Lamb Shanks

On a recent trip to BJs I found lamb shanks. If you can find a local source, that is even better.  They were a great price and fit into my husband's Paleo diet.  I am not a fan of lamb but this recipe is great for anyone who is.  The ingredients are things you should have in your pantry and fridge and takes 30 minutes to put together and the rest of the time the meat braises itself in the oven.  So simple, so delicious.

Ingredients:

2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Lamb shanks
Salt
Pepper
2 medium onions, large chop
4 carrots, large chop or half pound of baby carrots
1 head of garlic, paper moved and cloves smashed
3 Bay leaves
1 TBS Italian Seasoning
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
2-3 cups beef or chicken broth

Here's how:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place a large soup pot or cast iron pot on medium high heat and add the oil.

Oil heated

While the oil heats, salt and pepper the shanks.

Once the oil is hot, place 2 shanks and place them in.  Brown on all sides, this should take 10 minutes.

Shanks into the pot

 Remove the shanks, place them on a plate and repeat browning with the other 2 shanks.

Meat browned

Place the onions, carrots and garlic in the pan.  The garlic is smashed by placing a knife on its side on top of the cloves.  Smack the side of the knife to smash the garlic.  Remove the paper.

Large chopped onions

Carrots and onion in pot

Garlic being smashed.  The one on the front has been smashed.

Saute the veggies until softened, about 5 minutes.

Veggies being sauteed

Add the bay leaf and seasoning.

Seasonings in

Pour in the tomatoes and stir.

Tomatoes in the pot

Place the shanks back into the pot.

Pour the broth on until the shanks are just covered.  Only use the amount needed to cover.

Broth is just covering

Place the lid on the pot and bring to a boil.

Meat coming to a boil

Place the pot into the oven and braise for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, remove the lid and cook for another 30 minutes.

Remove the pot from the oven and remove the meat and bay leaves.  Skim the fat off the top.

Use an immersion blender, blender or food processor to puree the sauce.

Place the shank on your plate and serve with the sauce on top.

The Time Has Come

If you plan on starting seeds indoors for your garden, the time is now to place those orders from your favorite seed catalogues.  Also, start gathering up your seed starting necessities like soil, pots, trays, lamps, labels, heat pad and your energy.  Spring is just around the corner.

Pumpkin Sausage, Kale and Butternut Squash Soup

I bought some pumpkin sausage at Whole Foods in November and put it in the freezer.  I also had some butternut squash from the garden sitting in a cool, dry place in the basement.  The snow storm this weekend inspired me to cook a nice pot of soup.  Since I was also doing things around the house, I made it in the slow cooker.  This could also be made on the stove.  To do that, brown the sausage in the bottom of the pot and remove them.  Then sweat the carrots, celery, onion and garlic, in batches, in the fat left over in the pan from the meat.  Once the veggies are softened, add the stock and scrape the bottom of the pot to get the brown bits up.  Then add in the meat, kale, squash and seasonings and let simmer for 45-60 minutes.  The slow cooker is a good way to make a no nonsense soup - just put it all in and walk away.

Ingredients:

1 lb pumpkin sausage or any other of your favorite sausages
2 stalks celery, sliced
3 large carrots, sliced
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups butternut squash, diced
8 oz kale, sliced into 1 inch pieces, large stems removed
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
12 cups stock, chicken or beef or a combo, homemade preferred
1 2 inch piece of Parmegianno Reggiano cheese rind (optional, not for Paleo diet eaters)
Here's how:

Place a crock pot liner in the slow cooker.

Add all of the ingredients into the cooker.

Diced onion

Sliced carrots

Minced garlic

Butternut squash.  I cut it up the day before to save time

Everything in the cooker.

Turn the cooker onto high and cook for 4-5 hours or on low 8-10 hours.

Soup is done.

Remove the bay leaves and cheese rind (if using) and serve.

American Farmland Trust: No Farms No Food - Friends of Farmland

American Farmland Trust: No Farms No Food - Friends of Farmland

Roast Pork with Apples and Onions

Pork and apples go so well together.  Usually I make pork chops with applesauce, but today I wanted to make something different with the same flavors.  I bought a pork roast from Dine's Farms and wanted to let the natural flavor of the meat do the talking. 

Ingredients:

1 2.5-3 lb pork loin roast
4-5 apples, cut into thick slices. Use your apple slicer/corer if you have one
1 medium sized onion, sliced thinly
1 TBS poultry seasoning
1 TBS cinnamon
1 cup chicken stock
Salt
Pepper

Here's how:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the roast into the middle of a roasting pan.  Coat the pan with foil to aid with clean up.

