I think this is my first real ingredient-through-finished-dish recipe post I've done in Uruguay! Wow, and it's only taken me 9 months! It's silly it's taken me so long, but better late than never.

These are just a few images of food that left an impression on me as being different. First off is an amazing steak I bought at Tienda Inglesa on one of our first trips there. In Uruguay the beef is held to the highest standard. It is grass finished on organic native grasses as a matter of course. Grocery stores still butcher, hang, and process their own beef. It's a wonderful thing to see beautiful beef, well marbled with golden, grass finished fat, sitting on the grocery store shelves. The meat here is also very fresh.

If you've never had a well prepared leg of lamb, I can honestly say you're missing out. Lamb is not an oft used meat in the US, but it's a staple meat in many nations. For us it was a nice treat. We would buy one lamb every year and I would try to make it last until the next year. I sure miss Bev and Chuck's awesome grass-fed lamb!

Thanks to industrial, processed food, Americans have been spending less and less on what we eat. But those savings come with a high cost: obesity, diabetes, and big health care bills. Here's a look at how our diet has changed over the last 50 years, and what we can do to make it better.

This is my end of the year ode to bacon. I had been eating kosher for many years. I thought I didn't even miss pork. Then one day I realized something very, very important. I'M NOT JEWISH!! So I threw down my favorite dreidel and ran straight to the grocery store to find some quality bacon. I'm glad I did. That first taste of bacon was enough to make my heart melt. Now I understand Anthony Bourdain's deep and abiding love of those fatty creatures!

Kim Knoch at The Nourishing Cook has given herself quite a challenge.

I'm finally ready to start working on back posts I need to catch up on. We've had so much going on with our move to Uruguay. I have all my pictures in order, but I won't be able to post any recipes for quite some time. Most of my cookbooks are in storage in the US, I'm afraid.

This is the chicken liver pate I made for our Boston Tea Party 2009. I love pate, but I haven't been able to eat it for quite some time since it contains butter and cream. I hope I get better soon. Then I'll gorge on delicious things like pate!

Unfortunately this recipe isn't casein free. Fortunately, if you don't have a problem with casein, it tastes really great!

It's taken from "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon.

You can make it entirely in a food processor. You'll need:

It was time for me to make a big batch of baked beans again, so I thought I would document it and share the recipe. The recipe can be found on page 497 of Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

If you find yourself and your children sick and tired, why not try switching to an alternative food pyramid. This food pyramid might just give you the good health and bountiful energy you've always wanted.

The New Food Pyramid