Dija Know… Joe’s Restaurant Newsletter -153 Winter 2019

“Dija Know…”
Joe’s Newsletter #153, WINTER 2019
Sheila   (archives available at JoesDining.com)

 

Stately lord or lady of the Plain, the American Bison

Photo by Karen Novotny, local artist.  Yellowstone 2010

 

◆  Monday Dec. 2nd be sure to join us for what has become a wonderful annual event – the fund-raiser for our favorite charity – the Listening Horse Therapeutic Riding Program.  Gus, Laurie, Kathy and Oatey will be in house to answer your questions about the program, to encourage you to spread the word about the benefits of engaging with this divine healing creature – the horse, that is!  So…eat a lot, spend a lot because 20% of every dollar you spend at Joe’s that day goes right back to these folks to feed and care for the horses.  Also, our wonderful artists (Mary Olivia, Bill Todino and Roberta Parry) are giving 20% of any works you buy on Dec 2nd to the Listening Horse.  Buy local art!!

 

◆ Richard broadcasts the Richard Eeds Show live from Joe’s each 1st Friday of the month from 1- 4 pm on Hutton 1260 AM KTRC.  Richard knows everyone in New Mexico – no joke!  He keeps us abreast of all the New Mexico happenings.

 

◆  DiJa Know?  Is it bison? Is it buffalo? Is it neither? What is going on with buffalo (or properly bison) meat?  We, like most people, thought of bison as a safe, healthy meat from wild animals roaming the ranges of the West and 100% grass-fed-and-finished.  We now see all too well that this isn’t the case. Yup, here we go again with more flim flam and bastardization of our food supply, to say nothing of the indignity to a wild animal of great nobility indigenous to our American Great Plains.  No longer the romantic image, gleaned of course from movies, of native Americans racing their ponies beside a thundering herd to hunt what was for them the absolute essential kill, sustaining them and their whole tribe.  We all know the contemptible history of the near decimation of the American Bison.  Over time, certain land-owners and organizations have stepped up to protect and grow herds.  Here at Joe’s when Monti and Lana (LaMont’s Buffalo) sold their meat distribution business, Roland noticed a change in the meat under the new owners.  He struggled to get the quality of pure bison we were used to: grass-fed-and-finished and sourced from ranchers we knew (the LaMonts).  The deeper we looked, the more confusing it got.

What we found were two disturbing practices that have emerged in the Bison raising industry. —  hybridizing and feedlots.
First, cross-breeding: American Bison are being interbred with cattle.  This widespread practice has a formula: 3/8 Bison, 5/8 cattle.  Why?  Smaller, easier to handle, fence and ship.  Essentially, profit.  The resulting animal is often called beefalo.  (BTW, cattle and Bison will not naturally interbreed).
Second, feedlots:  that hybrid animal, together with its genetically pure American Bison relative, are now being treated just like our poor feedlot cattle – in a horrific system designed only for profit.

 

It is achingly clear, we continue to dominate manipulate and profit from every creature we possibly can.  And now we  add the stately and iconic wild American Bison to a system that has already proven inhumane and unsafe.

To add to the confusion, the labeling of the meat is poorly regulated.  We just don’t know what we are getting.  We assume we are buying clean, healthy 100% wild buffalo meat.  Not necessarily!  You may be buying the hybrid – (beefalo) and furthermore you may even be buying imported water buffalo!!  (But that’s another story.)

Now as Roland’s search goes forward for a quality true grass-finished bison meat, we will keep you informed.  Until then, we will not offer bison on our menu.  And be prepared to ask a lot of questions at butcher counters and restaurants to determine the purity and quality of what you are paying for.  Expect blank stares.  No one is clear on this subject.

 

This poem was written by long-time buffalo ranchers from OakCreek Buffalo Ranch in Missouri. www.ourbuffalofarm.com

Through Buffalo Eyes

The eyes of the buffalo were warm pools of understanding

when finally I looked into them.

“You’re feeling guilty today.” they said.

“You are ashamed to look at us.

You are deciding which of us must leave,

and you are afraid we will know your thoughts.

Meat is needed before long and it is we who provide it.

And some must leave to make room for the beautiful heifers

 you would like to place into our herd.   No one lives forever.

We understand that the weakest will leave first.

Each one of us wants to be the strongest,

and we test each other every day.

If you need help in making your decisions, then ask us.

You will see that we give our lives for a purpose,

and by doing so will provide for those who remain.

That is good. We welcome the daughters you bring to our herd.

They are the future and our family.

Make your decisions wisely. We depend on you.”

 

◆  A Tuesday night tradition at Joe’s – Spaghetti and Chianti Night.  $39 for two will get you Caesar Salad, Spaghetti with homemade slow-cooked Bolognese and a ½ liter of great Chianti.  Wadda deal!  The Bolognese sauce is made with our grass-fed-and-finished Berry Ranch beef.

 

◆  “For a Good Time Call Joe” and “Nobody Does It Like Joe” tee shirts are available for sale.  They are made in the USA of 100% organic cotton. $24.  A tongue in cheek Joe’s tee is a great gift for the right person.

