Thai Green Curry (Gaeng Kiaw Wan)

The Lowdown:

I'm not sure that I've ever gone out for Thai food and not ordered a variation of this dish. It always manages to catch my attention, despite my best efforts to explore the remainder of the menu. In the end, what does it matter? Get a doggy bag and take it all home for later. However, this post isn't an meant to be an ode to my favourite Thai restaurants in town. Nor is it meant to praise one of my favourite "poor me, poor me, I'm sick and need a cure" recipes (although seriously, all that garlic, ginger, and shallots is a wonderful preventative medicine). No, this post is intended for something far more devious -- playful revenge.

I feel that over this holiday season, a bit of public payback is in order. Being the perfect son that I am, I decided that my parents would probably love a break from cooking while I was in their neck of the [urban] woods. Given that I love cooking, and they were paying for the groceries, it seemed perfect. Oh god how much I miss them paying for groceries.

Winters in Toronto can be quite brisk, making a spicy Thai green curry the perfect dish to make. After braving the cold, then fighting tooth and nail in the grocery store (December 23 in a grocery store is near suicide) I came home to the question, "why didn't you just buy the packaged green curry paste?" Oh, the humility! If this wasn't enough, it was soon followed by, "if it's not good, you still have time to go to the store and buy the packaged stuff." Oh lord, please help me restrain myself. And now everyone knows the antics I must deal with.

The Playlist:

Curry Paste:
4 Serrano peppers, chopped
1 large piece Ginger, chopped
2 Shallots, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 bunch Cilantro, stems only
1 Lime, zest and juice
1 Lemongrass stalk, outer layer removed then chopped
1 tbsp Oyster sauce
1 tbsp Fish sauce
1 tsp Coriander, ground
1 tsp Cumin, ground
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp White pepper, ground

Ingredients:
1 lb Mussels, fresh
1/2 lb Prawns
2 cups Shitake mushrooms, coursely chopped (optional)
Vegetables, julienne (optional)
3 cups Sui choy, chopped
3 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 can Coconut milk
2 cups Chicken broth (optional)
5 Kaffir lime leaves
Thai basil leaves, to taste
Thai chili peppers, to taste
Coriander, to taste

The Skinny:

  
After trial and error, along with a helpful tip, I found that an immersion blender is the easiest way with the best results. Apparently it releases the fragrance and oils of each of the curry paste ingredients. Optimally, a stone mortar and pestle works best, but it takes much longer and I don't own one.

1. In immersion blender measuring cup (tall and thin): add lemongrass, ginger, and serrano peppers. Using immersion blender mince until a grainy paste forms. Then add shallots, garlic, and lime peels and repeat the blending process. Finally add the remaining curry paste ingredients and repeat the blending process.
2. The curry paste makes a dish for 5-7 people. Or it can be separated into two dishes for 2-3 people. The remainder of the instructions are for the smaller portion. For the larger portion you can double the ingredients or add them as you please. The paste can be refrigerated for two weeks or frozen.
3. In large wok: heat oil on medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add curry paste and cook until fragrant (about 5 minutes). This requires constant stirring so that the paste doesn't burn. Add 1/4 of the coconut milk and continue mixing until it becomes the same consistency as a thin guacamole. Reduce heat to medium-low, add the remaining coconut milk and bring back to a gentle boil. Add chicken broth and simmer for 30 - 45 minutes. 
4. Remove 2 cups of liquid and set aside.
5. To wok: If bell peppers and celery are desired add them now and cook for 5 minutes. Add Thai basil, Thai chili peppers, mushrooms, and kaffir lime leaves and remove from heat.
6. Remove curry from the wok and place in a serving dish and set aside.
7. In wok: on high heat add the liquid that was set aside and bring to a boil. Add mussels and prawns and cover. Cook until mussel shells open (about 2-3 minutes). Remove all mussels that remained shut. 
8. Add mussels, broth, and prawns to the serving dish.
9. Serve with rice and the chopped sui choy. Pouring the broth over the sui choy in individual bowls cooks it just enough so that it remains firm.

Stay Rad -h
Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers, 33 Shades of Green, Chef in Training, Food Renegade, Foodie Friday,  

 

RPI: Mission Lamb (Roast Lamb Dinner)

Sometimes you want original... Something new and exciting and inventive.

...and sometimes you want traditional. Moments and places that just shouldn't be ef'd with.

Does that make traditional boring? Nay! It's comforting. And gentle. And in this case, generally and specifically delicious.

When lamb was selected for our next Rock Paper Ingredient challenge, I couldn't have been happier. Lamb is by far, in my top ten ingredients of all time. Nothing beats moist, perfectly cooked lamb with all it's gamey succulence and tender, fall apart in your mouth texture. Lamb. Oh lamb. lamb. lamb. Yes. Lamb. 

Pair it with a big fat, kick ya in the crotch red wine, and you'll have me purring faster than a....well, than a cat getting it's belly scratched. Please don't scratch my belly. Especially when it's full of lamb and red wine. Because chances are, I ate a lot of lamb. And drank a lot of red wine. And I'm havin me some lamby red wine babies - and you should never - EVER - walk up and rub a pregnant woman's belly.

