NEW SERIES: The Cow

Look. It’s no secret that I’m a bit all over the place. I stepped away from writing about my crazy life because, honestly, y’all wouldn’t believe half of it.

But then back in November 2021, my dear friend Kara of Blooming Joy Flower Co. sent me a text asking if we wanted to go in half with her on a cow she and her lovely husband Robert were going to buy direct from a local farmer.

If you know me, you know that buying a cow has been on my bucket list since the night James promised me in our Brooklyn apartment that when we got a house, I could have as many deep freezers as I wanted, and that I could fill one of them with a cow and spray paint BODY PARTS on the outside of it in red paint.

I haven’t spray-painted the tag on the freezer, but last week I did fill it with half a cow. And, Internet, when I tell you that I got emotional as I unloaded the deep-frozen blocks of gorgeous marbled meat, I’m not just talking about being able to use my label maker extensively.

My big takeaway from my Food Network days was that the way we eat can have a huge effect on how we impact our world. Buying a cow was not cheap, but I’d rather spend more when it goes directly into the pocket of a local farmer who’s focused on bio-diversity and sustainable farming. I love that we got to ride down to Kara’s farm and that Nora got to jump on giant hay bales as we sorted through our cut lists. I’m grateful that she was curious about the tongue, heart, liver, kidney, and soup bones, asking questions about how they supported the animal while it was alive, and how they’ll nourish us (and. our animals) now that the cow is gone.

When you show up to a farm to collect half a cow from your good friend, you always bring something delicious fresh from the oven. This is my favorite toasting bread from Make the Bread, Buy the Butter and some homemade Blackberry-Huckleberry Jam from my garden.

I’m also grateful that it gave me a phenomenal excuse to reconnect with my Biggest Girl Crush, Cara Nicoletti. Y’all, get you a friend who enthusiastically answers your DMs about Delmonico and Bavette steak cuts. When I reached out to ask her what she recommended I include on my cut sheet, she talked me through that animal from snout to tail and back again. When I tell you that I can’t wait to serve the 5-bone prime rib she advised I request, I mean I’m over the moon excited for it— and just a bit heartbroken Cara won’t be at my table to carve it for me.

Kara wasn’t kidding about half a cow taking up one whole freezer. Not pictured here are the two giant brisket cuts, nor the two prime rib roasts, both of which went into the smaller chest freezer blocked by the door. So did the organ meats.

This is the space where I’m using The Cow as a way to structure my food writing again, as I start back up. I’m cooking the whole thing, piece by piece, and you’re invited along for the journey. (You’re also invited to dinner, if you find yourself wandering through Middle Tennessee, and hungry around 5:45pm.) Let’s make 2022 all about connections— with ourselves and with our far-flung friends and with our food and our physical nutrition.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to go connect with a Beef Shoulder braise that’s going to be out of this world.