Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Organic Woodland Bounty

As most know I am an avid hunter so if you are offended by the thought of harvesting one's own meat you may not want to read on any further.

I grew up with a father who absolutely loved archery hunting for deer. While he may not have had much success during my childhood the love of hunting and the appreciation of time spent together as father and child were quickly instilled into my being. I can remember my dad letting me take time off from school to go sit in a hemlock tree in an attempt to fill the freezer with fresh meat, memories which I will cherish until the day I day. Fast forward to the present year, 2012. While healthy living has been around for a long time the consumption of organic food is a relative new trend.
Looking back on my childhood I now realize that while my dad didn't realize it, he was a pioneer of feeding his family healthy organic food. Between the fresh venison and rabbit meat we hunted for each fall and winter and the bounty of our home grown vegetables each summer and fall not only were we saving money on the weekly grocery bill, we were eating food that was beneficial to our bodies and not filling it with hormone laced, radiated foods.
Now before anyone corrects me,  I realize he wasn't really a pioneer because long before anyone that is readings this was born that was how people survived and fed their family by raising there own meat, growing gardens full of vegetables and hunting for the rest. The fact is that is is easy to drive to the local grocery store and pick up what ever you are craving now but the quality and nutritional value of those foods can never match what you grow, raise and hunt yourself.

In the winter of 2009 I spent the morning in the woods with my daughter and one of my closest friends Seth which you can read about here if you so desire. (Click on the word "here" if you would like to read the story.) The deer Ariel and I harvest provide us with enough meat that we are able to limit the amount of beef we purchase and very little goes to waste during the process. The Meat, bones and organs are all used and usually the only waste is the stomach and remaining digestive track along with the head and pelt (although on occasion the pelt is used as well)
While the deer I harvested that day may not be the largest of deer it provided me and my family with over 30 large meals. The meat was portioned out for a family of 4 with enough for a guest or 2.
Once the animal has been skinned, I remove all the meat from the bone and cut the large sections of meat into the desired product.

All the tougher cuts of meat and scraps are ground (by hand with an old fashioned table mounted grinder) into hamburger. I don't add any pork fat to my hamburger when I process my meat. Depending on what we are making for a meal sometimes I add fat sometimes I don't.
Then there is the stew meat! This is good stuff - while we use it for stew it is also good as kabob meat and my favorite - stroganoff meat!
Then there is the "steaks" while they may not be your typical t-bone or rib eye steaks they are just as good if not better. I prefer not to cut through the bone because I have found the marrow in the bones leads to the heavy gamy taste that turns most people off to wild game. Of course there is the loin meat which is often referred to as the back strap and the tenderloins which are eaten the day of the hunt!
Once everything is cut up I portion it out and we package it for the freezer so it can be enjoyed over the next  several months. I am proud to say that both my kids ate venison as part of their first meal of solid food. While I may still enjoy junk food I am doing what I can to provide my family with fresh organic meat from the game that Ariel and I hunt for along with poultry and eggs that we raise. I also wrote a post on my thankfulness for the above mentioned meat which can be read by clicking here.

I realize that a majority of people may not ever go hunting but with all the local farmers markets the option of purchasing grass fed, organic and hormone free meats, eggs and milk are readily available to most now. So my suggestion is get up and harvest it yourself or support your local farmers - your body will thank you for it!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Let them eat cake

My wife has a gift for creating some beautiful sugary confections out of cake. I am always amazed at how she transforms eggs, flour, and sugar into such amazing looking treats. Here are some of her creations from throughout the years that we have actually remembered to take photo's of before they enjoyed by the masses!


















Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Some Like it Hot

I started with a paprika and cayenne infused homemade spaghetti. Once the pasta was on the rack and drying I began setting up the ingredients I needed for the Shrimp Fra Diavolo.
I minced several cloves of garlic, a couple different types of hot peppers,I sliced a large onion, several frying peppers, a large scallion and fresh parsley all from our back yard garden. 
I also made a quick batch of marinara 
Once everything was ready I prepared a bowl of peeled and deveined shrimp, I used 26-31 sized shrimp for this dish.
 I tossed the shrimp with some of the minced garlic, a splash of olive oil and a healthy sprinkle of hot pepper flakes.
I sauteed the remaining garlic in olive oil and once it was soft and aromatic I added the onions and peppers until they began to soften. Then I added in the diced fresh hot peppers and removed it from the heat. In a hot pan I sauteed the shrimp on one side, once I flipped them I added in the veggie mixture and a couple scoops of the marinara sauce and heated through till the shrimp were fully cooked. In a large pot of  boiling salted water I cooked the fresh pasta for about 90 seconds. Once the pasta was cooked and still al dente I drained it and immediately plated each serving. 
The best part was the last part - eating it all. Now if I only had a maid to come clean up all my dishes!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