My choice for RPI Mission Lamb: Lamb roast dinner. Ain't nothin' wrong with that. Not boring. Not unoriginal. Not a bad idea at all. In fact, it was comforting. And gentle. And generally and specifically delicious.

Roast Lamb Dinner
(printable recipe) - serves 5-6.

Ingredients:

3 Lb. Lamb Roast, no bone.
1 Head of Garlic, peeled.
2 Apples, cored and cut into quarters.
3 Leeks, washed and sliced.
1 Lemon for juice and zest.
Handful of Fresh Rosemary.
Handful of Fresh Thyme.
1 Tbsp Coriander Seeds.
2 Tbsp Butter.
1 C Dry Red Wine.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Coarse Sea Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

What to Do:

12 - 24 hours in advance: Marinate the lamb. First, truss the lamb with butcher string to ensure even thickness of the lamb all the way around. In a pestle and mortar, bash together the coriander, lemon zest, and a good dose of salt and pepper. Once the pods are open and fragrant, pour into a freezer bag or appropriate sealable container along with the herbs and a few good glugs of olive oil. Place lamb in the container and massage into the marinade. Seal and place in the fridge to marinate, occasionally rotating to ensure even marination.

When it's time to cook: Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F and place a cast-iron pan over fairly high heat.

As that heats,  place in hot pan and sear until you have good color on each side. Remove from the heat and place on a wire rack in a roasting pan. Throw in the rest of the ingredients - the butter, wine and lemon juice - and tuck around the lamb. Cover and place in oven. Roast for an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half or until a thermometer reads 132-135 degrees F for medium rare.

Remove from the oven, place meat and wire rack over a cutting board and cover with foil. Allow the meat to rest 10-15 minutes. Slice thinly and serve.

While the meat rests, make your sauce. In the same dirty pan you seared the lamb in, add the red wine, a sprig or two of herbs and a good helping of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat and then turn heat down to a simmer. Allow the wine to reduce by half, making sure to scrape all the bits off the bottom of the pan. Stir in the butter and lemon juice. Strain through a fine sieve and serve along side lamb.

Eat.

Rippin' Another Blog: Poulet au Riesling

Good morning darling readers!

I was thinking this morning... How often do we food bloggers - and food blog readers - prowl the internet in search of the most amazing looking, sounding, tasting recipes, only to bookmark or pin or comment on them...and then they go forgotten...?

They go unmade.

And as a food blogger myself, I rarely make the same dish more than once, even if it was fucking spectacular. The exception being of course, if I have company over for dinner and I want to share a recent culinary success story with them.

But because I need new posts, I need new recipes. New ideas. New new new! So I prowl. We prowl. We find inspiration in each other. But rarely, do we actually follow someone else's recipe. We think it makes us more distinguished if we create our own. What food masters we are! Yeaaahhh.....

That's why I love Haydn and my series, Rippin' Another Blog. I actually get the opportunity to make someone else's dish. Of course there are the odd modifications or substitutions based on availability and personal preference but generally, it's their recipe. And what makes a food blogger feel better than when someone actually makes their dish? Pretty much nothing. Except letting them know you made their dish. Comments my friends, we all love comments. We pine for comments!

Something else I pine for? More of Katie's Poulet au Riesling. Chicken? Good! Riesling? Good! And I relish the opportunity to use a sweeter white wine in savory cooking than a dry one. Why the heck not, right?

I first became acquainted with Katie's blog, So Tasty, So Yummy, through The Secret Recipe Club - another fantastic medium I participate in @ Gastronomical Sovereignty through which I make recipes from other people's blogs. And let me tell you, I'm glad I did. She's clever, inspiring and kind of hot. And by kind of, I mean the chick is smokin'.

...and so is this dish. Bland chicken? Hells no! Sweet, creamy, herby, fantastic chicken? Yes!

Poulet au Riesling

(printable recipe) - serves 4.

Recipe c/o So Tasty, So Yummy

Ingredients:

3 Slices of Bacon, chopped.

4 Pastured Chicken Thighs.

1 Medium Onion, peeled and chopped.

2 Garlic Cloves, peeled and thinly sliced.

½ Lb Forest Mushrooms, thinly sliced.

6 Medium Sized Carrots, sliced.

2 C Riesling.

2/3 C Heavy Cream.

2 Tbsp Parsley, chopped.

1/2 Tsp Freshly Ground Nutmeg.

Coarse Sea Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

What to Do:

Heat a Dutch oven or enamel roasting pan over medium-high heat. Throw in the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside.

Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Arrange skin side down in the bacon fat and cook until brown and crispy. Remove and set aside with the bacon. 

Discard all but 4 tablespoons of the fat. Reduce the heat to medium and sauté onions and garlic until soft. 

Add the mushrooms and carrots, stir and continue cooking until heated through, approx. 3 minutes. 

