Curried Goat Stew

Yesterday at the Dane County Farmer's Market one of the vendors was selling goat steaks and stew meat, so I decided to try the stew meat.  I have a bunch of veggies on hand and some homemade broth and it sounded like it would make a nice curry.  It's in the slow cooker now getting ready for tonight.

The winter market seems to make its living off the popular market breakfasts once the market moves to the Madison Senior Center, but I go for the shopping.  Right about this time every winter I crave fresh local veggies and they can be found at the market.  Yesterday I picked up some Empire apples and shallots from Green's Pleasant Springs Orchard, some fresh spring greens from Don's Produce, spinach from Snug Haven, shiitake mushrooms from a farmer I'm not familiar with, aged white cheddar from Hook's, chicken feet and veggies from  JenEhr and the goat meat.  Tim likes to eat wierd things...he recently tried a dish with duck tongue at an asian restaurant-YUK!  I had mentioned to him that JenEhr had chicken feet and he said he'd like that, so I got some to deep fry for him.  He rarely gets deep fried anything so I thought that would be a fun treat for him.  Since I don't really eat meat I'll try a bite or two of the goat and then pick around it for the veggies in the stew.  The goat meat seems very lean, and similar to lamb at first glance...we'll see how the curry turns out later today.  I like my curry thick and spicy so I'll puree some of the vegetables later to give it the texture and taste it for more spices before seasoning-YUM!

Door County Cherry Granola Bars

Happy New Year!  Welcome 2012...the year the world is supposed to end, or some such nonsense!

Beast and I have not stopped cooking and baking-we've just been so busy we haven't had time to write in the blog.  I'm working full-time now at Sub-Zero and Wolf and it has been an adjustment for us in time management. 

One day at work I came across a recipe in Fitness Magazine for some granola bars that sounded really good.  I hate the store-bought processed ones with all the preservatives and stabilizers so I'm always looking for a recipe for granola bars that will stave off my mid-day hunger and will hold together while eating...challenging. 

Yesterday I made these with a slight modification to the recipe and they are a great consistency and quite tasty.  I can't wait to try them with peanut butter instead of fruit and nuts. 

I used dried Door County cherries and pecans and adjusted the amounts to about 6 oz cherries and 1/2 cup pecans and increased the chocolate chips to about 1/2 cup. 

They make a great healthy snack or breakfast!

Cherry Bounce

It's Door County Cherry Time!  The sweet cherries are done and the tarts have begun.  Last week I picked up a quart and made cherry bounce.  This week it will be cherry pie filling for holiday gifts. 
Here's a quick and easy recipe for Cherry Bounce:
1.75 liter bottle or jar
1 quart tart cherries
1 cup sugar
1 liter vodka, bourbon or brandy (I used potato vodka so it's gluten free)


Stem and pit the cherries (or don't pit as you prefer)
Pour 1 cup sugar over cherries
Cover with liquor of choice
Wait until December to enjoy!
Watch out if you eat the cherries-they'll be intoxicating :)

Dill Pickles

CANNED GOODS

It's pickling time again!  I have a love-hate relationship with canning since we don't have air conditioning and somehow it is always time to can on the hottest possible day of the year.  That said, I love it all winter when we can eat the local produce I canned during the summer for just pennies of the cost of store bought.  And I know there aren't any rat whiskers, mouse droppings or other disgusting things in my canned goods.

Last year my pickles were so spicy that hardly anyone could eat them...a few too many hot peppers in the mix, so this year I just made basic garlic dills.  I learned a new trick this year and can't wait to see if it really works.  Supposedly if you add grape leaves to the jar it keeps the pickles crunchy.  I had good success last year by soaking the pickles in cold saltwater for a day before canning them. 

I had 9 pounds of pickling cucumbers and this recipe made 10 quarts.  Use the wide mouth jars...it works best for fitting the most pickles in a jar.  You'll be surprised how few fit in a jar.  These have only 5 per jar.

I adapted this recipe I found through a google search and adjusted the amounts because I had nine pounds of pickles rather than seven.

9 pounds pickling cucumbers

10 grape leaves

50 peppercorns

30 cloves garlic

1 large bunch dill heads split equally between jars

1.1 oz pickling salt

10 cups distilled water

9 1/3 cups white vinegar

Next up....pickled watermelon!



Kitty Jigsaw Puzzle

Recently we've been doing jigsaw puzzles on the computer.  They can be quite challenging!
Try this kitty one that Beast picked out...

Pizza on the Grill for Memorial Day

Beast says, Forget the Brats, let's have Pizza on the Grill for Memorial Day!
The weather is supposed to warm up and the whole town should be firing up their grills.  It's time for some pizza on the grill in the Big Green Egg!
It's great fun with the neighbors and everybody likes making their own unique combination.  Take all the bits and pieces of things out of the fridge, top the dough and they cook up in just a couple minutes. 
Throw in some friends and neighbors and you've got a super party.
Our favorites:
Basic pepperoni or anchovy for Tim
Carmelized onion, bleu cheese and walnut for Lisa OR Pesto, feta and spinach with artichoke hearts and kalamata olives
Abbey and Sawyer like olives, more olives pepperoni, sausage, chicken, spinach, alfredo sauce, bbq sauce, not all at once, but a combination of these on a couple mini pizzas
For a quick sauce, get a can of diced tomatoes and peppers (the kind you use for queso) and mix it with a couple tablespoons of tomato paste and a little pizza seasoning-tasty and quick-no pre-cooking required.
What's your favorite combination?

Tequila Lime Marinated Salmon with Mango Chili Salsa

It must be getting close to Cinqo de Mayo because I've been thinking about margaritas recently.  On Wednesday I put together a dinner with Tequila Lime Marinated Salmon, Mango Chili Salsa, Sauteed Napa Cabbage with Serrano chili and garlic, and wild rice.  Paired with a fresh margarita it was scrumptious!
I used some left over wild rice from a couple nights prior.  Whenever I make wild rice I always make extra to use in salads, soups or as a side with another meal. 
Mango Chili Salsa

1 Mango

1/2 Serrano Pepper, minced

1 Shallot, minced

1 Tbsp lime juice

mix together and chill

Tequila Lime Marinated Salmon
1/2 lb salmon fillet or steak
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup tequila
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 Serrano Pepper, minced

Marinate salmon in remaining ingredients until ready to cook
Cook skin side down under broiler for 4-6 minutes, turn and broil 2-3 addl minutes
While salmon is cooking reduce remaining marinade over medium high heat. Drizzle reduced marinade over salmon when serving.

1/2 cup Napa Cabbage, thinly sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Serrano Pepper, minced

1-2 anchovies
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine

Heat olive oil in pan, add garlic and pepper, cook for one minute before adding anchovies. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, then add cabbage. Saute 3-4 minutes, add wine, reduce briefly then season with salt and pepper.