When Bad Chickens go Good

Most people like to use the saying "When good (insert item here) go bad" but that isn't always the case. As many of my readers know I fancy raising some of my own food. Last year we decided we wanted a new bantam rooster but when it came time to sex the chicks I didn't have my notes and got it backwards. So I ended up with one hen and 5 roosters rather than 1 rooster and 5 hens. Once we realized my mistake I began trying to find new homes for these beautiful birds but being that they were roosters nobody wanted them. I decided to keep them as long as they were getting along and remained docile but there comes a time in every critters life that the testosterone kicks in and when that time comes with my chickens all the meanies must go! While some may find this crude the fact is they are chickens and not only does everything in the world taste like chicken, everyone in the world likes chicken - especially me!
 Now these were beautiful birds but once they turned into mean little roosters I decided to make them into a beautiful meal. Once they were processed they reminded me of Cornish Game Hens and made for a great one person per bird serving size. 
 I roasted them with carrots, onions and potatoes and lots of yummy seasonings
Once they were done I plated them with the roasted veggies, pickled eggs from my bantam hens and some homemade Peach Habanero sauce
They were delicious and proved that sometimes in life good things do come from bad chickens.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Anniversary Breakfast in Bed

Today marks 17 years of marriage and I decided to make homemade waffles for my wife. I presented her with a plate of waffles accompanied by a cordial glass of local maple syrup and fruity love note. I guess you could say it was a fluffy breakfast that ended up tacky and sweet! 
Normally I make these with all purpose flour but in an attempt to be a little healthier I did half all purpose flour and half whole grain wheat flour and bumped up the baking powered a little bit. I started with a recipe that sounded good and made lots of adjustments to make it my own. Below is what I came up with. The nice part is you don't have to separate your egg whites from the yolks. If you have a good blender it great because everything is blended in one container that also doubles as your pouring vessel when you are ready to start making the waffles. If you don't have a good blender you can use a stand mixer. With my Waffle Iron I yield between 18-20 waffles from this recipe. 

Ingredients:


Dry ingredients:                                                         Wet ingredients:             
2 Cups All Purpose Flour                                          2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Salt                                                        2 Cups Warm Milk
4 Teaspoons Baking Powder                                     1/3 Cup Melted Butter
4 Tablespoons White Sugar                                       1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract


Directions:


1: In a large bowl sift together all the dry ingredients
2: In a blender mix together all the wet ingredients
3: Slowly add the dry mixture into the blender once the wet ingredients are well incorporated. Continue blending until all the dry mixture has been added. You may need to stop occasionally to scrape down the side of the blender
4: Once the wet and dry ingredients have been completely blended together let the batter rest while the waffle iron is heating up
5: Pour batter into pre-heated waffle iron and cook to desired doneness then enjoy!
Happy Anniversary Rebecca - I Love you!

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Saturday Brunch

After a fun filled week I decided to stay in bed late today and justify it by making a hearty brunch meal for the family. This meal brings back childhood memories of my Grandmother, Angelina Aquilino. She would make a similar meal for me every week when I would go over to mow the lawn. Much like Grandma I used what I could find in the fridge - Italian cooking at it's finest!
Hearty whole grain white toast, crispy oven baked bacon, vegetable frittata and fruit salad. The saltiness of the bacon offset by the sweetness of the fruit married with hearty veggies in each bite of the soft egg made for an amazing first meal of the day.

The fruit salad was all fresh fruit we had on hand from our vacation snacks. It was seedless watermelon, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, granny smith apples, red plums, and peaches. For a pretty and delicious garnish I used mint leaves and a bing cherry. I didn't add any honey because all the fruit was ripe and naturally sweet.
For the frittata I sauteed diced onion, fresh hot cherry pepper, portabella mushroom, sweet bell pepper and broccoli. Once the veggies were soft I placed them aside and added olive oil and minced garlic to the pan. Once the garlic was aromatic I poured in my beaten eggs (fresh from my chickens this morning of course!) with a pinch of salt and pepper. I allowed them to begin setting over high heat and then moved the pan under the broiler to finish cooking. I topped the frittata with grated pecorino romano cheese, sliced scallions, diced tomato and a sprig of parsley all of which are meant to be eaten with the frittata. I spread the bacon in a single layer inside a heavy roasting pan and cooked at 475 degrees in the oven till a large amount of the fat had rendered out then I finished it under the broiler.


Buon Appetito

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Breakfast Delight

Rebecca saw a picture on Facebook last night (Thank You Heather) and it was too good of an idea not to make for breakfast this morning. My only regret was that the peppers I picked from our garden weren't bigger in circumference so the eggs would have been easier to cook to each of our liking. The options for these are endless - I chopped fresh garlic out of our garden as the bottom layer but you could add a slice of potato or tomatoes or broccoli or even better fresh spinach. Next time I think I am going to do spinach and garlic and some with peppered mushrooms! Because of their thickness I started them on the stove and finished them in the oven.
 A new take on Eggs in a Basket or stuffed peppers? Either way they were delicious!
The best part about this is everything is fresh from our back yard with the exception of the toast. I made the salsa with tomatoes, peppers, chives and herbs from our garden. The Pepper rings were picked only moments before and the eggs were ones layed by our chickens less than 24 hours ago!