Turn the heat to high and pour in the wine. When it comes to a rolling boil put the chicken and bacon back in the pot. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Simmer uncovered until the chicken is cooked through, approx 45 minutes. 

Remove the chicken from the pan. Add cream and boil until sauce is reduced somewhat and starting to thicken. Return chicken to the sauce. Add parsley and serve.

Eat.

Do you ever actually make the recipes you find online? Or do they get lost in Pinterest land?

Rippin' Another Blog: Shepherd's Pie (Not Cottage Pie)

I don't talk too much about my romantic relationship on my blogs.

But John is instrumental in helping me get my posts done. He is endlessly supportive in his words, unquestioningly generous in his efforts to help me get the shots I need and constantly puts up with being served cold food because of said photo needs. He also eats everything. Good or bad. And he's honest too.

Honest about shepherd's pie.

I know right? In this moment you're like, wtf?

I grew up eating shepherd's pie. Or so I thought I did. Fast-forward 15 years or so and I learn that what I thought I was eating all those years was a farce. Or at the very least, a cultural hiccup.

Cottage pie V. shepherd's pie. 

Cottage pie is what we typically call shepherd's pie in North America. Ground beef, carrots, peas, onions, potatoes, baked in the oven and (hopefully) smothered in gravy. Uh, yes. Yum. Yes? Yes. 

But what this very clever and sexy beer-drinking physics-loving film-geek Brit told me was shepherd's pie must entail lamb. Hence the shepherd. Baaaahhh! (sheep noise). With beef it's simply cottage pie. And with the dish being of the English variety, he should know.

Rug. Ripped. Out. From. Under. Me.

Luckily he was there to catch me and I've been calling a spade a spade ever since - cottage pie = cows, shepherd's pie = sheep. Unless of course I want to give him a hard time... and then I conflate the two. Because I'm a bitch like that.

Speaking of bitches .... this recipe comes courtesy of a little blog titled The Domestic Man. It's okay to segue bitches because men can't be bitches. Can they? I followed his recipe to a T - actually, I followed it right into my stomach because it was Ah-mazing! Thank you Domestic Man for making my mouth happy and my blog a space to speak out about a very important issue. Baaaahhhh!

Shepherd's Pie (Not Cottage Pie)

(printable recipe) - serves 6.

Ingredients:

1.5 Lbs Ground Lamb.
3 Medium Russet Potatoes, peeled and chopped.
1 Small White Onion, diced.
1 Medium Carrot, diced.
1 Celery Root, diced.
2 Cloves Garlic, minced.
1 Tbsp Tomato Paste.
1/2 C Chicken Broth.
 2 Tsp Worcestershire sauce.
1/2 Tsp each fresh thyme and rosemary, stemmed and chopped.
1/2 C Frozen Peas.
3 Tbsp Butter .
1/2 C Heavy Cream.
Coarse Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

What to Do:

Fill a large saucepan with the potatoes and cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until potatoes are fork tender - approx 20 minutes.

Drain and return the potatoes to the empty pot. Add 2 Tbsp of butter, the cream (starting with 1/4 C and adding more if necessary), and a good helping of salt and pepper. Mash until smooth but be careful not to over mash or you'll end up with a sticky gooey mess. Cover and set aside.

As the potatoes boil, heat a large pan over medium heat. When hot, add the lamb and brown, stirring often. When it is almost entirely cooked drain the meat, reserving the fat. Set the meat aside and add a couple of Tbsp of fat back into the pan, along with the rest of the butter. Melt and add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook until softened (approx 8 minutes).

Add the tomato paste and garlic and massage into the mixture. Saute a further 2 minutes.

Dump in the herbs, broth, Worcestershire and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and simmer until the liquid thickens slightly - approx. 3 minutes.

At this point you can turn your oven on to 450 degrees F.

Remove from the heat and reintroduce the lamb to the mixture as well as the peas.

Dump the lot into an 8" baking dish or roasting pan and spread even.

Gently top with the mashed potatoes - little bits at a time until it's even all over. Bake in the oven on the middle rack for 30-45 minutes or until the top of the potatoes gets crispy and slightly golden.

Pull from the oven, let rest 5 minutes, and then dish up! Feel free to serve with your favorite gravy recipe if you like gravy. Who doesn't like gravy?

Eat.

How do the people in your world make your life better?

Can men be bitches?

Chipotle Pork Black Currant Burgers

The Lowdown:

With summer in full swing, and me spending the majority of my time off at the beach, I've been "forced" to reduce the amount of time I spend in the kitchen. By forced, I mean gladly spending time in the sun and not indoors. Despite the rest of the city's constant complaints on our summer thus far, I've found it to be quite nice. I'm sorry, three weeks of straight sun without all the hassles of forest fires shouldn't be complaint-worthy in anyones' books. Not to mention, we've been getting the cool ocean breeze that picks up in the late afternoon so you can actually sleep at night. To all you summer nay-sayers, STFU (to put it nicely). To everyone else, heck-yes BBQ season is still in effect! Well, not for me it isn't. My anti-fun committee... Err, I mean my strata council wont allow BBQs because they don't like the smell. Yeah, that's right -- the smell. Not because it's a fire hazard. Not because the building is not fit for propane to be escorted through the elevator. Not because there are no patios. The smell. Thanks anti-fun committee for robbing us of our summer once again.

