Mount Everest



Mount Everest.
Accessed on 19 June from http://www.worldsultimate.net/mount-everest.htm.



On June 30th, the Balzac 4-H Beef Club will be having its annual awards banquet. Trophies are awarded to celebrate successes from Achievement Day but for me the real highlight is the guest speaker. This year, our guest speaker is Laurie Skreslet. Mr. Skreslet has climbed Mount Everest several times and was actually the first Canadian to climb Everest!

I think this is so cool and Mr. Skreslet is a great guy who has been friends with my family for years. One year when I was about 12 he gave my dad a blue winter coat. Dad didn't want to wear it because in the winter he likes to wear one-piece Carharts so I wore it. Apparently it looked awful on me and despite the fact that it was really warm one day I came home from school to find that my mom had given it away to the Salvation Army.



Laurie Skreslet.
Accessed 19 June from
http://www.laurieskreslet.com/.



He has his own website which can be accessed at http://www.laurieskreslet.com/. His website also has some brief overviews of other presentations he has done and I also noticed a nice little link to one of his future climbing expeditions. Over Christmas he is taking a group of climbers to Aconcagua, a mountain located in Argentina near the Chile border. Aconcagua is the tallest mountain in the western hemisphere and is surrounded by desert while having snow-covered peaks. I cannot get over how cool this sounds!

Anyway, to get back to the main point here, if you received an invite to the Balzac Beef Awards Banquet and are debating attending I encourage you to come! Although I am not sure whether he will be talking about his climbs or he will be talking about motivational-related stuff but surprises are always nice and I assure you it will be worth your time.

What is a steak?

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between all those different types of steaks you can buy at the grocery store? Why exactly does a tiny piece of tenderloin cost more than a piece of sirloin? And never mind the difference between "top sirloin" and sirloin!

Well never fear. What follows is a brief tutorial into the unique world of beef cuts.  Rather than go into complex explanations of where on the animal these cuts come from, I direct your attention to the diagram below. Also, since there are so many different cuts that can be used for so many different things I will stick to the most common steaks.




Accessed on 14 June, 2011 from http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/meats/beef/glossary.asp.

 

The first thing that most people use as a basis for beef cut judgement is tenderness. Tenderness is associated with muscles that are not used very much therefore they are very soft. Thus the prime cut comes from the tenderloin, or the filet mignon if it is cut into smaller pieces. Allow me to clarify at this point that the best cuts come from steers and heifers between 8 and 16 months; as an animal ages its meat becomes tougher.



A perfectly cooked tenderloin!
Accessed on 14 June, 2011 from
http://www.wizardrecipes.com/recipes/spice+rubbed+beef+tenderloin.html.



The next cut is the sirloin. When you buy sirloin steaks, you actually want to make sure that you are buying top sirloin, since the top sirloin has more tender steaks than the "bottom sirloin."

Next is the short loin, which is usually cut into strip steaks such as New York Strip or the t-bone steaks. The t-bone, like the porterhouse contains part of the tenderloin.

Other cuts of steak that you could purchase would include round steaks, or chuck steaks.

I also stumbled upon an interesting website on beef cuts titled Best Value Steak Cuts; The World's First Steak Guide to "Sustainable Steaks" Excludes Tenderloins, Strip Steaks & Rib Steaks. To summarize this website which can be found here, they rate the top three beef cuts as follows:

1. Boneless Blade Steak (one of the aforementioned chuck steaks),
2. Thin Flank Steak (often overlooked and used in recipes such as stir frys),
3. Tri Tip Steak (a bottom sirloin steak)

Allow me to also say that this website made a valid point that I must pass on. They wrote that

...there is lot to be said about the flavor in tougher cuts of meat that is not present in the more tender cuts. Many argue that fat content is the sole factor in the determination of flavor, but chefs and food scientists have known for decades that there is an inverse relationship between flavor and tenderness, i.e. tougher cuts, regardless of fat content, are more flavorful. To this day, it is still a mystery, scientifically speaking, as to why tougher cuts tend to have more flavor. Our theory is that the increased flow of blood to a well-used muscle develops its meaty taste (or beefiness, in the case of beef). In any case, tougher cuts benefit from a fullness of flavor that is simply not present in the more tender cuts.

In closing, I believe that in the end, you can start out with the best cut of steak and ruin it with poor cooking. At the same time, you can take a "lesser" cut such as a round or chuck and improve it with proper cooking!

I'm Back!

Well, I'm finally back from the Yukon! Unfortunately, I was having a lot of trouble with the Internet connection there; I think it probably has to do with the fact that everyone in the North is on the same Internet provider and they don't have a very strong system.

Anyway, the trip was great and I've included some pictures for your viewing pleasure!

It is CRAZY up here!

Hi all!

As some of you may be aware, I am currently adventuring in the Yukon Territory! I arrived in Whitehorse this morning at 3:00am via Greyhound bus and so far I have been enjoying the experience.

Unfortunately, I do not have access to a USB cable so I cannot upload any photos yet. But some food for thought:

The first thing that I wonder is why do Greyhound buses have carpet on the roof? I spent a lot of time pondering this but didn't come to any logical conclusions... If anyone happens to know, please tell me!

Once we got past Dawson Creek, I noticed that the forest looked different. At first I couldn't figure out what it was but then I realized that what was unusual was the light green trees growing amongst the dark green trees. This is because there are numerous poplars growing amongst the pine trees! Mind boggling!

Also, today I went biking along the trails by the river. First of all, don't get "trails" confused with the nice wide wood-chipped, well marked trails of Banff or Kananaskis. When I say trail, I mean a little dirt path that could be an animal trail or a people-hiking trail. There are no sign markings anywhere so you just have to walk along until you find something exciting. Nonetheless, the views were spectacular and (as nerdy as it sounds) there were some really great rock formations since the region has a lot of volcanic origins.

On the agricultural side of things, farms started becoming scarce between Dawson Creek and Fort St. John with them nearly completely disappearing after Fort St. John. I have yet to see a horse or cow up here in Whitehorse but I was told that the number of dogs in Whitehorse outnumbers the number of people - and I don't doubt it!

Anyway, I again apologize for the lack of photos but I promise they will come! Tonight I sleep in a hostel for the first time - wish me luck!

Lets not complain...(too much!)

I'm sure we've all done it. Complained about the weather. Winter in Canada is far too cold and long (especially in the prairies). Summer is too hot and the bugs are bad. Spring is too rainy and wet. And I personally really like fall, but those October snowstorms are one more thing that we as Canadians wish we didn't have. And its currently hailing on the first of June.

But lets look on the bright side. The fires in northern Alberta could have been much worse. Southern Alberta isn't flooding. We don't get violent tornadoes, hurricanes or earthquakes. Since we have such long, cold winters we have less pests and they're smaller than the bugs that live in tropical climates.


Here are some links for comparison:

Missouri 2011 Twisters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwL1Hy4A1TE

Texas Fires
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG1IZL9LJkw

Hurricane Igor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lgtDx0GKYk

Pakistan Landslide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_-SXKIXPkI