Donna nominates the 1970s/80s performer Meat Loaf as the first official entry in our Rock Group and Depression Buster? Contest.
Taking me back to high school, Michael Lee Aday aka "Meatloaf," was probably best known in this country for the song "Bat out of Hell" and his role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I attempted to join the online fan club yesterday, but due to technical difficulties, I am still just a member of the general public.
Meatloaf also happens to be a depression buster food.
Most of us make it with beef which is on the depression buster food list. Beef is a great source of zinc, iron, and B vitamins. A beef steer pulled in right off the range also has a nice bonus amount of depression-fighting Omega-3 fatty acids.
But Donna doesn't make her meatloaf like most of us do. When she first nominated "Meatloaf," I asked her "would you use beef for that meatloaf?"
Her response: "Yes, but I use ground beef heart."
"Whoa," I thought, "she's as crazy as I am."
I asked how much heart she puts in the meatloaf. Usually people who put organ meats in the meatloaf will put about ¼ organ and ¾ muscle meat.
Her meatloaf is 100% beef heart. She said:
In the past I mixed it with ground beef but eventually went to straight ground heart. Easier and I figured it was healthier and cheaper. It is different in flavor but not in a bad way to me.... I use ground heart in a tomato sauce, chili or veggie soup, or as a burger covered with condiments, so it isn't like eating a plain hunk of meat.
Donna recommends two books that I also recommend and have on my bookshelf:
I'm not an adventurous cook and have never cooked a beef heart unground. I started using ground heart after reading Confessions of a Sneaky Organic Cook (if I remember correctly, the author had the butcher grind beef with heart and lungs) and Adelle Davis' Let's Cook It Right, in which she promoted using organ meat.
Beef heart is a depression buster food as well. It is more nourishing than regular ground beef. I should work up a figure for its profile.
Thank you, Donna, for a great entry and for convincing me I should try 100% beef heart meatloaf.