As the saying goes, "when God gives you lemons; make lemonade." So when you're given black currants; make burgers? No, I'm pretty sure that is not how the saying would go if there were one. Call me rebellious, but I really don't care. I do what I want... Well, I do what I want, if my girlfriend agrees to it. But still, I do what I want most of the time! Yeah, so manly. I wanted burgers. I had black currants (thanks to my late night shopping habits). Ta-da, enough said. I'm making chipotle, black currant burgers because I want to (and my girlfriend is at work so she can't stop me)! Watch out world, I'm outa control.

Now, off to set up a BBQ illegally on my patio and cook these burgers the way they were meant to be cooked. Just kidding, my girlfriend said no. Now I shall rephrase my past statement, now off to cook these burgers the way they were meant to be cooked... on a Paderno, non-stick frying pan? Drats! Foiled again! You may have won the battle strata council; but the war is far from over! (Now if only I had an evil cat to pet as I devised my dastardly plan).

The Playlist:

1 lb Pork, ground
1 Egg
1/4 cup Brown rice flour*
1 cup Black currants, fresh
2 Chipotle pepper, dried/ground
1/2 Onion, finely chopped
4 cloves Garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper, to taste

*Substituted for bread crumbs to make gluten-free (and because I was out of bread crumbs).

The Skinny:

1. You all know how to make burgers, so do that.
2. Damn you strata council. 

 Stay Rad -h


Featured on: Chef in Training, Premediated Leftovers, 33 Shades of Green, Carole's Chatter,

RPI: Mission Goat (aka ew)

Warning: I am not a happy girl. This is a post about goat. And as luck Haydn would have it, I don't like goat.

Actually, when Haydn won our last match of Rock Paper Ingredient I was pretty stoked that he selected goat. I was all, "rad! i've never had goat. this is going to be awesome!"....

....3 days later... 

i. wanted. to. die.

Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. But my nose certainly wanted to curl up inside itself and shut out the world. It smelled like live barn yard animal rotting away in arsenic and iodine.

In all honesty: I didn't try it. 

I was so put off by the scent of the cooking meat I couldn't bring myself to put it in my mouth. 

Funny enough, Haydn and I both selected a Moroccan approach.. John enjoyed it - good on him. I'd have hated to see it go to waste.

Of course I adore Haydn for being so adventurous (and dashing) and selecting such a unique ingredient. Well done, friend. I'm sorry I couldn't do it.... that's a hard limit for me.

Obviously I didn't keep my full recipe for this dish. However if you click here, you'll get the basic idea. Sub goat for the lamb. 

RPI.... you may have beaten me this round, but next time, I'm gonna burnin this mother down!

Incredible Crusted Steak Sandwich

Good morning to you my little chick peas!

Well, apparently it's meat-a-licious week at Taste Buds this week. I don't think Haydn and I could have made 2 meatier posts if we tried! 

That being said, a little meat never hurt anyone. Wait a second, that's not true. 

Take two: A little small scale, grass fed, organic, eaten in moderation meat never hurt anyone. There, that's better. 

Speaking of happy food, I have a bit of an announcement to make today! And if you've just come from Gastronomical Sovereignty, I apologize for the regurgitation - but how many different ways can you say the same news?

Sam @ Cooking My Way Through My CSA and I have been secretly corresponding with each other to bring you something new, fun and important next week! It's kind of a big deal - like us. Like you!

This is very cryptic, isn't it?

Oh hell, I'll just say it: Starting next Wednesday we will be co-hosting a weekly linky party/blog hop that encourages fresh food production, consumption, activism and awareness for bloggers and blog readers alike! We want to feature you and any and all of your CSA collections, farmer's market treasures, home grown/raised hauls, and/or any seasonal recipes or DIY projects or tutorials related to the above. Ultimately, we want to create a space and a resource for seasonal, organic, pastured, small scale happy food and the people that love it. Fun, right?? The blog hop will go live on Sam's blog and Gastronomical Sovereignty Wednesday at midnight, Eastern standard time with more instructions then. Hold onto your butts! It's gonna be a time!

And now to steal the segue I posted yesterday at GS - because why stop with the news? - how about a time for your mouth? A real good time!

....yeah, saying the same joke twice doesn't quite work, does it? I'll refrain from plagiarizing myself from now on. I promise.

Incredible Crusted Steak Sandwich

(printable recipe) - serves 2.

Ingredients:

2 5oz 1-1/2" Steaks, patted dry. (i.e. Sirloin, Strip-loin, or even Beef Tenderloin).

3 Oz Blue Cheese, crumbled.

1 Lemon for Zest.

2 Sundried Tomatoes, finely chopped.

2 Tbsp Pine Nuts.

2 Portobello Mushrooms, diced.

1 Shallot, diced.

1 Clove Garlic, finely chopped.

1 Large Sprig of Fresh Thyme.

1 C Heavy Red Wine.

Virgin Olive Oil.

