Friday, October 26, 2018

Cow in a Can



Last night I was hunger bored so I opened up one of my cans of “government beef” (GB). As the dedicated reader knows I am eligible for food bank or as I call it food bank Saturday. That's the day I go across the street and see what treats I get from my food bank. The reader also knows that I am very keen on collecting giveaway food at the sharing shelf at the apartment complex for I love – – that place where people who have something they do not want can leave for somebody who might be interested. On the third Friday of the month here, people who are eligible, get food boxes. I did not, but many people when they get their food box do not want puts inside. It's just many times. The food is the same every month, dried beans (all different kinds), canned vegetables, juices, all kinds of food that people get inundated with an rather than drag a heavy box home leave what they don't want on the shelf. I of course then swing by and cherry pick anything that I want. I often grab the cans of beef, USDA canned beef. Really big cans of beef like stuff you could make a whole meal out of. I must confess, I've gotten four or five cans of this product, but I haven't really used any of the canned beef. Truth is, I've been a bit intimidated on how to use the beef when I open the can.I keep getting the cans of beef just because It just seems like such a valuable commodity. It's that part of me that survivor part that wants to put it in my closet for a rainy day, i.e. when there's no other food available.

I was enchanted/thrilled at how appetizing (to me). This little lump of beef is. I ate four or five fork fulls just to check the taste. I immediately saw how I could use this product is so many things that I consume. Sloppy Joe's, marinara sauce, tacos, stirfry, casserole and on and on. I even got inspiration to see if there is any kind of recipes developed for canned beef, preferably, USDA canned beef. I was delighted to find there is a number of links to various recipes or sites dedicated to cooking with USDA products. I even downloaded one sheet of recipes. It's fantastic! It looks like it was initially released in the 1930s, probably during the Great Depression, when canned beef and other delights were being made available to people caught in that low financial cycle. I'm going to try to include that for the image on this posting this stuff is great. If not, I'll try to go back and find a link to this page. I don't expect anybody else to be as excited as I am about finding a way to utilize this government supplied food, but it's there if you want it. Brown hash, panda cabbages and corned beef, hot beef and onion sandwich, tamale pie and so much more. And these are all items I can use the USDA can be for. I've got a can of sloppy Joe mix been kicking around my closet for years, I think I'm going to use that can of sauce today and add the rest of the canned beef to see how it works for sloppy Joe's.

I'm going to continue collecting these cans of beef now the beef up my pantry (excuse the pun) and I'm going to use them all through this next winter. Play like him in a depression, and somehow have been given this can of meat product and totally enjoy the illusion.

No comments: