Protein

We love our butcher.

I know it's not normal to feel such an affection for a business. But we do. We love our butcher. And it's that time again, we're heading out into the cold this morning to visit Groff's in Elizabethtown.

If you know Groff's, and some of you do, you already know what I'm talking about. If you haven't experienced Groff's, you might think that I'm a little crazy. But if you do visit Groff's I know you'll end up just in love with the place as we are.

Every time I've talked to a doctor over the past few months about diet they've constantly insisted that I make sure to get enough protein. With Groff's just one town away, that hasn't been a problem.

One thing that I've found very, very interesting through the past few months is that the combination of cancer, chemo, and radiation, has made by body only appreciate fresh, quality, healthy foods. It will reject anything else.

I used to drink way too much soda. I can't stand soda anymore. My snack weakness for the past 20-years has been Doritos. Jeesh, I think somedays I could finish an entire bag at one sitting. Not anymore, Doritos, chips, snacks of almost any kind, my body now hates. Try to eat some prepared microwave quickies? Nope, my body rejects that fast. Pizza? Burgers? Burritos? No way.

Now my body will only accept fresh ingredients, made simply and made well. Now my body will only accept foods and meals that I should have been eating all along. Overall, I'd say that I'm eating the healthiest in my life right now, because my body is insisting on it.

For example, Sunday I made blackened tuna steaks, with hashbrown potatoes and snap peas. Monday Barb slow roasted a piece of sirloin with red potatoes, carrots, onions and fresh bread. It's perfect stuff. My body agrees with it. And it's healthy, and at healthy portions.

Saturday though, we agreed to just order a pizza (I had a craving). My body punished me for it. Sometimes I never learn. I'm like the monkey who gets shocked when he reaches for the peanut.

My cousin first introduced me to Groff's when he was attending Elizabethtown College. It started innocently, with some homemade beef jerky. Then it moved into smoked beef sticks. Then it cascaded from there into everything else - the freshest, best meats of every variety, and smoked meats that are beyond description.

I do not know where the grocery stores get their fresh ingredients, specifically meat and vegetables. But they taste like styrafoam. It's terrible.

Once at Groff's they ran out of ground beef and they said, "No problem we'll grind some more." And out came a round roast, freshly ground through an old hand grinder, about 10-pounds worth at a time. Something as simple as ground beef, you would not think there could be that much difference from the grocery store. It's night and day, not even close. The grocery store ships in hundreds of pounds of pre-packaged, frozen ground beef from Lord knows where. It's fatty, greasy, and tasteless. Groff's is bright red, fresh ground beef that cooks clean leaving no fat or grease at all - NONE. It's spectacular.

I am a regular at Groff's, a loyal customer. They all know me. We share small talk. They allow me to order ahead by phone if I like. But I don't. Being a cook, I like the interaction at the shop. I can examine cuts of meat. I can ask for special cuts. Last visit I asked them to stuff a couple pork chops, and butterfly a couple filets. It's no problem. It's what they expect. It's part of the business of a real butcher shop. Try asking for a special cut at the grocery store. LOL Try finding someone to help you at the grocery store. I swear the 18-year-olds at the deli are having a contest to see who can find the best hiding spot.

Last visit to Groff's I asked one of the owners how long they've been in business. She turned around and pointed to a sign that said something like "Since 1886." I'm not sure if I know another business that has been in operation that long. SINCE 1886??? Wow!

And especially a local butcher shop, in this day and age when all the local butchers and bakers and candlestick makers have been run out of town by the huge grocery stores, Groff's is very unique.

One block off the square in Elizabethtown they occupy a space that they've occupied for years. As the landscape of the real estate changes around them they remain simply the same. And they still maintain the same smokehouse right there on the premises that they've used for years and years and years. If you arrive at the right time you'll see a new truckload of pigs being delivered.

Two sisters and two brothers, all of the same original Groff family that started the business around 1886, run the business today. All are beginning to approach retirement age. And none of the sisters or brothers has had any children, threatening the continuation of the Groff's name and the business.

I told the one owner, upon finding out that there were no Groff's offspring, "You better get busy!" I got quite a face in return.

It would be sad to see such a business end, especially because of the family lineage ending, especially after surviving amongst the giant food corporations while so many others haven't.

Tonight it's chicken cordon bleu, made fresh at Groff's. It can't get easier. Groff's has done all the work and we just bake it in the oven.

No pizza around here, no burgers, no microwave food, no Doritos - cancer is demanding healthy eating, fresh ingredients, made simply and well. That's no problem - we've got Groff's.

Now we just need a Groff's of the fruit and vegetable world.

Whoa! Too much blogging, I've got to get out in the cold and get to my butcher!