Coarse Sea Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

2 Decent Size Slices of Focaccia (approx big enough to fit your steak), with one side of crust cut off.

What to Do:

Remove the steaks from the fridge up to 45 minutes - but no less than 30 - before cooking them. This allows them to come to room temperature and therefore cook more evenly.

Once they're good to go, heat a frying pan (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat. As it heats up slather them with some oil (olive oil or a basic veggie one will do just fine) and then generously season the steaks on both sides with a good dose of salt and pepper. 

In a mortar & pestle, mash together the pine nuts, blue cheese, sundried tomatoes, and lemon zest. Set aside.

Place steaks in the very hot pan. Do not move them around at this point. Let them sear! They will "release" from the pan when the outside is good and brown. 

Cook 4-5 minutes, flip. Top with the blue cheese crust and continue to cook for a further 3-4 minutes*. 

Turn your broiler to high. 

Remove steaks from heat, place to rest on a wire rack (to allow air circulation and juice flow) and cover with tin foil.

As the steak rests, place focaccia under the broiler with the cut side up. Watch carefully! Toast until golden and remove from the heat. Set aside.

Sauce: Reduce the heat to medium and chuck the shallots and garlic into the pan with all the brown bits left over from the steak, along with a small glug of olive oil. Stir well and allow to soften for about a minute. Add the mushrooms. Get some nice brown color on those babies. Once they look just about done, carefully add the wine and thyme to the mixture. Bring to a simmer and reduce by about half. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve: Place the bread on the plate, top with the rested steak and a couple spoonfuls of the sauce. Pair with a helping of Grilled Balsamicy Summer Asparagus, Smurshed Potato Things, or really class it up with a handful of Garlicky Oven Fries.

* This cooking time will result in a medium-rare steak. If you want your meat cooked less or more, here is a simple guide to doing so.

Eat.

Can you think of anything you can link up for the Blog Hop?

This post is linked up with Whole Foods Wednesday; Cast Party Wednesday; Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways; Showcase Your Talent Thursday; Full Plate Thursday; Tastetastic Thursday; Fight Back Friday; Fresh Bites Friday.

Ya need a date, stud?

That's right. I went there.

I'm entirely willing to pimp myself out for a date. And I'm not ashamed of it.

I'll give it all up. For one date. Only have an hour? No problem! I'll Give. It. Up.

....As long as it's wrapped in bacon.

I know, it's been done before. 

But I just couldn't help myself.

Bacon wrapped dates. Who doesn't love bacon? Who doesn't love dates? Who doesn't love bacon and dates together? There's a reason it's been done before.

Even when I was a vegetarian I still loved bacon. I craved it. I needed it. I didn't eat it.

But I do now. And I will continue to do so now. Why you ask? Let me make this clear: Because I love bacon.

I know all bacon = good. But seriously, get yourself some good bacon. Something thick cut, smoky, salty, and local. Stage makes incredible bacon - if you live on Vancouver Island you can pick it up at the restaurant or at The Market on Yates. Just get yourself some good bacon. A few pitted dates. And the best blue cheese your local cheese maker can put together. And then hold on to your butt. Because you are about to go on the best date of your life...Ow! Ow!

Bacon Wrapped Dates

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

10 Strips of Bacon, cut in half.
20 Medjool Dates, pitted.
20 Marcona Almonds (if unavailable, sub whole blanched).
4 Oz Blue Cheese, crumbled.
1 Batch Balsamic Reduction.

What to Do:

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F & line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. If you like, you can lightly spray with non-stick spray.

Carefully slide 1 or 2 almonds inside the center of the dates.

Wrap each date in a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place on prepared baking sheet. Place in oven and cook 15-20 minutes, or until bacon is crispy.

Remove from the oven, plate, sprinkle with cheese & top with a drizzle or two of balsamic reduction.

Die of exquisite bacon goodness.

Eat.

This post is linked up with Whole Foods Wednesday; Cast Party Wednesday; Tastetastic Thursday; Full Plate Thursday; Simple Lives Thursday; Fight Back Friday; Fresh Bites Friday; Seasonal Celebration Sunday;  The Hearth & Soul Blog Hop via The 21st Century Housewife; Tasty Tuesdays; Slightly Indulgent Tuesday; Tuesday Talent Show;

Homemade Hearty Beef Stew

Confession: I always feel a little conflicted about posting very "meaty" recipes. 

Those who know me know that I am an "ethical" eater. That is, I try to eat most of my food small organic, small scale, seasonal, and local. That can be tricky with meat.

Or at the very least, it complicates things a little more. It not only needs to be all of the above, but pastured and NOT grain fed, as well.

Side Note: I've noticed in the grocery store lately that producers are advertizing their meat as "grain fed" - particularly the beef and chicken. If you get anything out of this post get this... 

Grain fed is not a good thing. 

