Oh Brussels Sprout

February 9, 2013 — Leave a comment

Whole, you are dead to me. Sure, you are a veg so I suppose you think that you are already dead, but you are that much deader to me should you arrive on my plate entier.

My friend, we’ll call him “Josh,” tipped me off to the chopping of the sprout. It was a hot, little number that involved bacon-y bits and pine nuts. One bite and I enjoyed an old vegetable enemy with new vegetable potential.

You can treat a chopped Brussels sprout like any run-of-the-mill cabbage. But when you cook them, you MUST sing. Sing from the heart. The lyrics. The meaning. Your struggles. Other people’s struggles. Love. Quand On N’a [beat] Que L’amour.

Veal Epaule
Fried egg on top
Brussels Sprout ditty that I call “Fanette” – onions, garlic, sprouts, pine nuts bubbled in duck fat.

Fats:
Lard
Duck fat
Butter

No Wheat Treats

February 7, 2013 — Leave a comment

For those of you in search of sweets without wheat, let me introduce to you the country of France. A country where cream is king. Sweets start with cream and build upon this custard or egg white-y base.

Oh sure they do “cake” but said “cake” looks like a cake, feels like a mousse ( snuggled with sponge ).

Don’t be frightened of mousse. It’s actually straightforward. Even if you suck at making mousse, your effort will still arrive with mousse-y characteristics thus tricking your target with culinary, mousse-y delight.

After many attempts with chocolate mousse, I’ve settled in on 4×4 Chocolate Mousse TM.

4 eggs
4 oz chocolate

It’s easy to remember so when you have five people, a cat, a dog and some chickens talking to you at the same time, you will not mess up the ratio.

Separate the eggs
Melt the chocolate
Whisk the yellows
Beat the whites
Fold it all together gently
Put in cute ramekins or little espresso cups
Chill, girl. Just chill

It’s gonna be a’ite

Yeah, That’s Right Stir-Fry Bee-Y

February 5, 2013 — Leave a comment

Stir-fry tonight. Long-day-short, we love veggies and there’s nothing more spectacular than onion-ginger-garlic trifecta in hot, bubbly lard. Oh and some veal scraps tossed in for good measure.

With a little veal leftover for breaky, I think we’ve made the most of this good doctor.

Garlic
Onions
Ginger

Broccoli
Red peppers
Mushrooms

Veal tendron
Veal escalope

Fish sauce
Soy sauce
Hot pepper paste

Enough is never enough.

And You Think

February 2, 2013 — Leave a comment

Here I am chopping up some veal in preparation for little stir fry after a running running boy party. My boy is eight. Our cows have at last stopped mooing for their mama. I’m really cold yet I wear purple stilettos and a short mini because, damn it, it’s Saturday. The onions make my eyes water. The ginger makes me salivate. Winter is still bringing on its wind and rain. But my boy, he is happy. And me? Heck yeah. This is exactly where I want to be.

Broccoli
Red pepper
Mushies
Ginger
Garlic
Onions

Soy sauce
Fish sauce
Parsley

and Veal Tendron

Guess What I’m Making

February 1, 2013 — 4 Comments

Despite the 16 and 17 C degree weather we’ve had, it’s still winter. I’ve been a lazy soup dragon and slacked on delivering that warm broth that keeps you warm and fueled for our workload as beef farmers.

At last, I remembered to keep my steak bones and makes some beef stock.

Onions + Beef Broth = French Onion Soup.

With these cold, stone Gascon houses, you can understand why one would keep a pot of warm broth on the woodburner. So tonight and lunch tomorrow, we have soup.

I use a Saveur recipe “Soupe a l’Oignon Gratinee” that has never failed me. I leave out the flour and the crouton. Though, the crouton is definitely missed. But with a huge selection of Comte and Gruyere, I’m fortunate to keep that authentic flavor alive. Don’t use any other cheese. First, it must be Gruyere. Failing that, aged Comte. But under no circumstances should you use any other melty cheese. Just cool the soup and take a field trip for the right cheese.

Colby != Gruyere

Is It Ready, The Pancake?

January 31, 2013 — 3 Comments

Oh hello my little French speaking child. Is your pancake ready you ask? Why yes it is. And here’s some Nutella. Mommy and Daddy had a big day on the farm. If I had access to take out or Mcdo’s, I’d be all over that.

