The Beefman Cometh

October 14, 2012 — Leave a comment

Our second grassfed beef offering has come and all gone. We had a quick taste and the taste was of beef. That beefy beef you remember when beef was bred and raised as beef.

All the good stuff has gone to our beef-loving customers. As farmers, we are left with some tasty “farmer cuts” that include a few perks.

As I ebullition my pot-au-feu, I feel a wave of beef recipes coming on. There are so many heart and toe warming dishes to get us through the cold winter months that will blow in soon … Oh so soon.

Little Green Tomatoes

October 12, 2012 — Leave a comment

I have a lot of little green tomatoes. My toddler likes to pick them. I stick them in this old mustard jar that doubles as a fancy drinking goblet. Here’s hoping they turn red.

… that is all.

Melon Farcie (lamb)

October 8, 2012 — 2 Comments

Every time I go to the butcher, I find myself staring at “the brain.” The sign says, “melon farcie,” but what does that MEAN? Yes, it looks like a melon as well as a brain. Is their melon or brain involved in the making of this farcie? So I bought one. M. Butcher said it was lamb with sausage-like stuff in the middle. I’m not sure if it’s lamb sausage or pork. If I ever get around to making my own melon farcie, I will use lamb sausage. He said to cook it at 160C for about an hour and a half

… so I did

… and it was delicious!

For whatever reason, lamb is a bit ‘spense here in Southwest France, so I enjoy getting my lamb fix in with a little melon farcie. I’m a cattle farmer ( in training. it’s my husband who does the real deal ). I have plenty of room for lamb and sheep … it’s very tempting. I think I’ll take it one species at a time for the moment.

Pork Roast Tonight

October 6, 2012 — Leave a comment

Pork studded with garlic and chilled butter spears.

Who takes the time to slot holes in your pork roast and shove yum potential right in? Where do these recipes come from? It’s so easy to shove a pork roast in the oven for a couple of low heating hours and fill in the gaps with a sauce and a song.

But I took the time. Then I gave it a right browning. And then I covered it with thyme. The recipe called for rosemary, but my rosemary was killed by those damn free range chickens. So I went to a likeness of my favorite seasoning, Zatar. This is a wonderful mix of Lebanese magic and thyme that I learned from my friend Bassam. I absolutely love Zatar and I think I need to make Zatar ice cream just to show how much I care.

Cover that lovin’ with some thin bacon. If you can find bacon without sugar, then you will love yourself even more ( if that’s possible ).

This will be cooked slowly for an hour and a half. I have peppers and leeks. Hopefully there’s something there if I add garlic, onions and a splash of celery.

Fridge Snapshot

October 2, 2012 — 2 Comments

Foie Gras fat
Duck fat
Lard
Bacon fat
Foie Gras in a pot made by Lucy
Foie Gras in a pot made by Olivia

Vivace coffee beans ( from Seattle )
Pyrenees Mountain cheese from a dude named Alain

Buerre Cru ( unpasturised butter )
Grassfed Jersey butter. Cru.
Pickles
Black olives

Pot au Feu ( with tasteless Blonde ) found in the freezer
Creamed Tuna ( leftover from lunch )
Beef surprise. Surprise! It tastes like beef!

Last batch of cookie dough ( with Einkorn flour, coconut, splash of oats and chocolate chunks )
Pumpkin purée from Otto’s pumpkin. Locked and loaded for pumpkin pie ( cue lard )

Foie Gras Gras

September 30, 2012 — Leave a comment

The best part about processing foie gras is all the gras that shows up to the party. I Love cooking with foie gras gras. Animal fat has so many good things, it’s a shame it’s been sufficiently dissed in recent years.

I’ll use this gras in many dishes. Morning eggs, veg sauté, special sauce and so much more. I’ve even tried it in my rye bread without issue.

Foie Gras In A Pot

September 29, 2012 — Leave a comment

Today, our fatty duck livers go in a pot for future yumminess.

Tosca, the house gourmand ( gourmand is French for “tubby” … But don’t tell her that. ), inspects each step.

Lucy deveins the livers, then salt and peppers each side.
Olivia, the expert duck farmer and foie-gras-in-a-pot extraordinaire, showed us the way with this ratio.

Tosca really is a big help in the kitchen.

Boil your pots in a bigger pot for an hour and fifteen minutes. Let them cool for an hour, then stick them in the fridge for up to six months. Though, I can’t imagine it lasting that long. If you have pots of foie gras in the fridge, you’ll be tucking into it like nobodies bidness.

Don’t forget to make sure the sealy bits are sealed.

Italian Fennel

September 27, 2012 — Leave a comment

It really is cuter than other European run-of-the-mill fennel.

Tastes great too! I’m thinking mushrooms, onions and fennel to go with these fine double-D ( ‘d’ for duck ) duck breasts I got going here.

Lunch: Foie Gras and Some Cheese

September 27, 2012 — Leave a comment

The recipe said, “expensive Sauternes, port and muscat grapes.”. I did cassis, floc, dash of white cote de Gascogne and blueberries ( and strawberries savauge, with a little fruit rouge ).

This is how we do it Gascony. It all worked. Foie gras likes it sweet and a bit salty. However you choose to achieve that is your own dang bidness.