Animals are not meant to eat grain. Sure, they aren't being fed the chicken litter off the chicken barn floor or left over beef bits (yes, that is what conventional meat is fed) = a whole lot of excess antibiotics, hormones, and possible health risks for you; but grain isn't much better. It's likely genetically modified or engineered, grown on mass scale with chemical inputs, and shipped all over the world. You are eating all of that when you eat your grain fed meat. Not to mention what that kind of diet does to the animal who consumed it to begin with. 

Instead: Google a few hits, make a few phone calls and find which producers and/or sellers in your area are raising organic pastured animals. Pastured is key. Pastured is a way of living - both for the eater and the animal. It fosters the essence of the cow, or pig, or chicken, or goat, or bison, or lamb, or whatever your poison is. For more information on pastured meat, click here.

Back to reality: Right. So, organic, small scale, seasonal, local & pastured meat. Tall order. And the guilt that comes with posting about meat. 

We need to cut down our meat consumption for a sovereign food system. And when I post about meat - particularly without the above premise - I feel like I'm not doing the world any good. Does posting my meaty meal encourage more meat consumption rather than less? Or does it encourage a holistic, and natural way of eating seasonally? Am I thinking this through too much? Ah!

So meat: Eat less. When you do eat, eat pastured. And don't think I'm obsessing.... I might be obsessing. Just a little.

Homemade Hearty Beef Stew

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Lb Chuck Stew Meat, cut into 1-2" pieces.

3 Small-Medium Turnips, peeled & chopped into 1" pieces.

3 Carrots, chopped into 1" pieces.

8 New Baby Red Skin Potatoes, cut in half.

3 Stalks of Celery, chopped.

1 Onion, chopped into 2" thick slices.

5 Garlic Cloves, peeled.

2 C Beef Stock.

28 oz. Canned Tomatoes.

1 C Dry Red Wine.

Italian Seasonings (i.e. Basil, Thyme, Oregano, Rosemary, etc...).

1 Bay Leaf.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

 Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

What to Do:

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the beef pieces - you may have to do this in batches. Brown well all over. Remove from the pan and put in a large stock pot.

Once the beef is browned, turn the heat down to medium. Add a couple glugs of olive oil to the pan and add the carrots, celery and onion - this is the base of the stew (and many other dishes), it's called a Mirepoix (meer-pwah). Stir well to coat. Cook for about 5 minutes or until just starting to get a bit of color on the vegetables, stirring occasionally.

Add the tomatoes, seasonings, bay leaf, and wine. Season with salt and pepper. Allow the wine to reduce for about 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into the stock pot along with the beef stock, turnips, and garlic cloves.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and allow to slow cook the mixture for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

In the final half hour of cooking, add the potatoes and make sure they're covered with the liquid.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a great big hunk of honey'd corn bread.

Eat.

What do you obsess over? 

What do you think about my meat issue? Have you ever thought about this "grain fed" business? What kind of "happy" meat or vegetables are available near you?

This post is linked up with Cast Party Wednesday; This Chick Cooks; Full Plate Thursday; Tastetastic Thursday; Fight Back Friday; Fresh Bites Friday; Seasonal Inspiration Saturday;

Smoky Chipotle Lasagna

The Lowdown:

Dear diary, I have found a new love. Not the kind you leave your significant other for, but maybe the kind that you start to pay a bit more attention to. The kind you get to know it a bit better before you jump to any rash decisions. I recently found real chipotle peppers (smoked jalapenos), not the crumby canned ones, in my secret grocery store. Well, maybe it's not a secret store, but regardless, I found these delightful little morsels of awesomeness there. You'll know they are the real deal because they look like a fourteen week old dog turd and smell like a campfire. On a daily basis these are two things that should never be combined. However, in this specific instance, the jury and I will allow it. No further questioning your Honour; defence rests. Another great thing about them is that they don't go bad. Smoky and invincible -- how glorious (as a sunbeam shoots down from the heavens to land squarely on the chipotle pepper, illuminating it with a holy aura). Since I've found these awesome flavour bombs I've been having a bit of fun. Chipotle soups, chipotle rice, chipotle lasagna, chipotle everything! Well... NO CHIPOTLE AIOLI! I hate hate hate aioli. So please, lets just get over this stupid aioli fad. Great, now I need to listen to some calming music.

I've never made a lasagna before. I have definately eaten them though. Oh have I ever eaten them. Scrumptious devils. So this is my first attempt at a lasagna. The zuchinni was purely for health reasons and the corn was to make it a bit more southern. I used cream cheese because I recall really disliking the "normal" cheese that goes in lasagna (ricatta I think). Also, I'm lactose intollerant, so wish me (and my girlfriend) luck after eating this one. 

The Playlist:

2-3 Chipotle peppers, finely ground
1 lb Ground beef
1 lb Spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
1 can Crushed tomatoes
1 can Diced tomatoes
1 can Tomato paste
1 Red onion, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, chopped
1/2 cup Fresh herbs (basil, thyme, oregano), finely chopped
8 oz Cream cheese
1 lb Frozen spinach, thawed
Salt & Pepper, to taste
9-12 Lasagna noodles, el dante
Cheese of your choice to top (jalapeno havarti and smoked gouda work well)

OPTIONAL:
1 Zuchinni, sliced
1 ear of Corn, kernels removed (or 1 can of corn kernels).