 

◆  A sweet treat or impromptu gift for your dear ones?  Joe’s melt-in-your-mouth French chocolate truffles. Y

 

◆  DiJa Know – this simple vitamin (actually a seco hormone) can help prevent colds, flu and dementia?  It’s that time of year – colds and flus motivate us to bolster our immune systems.  Here I am again nagging about your Vit D3 levels.  It’s beyond critical to get those levels into a healthy range.  Here are some interesting and rather devasting facts from a study on participants with vitamin D deficiency.  The study found a strong link between vitamin D deficiency and faster cognitive decline, as well as a 3-fold increase in the risk of Alzheimer’s.  This is suggestive of the protective effect of vitamin D levels at or above 20 ng/ml* for brain health and a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s.
So, the takeaway?  Vit D3 is a great and simple tool that at sufficient levels will be protective not only against colds and flus, but also it has proven incredibly beneficial for cognitive health.  Remember, never take it alone.  It’s co-factors A and K2 are absolutely essential.
* My opinion, after research, experience and observation: Vit D3 levels are best maintained over 50 ng/ml for protection from multiple diseases.  Or, as I tell my clients, “get naked at noon!”  20 minutes of sun a day helps enormously to maintain your D levels, immune system and disease resistance.

 

◆  Hemp is (finally) coming into its own.  It’s truly shameful that it was banned and then misunderstood for so long.  In 2014 I lobbied for hemp to be legalized in NM so that farmers and ranchers could benefit from growing an incredibly useful, easy to grow and water-wise crop.  Our governor would have none of it!  6 years later we are on the verge of finally having the benefits of this wonderful hardy plant.  Not only that, but good quality CBD oil, extracted from hemp, in many experts’ opinion, is actually a more powerful health agent than THC extracted from marijuana.  With CBD you can by-pass the high and still get the health benefit.

 

◆  DiJa Know?   antibiotics are becoming less and less effective.  A personal preface here – thank God for antibiotics.  Not long ago a staph infection could lead to death!  We are talking here of the abuse of antibiotics, not the judicious use of them.  “While antibiotic resistance is particularly deadly for patients in hospitals and nursing homes, it’s now also threatening people undergoing common surgeries and therapies, such as knee replacements and cancer treatments.  Why are antibiotics becoming less and less effective? Because their overuse causes bacteria to evolve into “superbugs” capable of resisting them.  But the other leading cause of antibiotic resistance is the overuse of antibiotics in industrial factory farming.  To fatten up animals faster, and to keep them “healthy” in crowded, filthy environments, factory farm animals are routinely fed antibiotics—including some that are critical for treating humans.  What can we do? Boycott all industrial meat products. And help us pressure Congress to end the routine use of antibiotics in industrial meat production.”  Organic Consumers Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

 

 DiJa Know – the power of peppermint!So many people suffer GI issues that I have started researching the subject.  I came upon some interesting information regarding IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) from Dr. Michael Ruscio.  His practice is devoted to restoring good digestion.  He recently stated something startling – (paraphrased) – the less healthy your gut is, the less people are able to tolerate plant foods.”  And then, regarding various treatments for IBS and using data from 121 IBS trials published over the last 35 years, he concludes – “The highest efficacy was found for peppermint oil.  Traditional antispasmodic therapy has a moderate efficacy, whereas the list of motility affecting drugs yielded weak clinical results, and therapies by bran and fibers are of no value in IBS.”  This peppermint “therapy” was borne out by a client of mine who received relief when nothing else had worked!  I love simple remedies, don’t you?

 

◆  Joe’s will give you $10.  What’s the catch?  Well the way we figure it, if you cut out the middleman by NOT using a credit card, we can give that back to you and then some.  Credit cards cost the retail merchant about 3-5% and extra time & paperwork.  Now let’s be real – in today’s world one cannot function without one.  But there are a few (legal) alternatives that reduce our dependency on the Big Banks and actually save us all money.  We have a couple of suggestions: (1.) Joe’s Check List – If you are a “regular” and wish to pay by check, please ask your waiter to get you on the list.  (2.) Joe’s gift card – purchase  $100 gift card with cash or check or silver or gold coin, get a $10 free bonus! Your $100 gift card will actually buy you $110 worth of meals at Joe’s.
  

 

◆  Some of the farmers & ranchers who supply Joe’s: They get their seeds from heirloom seed banks, family and friends, their fertilizer from animals and compost and their agronomic advice from tradition:  Monte Vista Organics, BerryBeef Ranch, Lotus Farms, Jacona Farms, Green Tractor, Camino de Paz, Synergia Ranch, Romero Farms, Shepherd’s Lamb, Sweetgrass Co-op,  Susan’s Sprouts and others.

Giggles

One day a little girl was watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink.  She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair in contrast to her brunette hair.  She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, “Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?”    Her mother replied, “Well, every time you do something that makes me unhappy, one of my hairs turns white.”   The little girl thought about this for a while and then she said, “Mama, how come ALL of grandma’s hairs are white?”

Joe’s Dining
2801 Rodeo Rd (at Zia Rd) Santa Fe, NM   87507  505-471-3800       www.JoesDining.com
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