Lamb heart

This looks good.

Lamb Heart Recipe

Our 13th Year With Our CSA

Community Supported Agriculture and Farmers' Markets:  We love them both!

Dear Laurie and Matt,

With this email we acknowledge receipt of your check; you are signed up for the 2015 season!

We will notify you again shortly before the vegetable deliveries begin, which we expect will be in the second or third week of June.

Until then, have a great winter!

The Seelys

Springdale Farm

W7065 Silver Spring Ln.

Plymouth, WI 53073

(920) 892-4856

We Bought A Lamb

Pinn-Oak Ridge Farm is a lamb farmer that we often buy cuts from at our farmers' market.  We love lamb, and decided to buy a whole one from them.

I don't know much about the cuts you get from butchering an animal, but the were very helpful in walking me through it.  We are getting:

• 2, 2 lb shoulder roasts
• 2 racks, Frenched
• 12 loin chops, 2 chops per package
• 2, semi-boneless legs
• 2 shanks
• 4 - 6, 1 lb packages of ground lamb
• heart, liver, and kidneys
• bones for stock

They will bring it to the market for us in a few weeks.  That should give me time to figure out what to do with the organ meat.

I can't wait!

Winter Farmers' Market

We had a very successful trip to the farmers' market Saturday.

• Ground lamb and lamb shanks from Pinn Oaks farm
• Blue and Settlers' Swiss cheese from Decator Dairy
• A Bronze Ranger chicken from Dominion Farms
• Carrots from Springdale Farms (our CSA)
• Eggs
• Celeriac

I asked the guy we bought the celeriac from if he ever grew okra.  He said he doesn't because okra really thrives on heat and poor soil "neither of which we have in Wisconsin."  Too bad.  We like okra.  Fortunately is is always available at the Indian (subcontinental, not reservation) grocery store we go to.

The market is at the Domes on 27th street.  It used to be in the lobby but it now is in the green house next to the Tropical dome.  It's a better location:  more space and much better flow.

Squash

We get a lot of squash from our CSA.  I bet we get 4 to 5 every week once they come into season.  That's not a problem, though.  We like squash, and they are very simple to cook, and fast if you use your microwave.

Here's the recipe that I use almost all the time:

1. Cut squash in half and remove the seeds.
2. Place squash in roasting dish, cut side down.
3. Place in microwave and nuke it for about ten minutes.
4. Poke it with a knife to see if it's done, giving it a couple more minutes if necessary.
5. Fluff the flesh with a fork and add butter, salt, and pepper to taste.

That's it.  Very simple and quick.

Pickled Eggs

I like pickled eggs.  I'm not crazy about them, but I do like them

I made a batch yesterday, 7/20/2014.  They are very easy to make and "recipe" is probably too strong a word.

Steep pickling spices in white vinegar for about 10 minutes on a slow simmer.  Peel hard boiled eggs.  Cool both and cover eggs with vinegar and let sit for at least a week.

We add cooked beets and habanero peppers as well.  You need more peppers than you would think because the acetic acid breaks down the oil molecules.   The beets give them a great color and a bit of sweetness.

I am sure everyone is familiar with Penzy's Spices.  It's a Milwaukee company and the Penzy's parents started a spice store in Wauwatosa, The Spice House, in 1957.  It's still open and we were there this past weekend to get salt and lamb seasoning.  They have other kids who also have a sice store on Third Street downtown.

Bacon

For about a year I have been making bacon a different way than I used to.  In a cast iron pan I'll put a little water, enough to just cover the bacon (that's not a lot), then simmer the meat until wth water boils off, about ten minutes.  They fry it like normal.

The bacon nds up plump and chewy as opposed to crispy.

I think I like it better, but I'm not sure.

Try it and give me some feedback.