The Skinny:

1. Brown the beef and Italian sausage in a large pot
2. Add onions, garlic, and chipotle pepper and cook until onions start to become translucent.
3. Add all tomato products, cover, and cook for 30 minutes on medium-low heat.
4. Add herbs and cook for another 15 minutes.
5. Mix spinach (or corn, or both) and cream cheese in a bowl.
6. Cook pasta noodles (read instructions on package for optimum cooking time).
7. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
8. Layer as desired starting with lasagna noodles (I did noodles, tomato mixture, noodles, tomato mixture, zuchinni, cream cheese/corn, noodles, tomato mixture, noodles, cheese).
9. Cover with aluminum foil and let sit (over night preferably).
10. Preheat oven to 400*.
11. Bake for 40 minutes with the aluminum foil on, then remove aluminum foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese is browned.

Featured on: Blessed with Grace, Naptime Creations, Mandy's Recipe Box, Shine Your Light, Things that Make you say "Mmmm", Jam Hands

Savory Roast Duck Crepes with Arugula & Stawberry Plum Sauce

Good morning my little sugar bottoms! I have a question for you...

Do you know how to roast a bird?

The usual suspects are turkey or chicken. Simple, traditional, tasty. Chances are your mother or grandmother or someone in the family taught you. Or you can at least remember chowin down on one of these fine creatures on Thanksgiving or Christmas or Easter (assuming you celebrate one or all of these colonial & Christian holidays) or in the case of my family, while camping. Yes, my mother required her camping oven be large enough to fit a full turkey. We really roughed it growing up.

But did you know you can roast duck the same way?  It's a little more work, but not by much. 

I was talking to John the other day and we were both commenting on how easy roasting a duck is but no one seems to do it. No one we know, anyway. It's just not in our cultural repertoire. That being said, there's no reason not to start! 

Now, don't let the cuteness of the little Quack Quacks fool you - their meat is sweet, earthy, moist, and so succulently worth it. Plus you end up with a jar full of duck fat! You think bacon is good, well my friend, duck fat makes everything better. Mmmmmm, duck fat. There's a reason my pants don't fit me anymore. 

FYI: The meat on a duck is limited and one duck typically feeds two very hungry people or three muchie people. Try to find one that's been able to roam and eat what it would naturally and organically - find a happy duck! And then eat him! ...well, maybe kill & cook him first. It's the humanly thing to do.

Savory Roast Duck Crepes with Arugula & Strawberry Plum Sauce

(printable recipe)

Ingredients for Crepes:

2 C Whole Milk.

4 Large Free-Range Organic Eggs, room temperature.

1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, room temperature.

1 1/2 C Flour.

1 Tsp Sea Salt.

Ingredients for Sauce:

2 C Frozen Strawberries, thawed & drained.

3-4 Plums, pitted (mine were frozen, I thawed & drained them as well).

Zest & Juice of 1 Blood Orange.

2 Tbsp Local Organic Honey.

2 Tbsp Balsamic Reduction.

Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

Other Ingredients:

1 Whole Duck.

1/2 Onion, chopped.

3 Garlic Cloves, peeled & smashed.

1/2 Orange, cut into 2 or 3 pieces.

Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

Fresh Arugula, for topping.

What to Do:

Pre-heat your oven to 300 degrees F.

Meanwhile, remove any giblets inside the duck, rinse well and pat dry with paper towels. Make sure to remove any remaining quills that may have been left behind and cut off any extra flaps of fat. Throw the "other ingredient" onion, garlic and orange inside the duck cavity and season very well with salt and pepper. Lift the little guy up by his legs and shake it around. Now tie the legs together nice and tight with some string (it's called "trussing") and tuck his little arms back underneath him - kind of like if you were to walk up behind someone and try to break their arms.

Place the duck on a wire rack in a large roasting/baking pan. At an angle, gently slice through the skin of the duck to ensure the fat will cook/leak off during the cooking process so you end up with crispy skin. Careful not to cut the meat though - only the fat! 

Using a smaller knife, prick the little guy all over to increase fat drippage. Again, focus on hitting the fat, not the meat. Season the outside with salt and pepper, front and back. Place the duck breast side up on the rack and place in oven. 

Cook 1 hour. Re-prick with small knife. Flip onto the other side. Repeat this step 3 times for a total cooking time of 4 hours.

Turn the heat in the oven up to 400 degrees and cook for a further 15-20 minutes.

By now the skin should be super crispy. Remove from the oven and let sit for about 15 minutes. Then, peel off the skin and meat, reserve, while tossing the bones, stuffed vegetables, etc... Voila! Duck! 

Be careful when cooking duck - they are uber fatty! You can wait for the fat to cool before you dispose of it or you can let it cool slightly, pour it in a jar and stick it in the back of your fridge for roasting potatoes, etc... It's to die for!

