "Pölsa" contains a good mix of proteins, fibre, iron and other minerals from the meat, the barley grains, the onion and stock.

Recently my neighbor knocked on the door and gave me a large bag filled with beef bones. She has been severely sick for many years. That's why she she asked me to help her cook this old-fashioned dish for dinner. It is not hard to do but rather troublesome and time-consuming. Besides, you need a very large heavy saucepan for this dish.

Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS
Serves 4-6

* 200 ml peeled and cut barley grains (pot barley) cooked in 800 ml stock
* 500 g cooked beef, very finely chopped or minced
* 1 onion, finely chopped and fried until soft
* 1/2 tsp white pepper
* 1/2 tsp ground allspice
* 1 tsp dried marjoram or thyme (optional)
* 1 tablespoon golden syrup
* salt to taste

METHOD:

1. Add the meat and onions to the cooked barley, mix well and reheat.
2. Add more stock if needed.
3. Add the white pepper, salt, allspice, marjoram or thyme to taste.

"Pölsa" is served with pickled beetroot and boiled potatoes.

Ground Moose Meat Loaf Recipe

In Sweden, where there are dangers of car collisions with this animal, this traffic sign is very common. (They are rather popular and desirable with tourists as souvenirs too:).

This large specie in the deer family is known as an elk in Europe and a moose in North America. The Swedish word is 'älg'.

I get moose meat from successful hunters in my neighborhood from time to time. Most people appreciate the wild taste. When I tell people around here that I don't like the 'gamey' taste of elk, I get a surprised glance.

Anyway, elk is some of the best wild game meat that you can get - healthier than beef. Furthermore, it has many other benefits. It is extremely lean, and the meat can be kept in the freezer for a long time. I use it like beef with various seasonings to cover the wild flavor. I never try to enhance the 'gamey' flavor.

INGREDIENTS:
Serves 4
* 500 grams ground moose (elk) meat
* 50 ml porridge oats
* 100 ml cream
* ½ tablespoon potato starch
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 teaspoon salt
* ½ teaspoon black pepper
* 1½ teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 garlic clove. pressed
* 2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

METHOD:
1. In a large bowl, lightly beat the egg.
2. Add everything except for the ground meat.
3. Set aside for 5 minutes, then add ground meat and mix well.
4. Shape into a "loaf" shape.
5. Bake on parchment paper lined baking sheet at 225°C [440°F] for about 30 - 40 minutes, or until juices run clear - a thermometer should read 70°C [160 °F].

The tangy, warm, strong aroma of ground cumin tames the wild flavor.

The Eat Well Plate

Many books, websites and magazines tell me how and what to eat (and not to eat) in order to stay healthy and slim.

I am slightly overweight and would like to become slimmer. However, I don't want to try Atkins, GI diets, do the Apple Diet, or start any other weight removal program. Although apples are healthy, eating just apples all the time isn't healthy in the long run. Besides, I want to eat pasta, potatoes, bread and all kinds of food.

Weight can sometimes be lost by reducing food intake and increasing exercise. At present, I don't bother counting calories. Instead, I concentrate on eating according to the Swedish Plate Model.

Yesterday, my main meal consisted of rice, bread, a satsuma mandarin, chopped tomatoes, and a Japanese-inspired ground meat mix. (I drink milk, fruit juice, water, wine or low-alcohol beer during my meals. What I choose to drink depends on several factors - what day of the week it is, what I am eating and so on.).














The Ground Beef Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
serves 2

* 250 grams ground beef
* 1 onion, thinly sliced or finely chopped
* vegetable oil for frying
* 50 ml Japanese soy
* 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
* 50 ml water
* ½ -1 tablespoon honey
* a pinch of black pepper
* 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

METHOD:
1. Preheat your frying pan on medium setting.
2. Add the oil to the pan when it is hot, and then the ground beef.
3. Using a wooden spoon. mash and stir so that it gets broken up.
4. Brown together beef and onion until onion is soft, 3-5 minutes.
5. Pour in the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
6. Season to taste, adding more honey, pepper and ginger, if you like.

The plate model.

This "Food Circle" helps me to get all the nutrients I need. It has only three categories. Imagine your plate divided into the letter "Y". Eating an item from each of the following three groups every day ensures a variety of nutrients.

*Yellow:
The first category includes foods such as potatoes, rice, pasta, bulgur, bread...
*Green:
The second category consists of vegetables, leafy greens, root vegetables, fruit, berries..
*Orange:
The third and smallest part, approx. one-fifth of the plate, includes meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, leguminous plants..

This plate model says nothing about how much I should eat. My hunger guides me. It is not necessary to consume the same quantities from each of the three groups every day.

For those who want to lose weight, the vegetable section has to be larger at the expense of rice, pasta, and potatoes, and those who want to increase their weight do the opposite. If you have a physically strenuous work, or if you exercise a lot, you may need to increase the amount of pasta, rice or potatoes to get the energy your body needs. You need calories otherwise you will get tired.

Candy, soft drinks and other sweet things are considered unhealthy. But I don't think it is dangerous to set aside one day once a week and treat myself with something sweet.  We deserve a treat now and again!