But instead, you get crepes smothered in rich, hazelnut ju-ju.
And you will turn out okay. And you can tell your mates at the pub that when mommy and daddy weaned the calves, you’d get pancakes. And I love you. Pancakes for dinner builds character.

Lunch: Steaky Bits with Mushies and Onions served with Slaw

January 30, 2013 — Leave a comment

Gordito, the Bœuf that keeps on giving. Gordito was packed in fleshy, freezy lumps of unidentifiable origin. So when I defrost some beef, it’s always a surprise ( say “sur-preez” ) when it’s all warmed up and ready to go. Today’s beef was steak. I decided to thinly slice some of this entrecôte and brown it, remove and then rest.

Meanwhile, I slowly buttered up some onions and mushrooms with a clove of garlic. Easy now, don’t go browning the onions. A nice softening is what I was after. Don choo just love onions and mushrooms in a pan bubbling with butter? Yeah, me too.

I added a splash of wine to grab some flavor off the bottom of then pan. I added back in the steaky bits and lunch was ready. I served with cole slaw. My cole slaw is actually a slaw copy made by Coles supermarket in Australia. So really we call it Coles’ slaw. The essential ingredient to bring it from American Slaw to Coles’ Slaw is the addition of some chopped carrots with all the rest of the mayo and things.

… and yes, that is a lime-green Porsche Cayman by the steaky bits. This photo was not fluffed. You’ve just peeked onto my kitchen bench into my world where a Kinder Egg Surprise toy makes it to my workspace and is not moved until after I snap a photo and realize, ” oh look, a Cayman.”

Tastes Like Chicken

January 28, 2013 — Leave a comment

What to do when you had a busy morning and forgot to bring the frozen flesh out to defrost. You reach for ” cooked porky bits.”. A fleshy bit roasted, enjoyed, put to the back burner then frozen waiting for a moment, the moment, to save my arse when people need to be fed and I ain’t got nut’in. At last, “cooked porky bits” stepped up to show me what it’s got. and this was its fate:

1) Chicken Pot Pie – the biscuit edition.

Chicken pot pie is a quick “oh crap” dinner. Made from scratch, it’s probably quicker and more tasty than the frozen equivalent. For this round, with these ingredients, I substituted pork for chicken. In southwest France, chicken is hard to come by. “Cheap” chicken is bad, very bad and not so cheap. We are in duckville. I can make duck confit cheaper and tastier than I can serve chicken. So why fight it? I embrace and work with what I have. Which is pork, duck and beef.

My chicky pot pie was served without a hint of change until Lucy caught on and the buzz ran quickly around the table. Otto, my number one chook pie fan, loved it. The others didn’t detect anything. It tastes like chicken. Brent gave it a taste and said “it could be ritz crackers” for all he knew.

2) Stir fry

If you don’t dig on wheat ( though said pie was made with Einkorn ), I used the rest of “cooked porky bits” on a spicy stir fry for the adults.

Ginger
Garlic
Onions
Hot peppy spice
Broccoli
Red peppers
A couple mushies
Soy sauce
Fish sauce

All fried hot hot in lard

If Only The Interwebs Could Solve Scratch-N-Sniff

January 25, 2013 — Leave a comment

The smell of slow, buttery onions followed by small bits of garlic and ginger sprinkled with curry leaves. A setting that awaits your next move fills my small corridor kitchen of dreams and excitement.

This beef simmers in Sri Lankan wonder waiting for the cauliflower spice that doubles as rice.

Crackling, Chicharones … Potato potato

January 22, 2013 — Leave a comment

I spent a good few hours figuring out the right treatment for a whole lotta pig skin. I’ve read that every breed is different with regards to crispy, crunchy crackling. After many attempts, I settled in on high heat for a spell, then turn the oven down low to puff and crisp. This routine worked perfectly with crunchiness at a maximum and saltiness at a suitable level and satiability at a medium. I did the skin deep fried in lard and it came out looking good, but hard as a rock. I salted before, then placed on a roasting rack for my high-low process Dinner is soon and all I can pallet is a brisk, veggie stir-fry. That crackling, when done right, is a meal to fence a paddock on. It keeps you energized, ready for more productivity on your farm.

Girl On Grill Action

Stick a fork in it

Concoctions