For a photo tutorial of this process, click here.

Now, as the duck reaches it's final 40 minutes or so of cooking, you can make the crepes and sauce.

For the sauce, throw everything into a food processor. Blend till smooth. Taste. Add more of whatever you feel is necessary.

For the crepes, add the wet to the wet, the dry to the dry, then combine. Whisk well until batter is smooth & consistent. Heat a small frying pan over medium heat, lightly grease with non-stick spray or butter and drop about 1/3rd a cup or so of the batter into the pan. Swivel the pan in a circular motion to coat the bottom with the batter evenly. Place back on the burner, cook about 1 min or until lightly golden on the bottom and rather solid on top, gently flip, and cook on the other side for about another 30 seconds or so. Remove from the pan, place in a covered baking dish and keep warm until serving.

To serve: take a crepe, chuck on some duck, some arugula, some sauce - roll.

Eat.

This post is linked up with This Chick Cooks; Cast Party Wednesday; Full Plate Thursday; Simple Lives Thursday; Tastetastic Thursday; Fresh Bites Friday; Fight Back Friday; Seasonal Inspiration Saturday; Seasonal Celebration Sunday; Tasty Tuesdays; Slightly Indulgent Tuesday; Tuesday Talent Show; The Hearth & Soul Blog Hop via Premeditated Leftovers.

Baby Cow Piccata with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce. Moo.

I don't ordinarily hit up the grocery store for meat. There are so many quality butchers selling happy meat here in Victoria I usually go to one of them - like Terra Nossa or Island Meat & Seafood in the Cook St Village or The Halal Butcher in Quadra village or if in a pinch, I'll hit up The Market on Yates. But I was at the grocery store yesterday. Lazy bitch!

Yes, I was at the grocery store yesterday, perusing the meat isle. And feeling like I was dying a little bit inside. Unhappy meat lives here. Easy, my sad little heart. This moment will pass...

...when a rather disheveled gentleman asked me"is that beef or pork?".

My first thought: what an odd question. Why not look at the label?

My second thought: maybe he can't read.

So I replied, "it's veal".

He looked at me like I had just spoken Klingon.

So I clarified, "baby cow. Mooooo". 

His perplexed expression then contorted to disgusted / horrified as he hurriedly walked away...

Maybe the "moo" was a little much.

Baby Cow Piccata with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

4 Veal Cutlets.
1 Onion, finely diced.
2 Cloves Garlic, peeled & finely chopped.

1 Lb Mixed Mushrooms (i.e. crimini, button, portobella).

1 Lemon for zest and juice.

1 Tbsp Capers, rinsed & dried.

Small Handful Flat-Leaf Italian Parsley, roughly chopped.

1/2 C Parmesan, Asiago, or Grana Padano Cheese, finely grated.

1 C Dry Red Wine.

3/4 C Chicken or Beef Stock.

3/4 C Half & Half Cream (or higher).

3-4 Tbsp Butter, unsalted.

1 Bird's Eye Chili (optional), finely chopped.

1 C Flour.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Black pepper.

6-8 oz. of Pasta for serving (I used pappardelle noodles).

What to Do:

 Place each piece of veal in between 2 loose pieces of saran wrap. Bash the crap out of it with a meat cleaver, a rolling pin, or a heavy bottomed pan. Make them flat, uniform in size, and lookin good! Remove from the plastic and season both sides with salt and pepper and then dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess. Set aside.

* Some butchers will do this first step for you or some grocers will even carry them already smushed. Warning: nothing feels better than beating the shit out of a piece of flesh. I recommend doing it yourself or you'll be missing out.

Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta, stir well, and cook until el dente - approx 7 to 9 minutes for dried pasta. Drain well. 

Meanwhile, throw the olive oil and butter into a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Allow to melt until just sizzling and then add the veal, being cautious not to crowd the pan. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, flip, and cook a further 3 minutes. Remove from the pan, place on a wire rack to rest and cover with aluminum foil.

Now toss the mushrooms, onion, and garlic into the hot dirty pan with a little extra oil. Stir well. Allow to soften slightly and then pour in the stock, wine, and lemon juice, lemon zest, and if using, the chili. Make sure to stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all those delicious veal bits. Hello flavour! Allow the mixture to come to a boil and reduce to about half the original amount of liquid (approx 3-5 minutes).

Remove from the heat, stir in the cream, capers, and parsley. Keep it moving until incorporated because you don't want the cream to curdle. Season well with salt and pepper.

Serve the veal on the pasta with a great big ladle of the sauce and mushrooms. Don't be shy. Finish with the grated cheese.

Eat.

 

This post is linked up with Tasty Tuesdays; Slightly Indulgent Tuesday; Tuesday Talent Show; This Chick Cooks; Cast Party Wednesday; Full Plate Thursday; Simple Lives Thursday; Tastetastic Thursday; Fight Back Friday; Fresh Bites Friday;
Seasonal Inspiration Saturday; Seasonal Celebration Sunday.