Frugal Consumption - Everyone Eats it All

The effort started with the carrots.  A couple of large ones were spiralized and set aside to be mixed in with pasta for dinner later in the day.

The Kitchen Aid attachment was used to process the carrots, which leaves a core in the middle.  The smaller ends which were not big enough for the process, and also needed to be cut down in order for the thicker section to fit in the assembly were set aside.  Next, pork neck bones were pan seared and then put into the sauce  base (pureed tomatoes and mushed up whole peel tomatoes).  The carrot ends went into the simmering sauce to cut down on acidity.

 The sauce was started in a pressure cooker to save time.  Next the pork and carrots were removed.  Bits of meat were removed from the bones and put back into the sauce.  The necks went on to the next step of frugal food prep.  They were dumped into a small crock pot.  There is only one setting, which is higher than a larger pot.  Water was added along with parsley.  Later in the day, the guts of a spaghetti squash was added.  The mixture cooked for about a day.

Dinner for the humans in the house was a healthy eggplant parm.   The eggplants were set to drain and then dipped in egg and buttermilk, then tossed in bread crumbs.  They were baked in the convection oven on a wire rack, with cheese added in the last ten minutes.  The pasta was augmented with the carrots spiralized earlier in the day, as well as spaghetti squash.  The meal was yummy!  Extra sauce has made many a tasty pizza in days to follow.

The next day, everything in the crock was set to cool for about an hour (it was bubbling hot).  The entire contents was transferred into the Vitamix blender.  By this time, the bones were soft enough that they could safely be turned to mush.

Three jars of "slurry" were produced.  This mixture is for the dog.  She gets a couple of ounces each afternoon.  A little bit of water is added. This is an extra nutritional punch that doesn't cost us any extra money.  It also puts the entire source of food for our meals to use.  For folks who commercial food, consider this method to augment your pet's diet with real food.  Start slowly at first so they can get used to digesting the amount of fat (pork neck bones are very fatty).  Freeze whatever won't be used in the space of a week.  This can also be fed separately, as we do, with a little extra water added.  Animals who are fed an exclusively dry diet will benefit from this extra hydration -- so add as much water as they will tolerate.  When this is being made, Teddy is dancing in the kitchen waiting for the dregs.  The first step to cleaning the blender, is to add a couple of ounces once the slurry is drained.  That's run on high to rinse the sides and bottom.  The result is a very watered down version -- which gets dumped right into her dish.

The animals that are slaughtered for our consumption gave their  lives so that we can eat.  They deserve to not have been sacrificed in vain.  For that reason, we do them the most justice when we do not waste the meat they have had to give to us.  We believe that waste is bad from an ethical standpoint.  People who work hard to harvest our vegetables are not paid very much.  We dishonor them when we throw large portions of that produce away.  Not all of it is useful to our meals, but this is the very kind of food that was fed to domestic animals prior to the advent of commercial diets.  In its raw state, it would be consumed by canines in the wild.  The message from the Microcosm is to please not let it go to waste.  If you don't want to compost it and you have pets, further process it into slurry. It's good for everyone!