Arrange the apples and onions around the pork.

Meat and veggies arranged in pan

Sprinkle the seasonings on the meat and apples.

Seasonings added

Add the stock to the bottom of the pan.

Salt and pepper the entire pan.

Place the meat in the oven and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is 165 degrees F.  Check the liquid in the bottom of the pan during cooking.  You may need to add more halfway through.

Remove the meat from the oven, let rest for 10-15 minutes.  The  meat should rise to 170 degrees F.

Meat is done and veggies are soft.

Slice and serve.

If you eat carbs, this is great served over pork fried rice from the local Chinese restaurant.

Kale and Sausage

My husband is eating according to the Paleo diet, so I came up with this recipe as a way for him to eat a filling meal with lots of flavor and nothing he cannot eat.  The flavor comes from the spices in the sausage and there are so few ingredients that each one speaks for itself.  This can be made by anyone not just someone following the Paleo diet.  You can substitute the kale with spinach or collared greens if you don't like kale.  I just find the kale to be heartier than spinach and can make you feel full.

Ingredients:

1 TBS coconut oil or olive oil
1lb sausage, cut into 1/2 inch rounds, use your favorite chicken, turkey or pork. I used pumpkin pork.
1 onion. diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chicken stock, homemade preferred.  Beef stock is OK too.
8 oz kale,cut into 1 inch pieces

Here's how:

Heat the oil in a large, deep saute pan.

Oil in the pan

Add the sausage and brown, about 3 minutes per side.

Sausage browing

Remove the sausage and set aside.

Meat browned and set aside

 Add the onion and garlic.  Saute for 3-4 minutes, until it begins to soften.

Garlic and onion chopped

Garlic and onion in the pan

 Add the stock and use your spoon to scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan.

Liquid going in and pan scraped

Add the kale and mix it into the liquid.

Kale into the pan

Add the sausage back in and stir.

Sausage added in

Kale and sausage in and simmering

 Let the pan simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking.

After 30 minutes the stock should all but be evaporated, the kale soft and ready to eat.  Do not let all the liquid evaporate.  You want just a little bit left.

Done

You can see there is still a bit of liquid left in the pan

Roasted Squash,Sweet Potato and Garlic Soup

The name of this soup says it all.  Rich, hearty and full of flavors.  If you want a comforting soup on a cold day, this is the soup to fill your belly.  I found this recipe in a cookbook called "Soup."  I made a few changes to address how I made it.  Use vegetable stock instead of chicken to make this vegetarian.

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato or 2 small, 12 oz total
1 acorn squash
2 large shallots or 4 small
2 TBS olive oil
4 large garlic cloves
3 3/4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup half and half, cream, soy milk or coconut milk
Salt
Pepper

Here's how:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the sweet potato, squash and shallots in half lengthwise.

Scoop out the seeds of the squash.

Brush the cut sides of the veggies with oil.

Turn the veggies face side down, and place in the oven.

Place everything cut side down on a baking pan.  Add in the garlic cloves, skins on.

Bake for 40 minutes, until the insides are soft.

Remove the pan from the oven and set it aside to cool.

Everything out of the oven

Once cooled, scoop out the insides of everything and add it to a soup pot.

Everything scooped

Add the stock and a pinch of salt.

Stock and salt added

Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes, until everything is very tender.

Just up to a boil  Simmer for 30 minutes

Allow the soup to cool and transfer it to a food mill, food processor or blender and process until smooth.  Work in batches if necessary.  You can also use an immersion blender to do this step right in the soup pot.

Immersion blender smoothing out the soup

Soup all smoothed out

 Return the mixture to the pot and add in the cream or milk. 

This is coconut milk

Milk added with salt and pepper

 Add salt and pepper to taste, simmer for another 5-10 minutes until completely warm throughout.

Cooked throughout and ready to eat.

Serve. 

Oxtail Stew

Oxtails are exactly what the name says.  I have been seeing recipes lately with this and found them on a recent trip to BJ's. I know that they are not local to me, I can now look for a local source.  The recipe  is easy and everything should either be on hand or easily found in the grocery  store.                             

Ingredients:

2.5-3 lbs oxtails
Salt
Pepper
2 TBS Olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 TBS red wine vinegar
2 cups beef broth
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
2-3 cups carrots, large chop
2-3 cups butternut squash, large dice
8 oz sliced mushrooms, white button or baby bellas

Here's how:

Salt and pepper the oxtails.

Oxtails in the package

Heat the oil in a large stock pot or cast iron pot.                                                                                        

Brown the oxtails.  Do this in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pot.  You want them browned, not steamed.

Browning the oxtails

Remove the meat and set it aside.

Meat browned

Add the onion, garlic and celery to the pot ad saute for 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Onions, garlic and celery

Into the pan

After 5 minutes

Add the vinegar and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pot.

Add the broth, tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme and meat into the pot.

All liquid and spices in the pot

Bring the pot to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cover.  Simmer for 1 hour 45 minutes.                         

Brought to a boil.  Let it simmer now.

After 1 hour and 45 minutes

Add in the carrots, squash and mushrooms.  Cover.

Mushrooms and squash added

Squash and mushrooms tucked into the liquid

Simmer for another 60 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaves to serve.            

Ready to eat.  Skim off the fat before serving

You can make this recipe, place it in the fridge overnight and re-heat for tomorrow's dinner.  Scrape the fat off before re-heating.  It will taste better the second day!

What I am reading

My Kindle has inspired me to start reading again.  I had stopped for a while and the Kindle has sparked the interest in some of the books I have been meaning to pick up.  Here is a list of some books about the local food movement, farming and the personal stories of people who have been taken the steps to live and eat locally.  From starting their own farms to the Fabulous Beekman Boys to a local food advocate to a woman who goes to Michigan alone and fills her stomach and soul on $40 a week, these stories showed me that there are things I can do to eat locally and healthy.  Maybe you will find some things that you can do too.

"Hit by a Farm: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Barn" by Catherine Friend

"The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers" by Josh Kilmer-Purcell

"The Feast Nearby: How I lost my Job, buried a marriage and found my way by keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally" by Robin Mather

"Folks, this Ain't Normal: A Farmer's Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People and a Better World" by Joel Salatin

Basic White Bread Machine Bread

I keep on cranking out loaves of bread for my friends and family with my new bread machine from Cuisinart.  This white bread recipe is so easy to make, the ingredients are readily available in the grocery store and is preservative and chemical free.  Near the end of the second knead, use a spatula to make sure all of the ingredients have incorporated into the dough; scrape down the sides.  This recipe takes about 2 and a half hours until fresh, hot bread with little assistance from you.  Be sure to remove the paddle from the loaf when the machine beeps 6 times before the last rise.  It prevents your loaf from having a hole in the bottom.  This is the recipe for the large 2 lb loaf.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Water, 80-90 degree F water
3 TBS unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 TBS sugar or honey (I used honey)
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups Bread Flour
1/4 nonfat dry milk
2 tsp active dry, instant or bread machine yeast

Here's how:

Place the kneading paddle in the bread pan. Place all of the ingredients in the bread pan in the order listed. Do not let the yeast touch the wet ingredients. 

This is my bread machine

Water, butter, honey and salt in

Flour, dry milk and yeast in

Place the loaf pan into the machine. Make sure it is in securely in the machine. Failure to do this will cause the paddle to not be able to incorporate everything and the bread will not rise and it will be bad.

Press Menu and select the White setting. This should be the default setting.

Press Crust and select medium.  This should be the default setting.

Press Load and select 2 lbs.  This should be the default setting.

Press Start.

Near the end of the second knead, use your spatula to scrape down the sides to ensure everything gets incorporated.

When there is 45 minutes left, the machine will be six consecutive beeps, three times. This is telling you to take out the paddle. Remove it to prevent a hole in the bottom.

When the machine beeps to tell you it is done, use oven mitts to remove the loaf pan.

Turn out the loaf onto a cooling rack.

The loaf is done

Let the loaf cool completely before cutting for best results.

Mini Hot Dogs and Sauerkraut

Football season is a time where bad-for-you-food and too much beer can leave you feeling blah.  But you can still enjoy the game and some of your favorite foods at the same time.  I have found a Farmers' Market that sells meat from Dine's Farms which sells naturally raised meat.  They sell all beef hot dogs that are preservative free.  If you want to enjoy the game with some good old fashioned hot dogs, try theirs.  They sell regular sized and mini versions.  I bought the minis for this recipe so everyone can have the feeling of a pig in a blanket without the blanket.  If you are eating a Paleo or carb-free diet, this one is good for you too.

Ingredients:

1 package all natural, preservative free, nitrate free hot dogs
32 oz Rosoff Sauerkraut (found at BJs) or homemade

Here's how:

Place the hot dogs and sauerkraut in a small pot.

Dines Farms mini hot dogs

Sauerkraut

Heat on medium heat for 15 minutes, until the hot dogs and sauerkraut are hot throughout.