Goat Butter Tarts = delicious!

I am a big fan of goat cheese. I could eat Chevre on my cereal. So, imagine my surprise when traveling home from Markham on Friday evening, on a road that has not been uncommon to me over the past few years, that I should happen to notice a sign for a farm store advertising fresh goat milk and cheese ... and it was open!!! I slammed on the brakes, pulled over to the side, turned the car around and pulled into the drive. I was met by two sweet little pups making my arrival known to the owner of the farm Ms. Wilman.

River's Edge Goat Dairy, located just East of Arthur, Ontario, is a working goat farm that produces the most beautiful fresh goat cheese (Mediterranean and Chevre), goat milk yogurt, fresh goat milk, goat meat, farm raised free range eggs, and, yes, goat butter tarts. They also produce a line of home-made goat milk soaps and moisturizing creams, including a fragrance free line for those of us with sensitive skin.
The farm is pesticide free and the goats are pasture raised with no growth hormones. They are beautiful little darlings. After purchasing my goods, about half of the store, I went out to the side barn to meet the baby goats. Most of them were only a few days old, and they were so cute.

The farm won the blue ribbon for their cheeses this year at the Royal Winter Fair and their accolades are well deserved as their Chevre is one of the best I have ever tasted: creamy, slightly sour, a little bit salty and incredibly smooth. I have to stop day-dreaming and driving ... I wonder what else I have missed?

Roasted Rainbow Trout with Quinoa and Greens

This is one of my go to, weeknight recipes... it is fast, nutritious and quite soul satisfying!

Quinoa, pronounced Keen-wa, is an ancient grain that has been a popular food staple in South America for thousands of years. It is easy to prepare (it follows the same prep as rice) and has a nutty, fluffy, creamy texture when cooked! It is also one the most nutritious grains/cereals/seeds on the market today, loaded with protein, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus!

If you can't find quinoa, I have often substituted whole wheat couscous or bulgur wheat, both are equally delicious!

Roasted Rainbow Trout
2 sides rainbow trout
1 lemon, sliced thin
1/2 bunch dill (or another fresh herb)
sat and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
butcher's twine

Preheat oven to 4oo degrees. Liberally salt and pepper both sides of trout. Place one side of trout on baking dish, skin side down. Place half of dill (or other herb) over trout, followed by slices of lemon, remaining half of herb and then remaining half of trout. Tie sides together with butchers twine. Brush with olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes or until done to your liking.

Quinoa
1 cup organic quinoa
2 cups organic free range chicken stock
1 t salt
1 t olive oil
zest of one lemon
3 T dill chopped fine

Bring quinoa, chicken stock, salt and olive oil to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork. Add zest and dill and stir to combine.

Greens
1 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic
2 medium bunches greens (I used rainbow chard), chopped
1 T butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 T lemon juice

Heat butter and olive oil over medium high heat until melted. Add garlic and greens. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until wilted. Finish with lemon juice.

Sage Polenta Stuffed Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Greens

Cornish game hens are basically little chickens, brought to market at a younger age. The flavour is very similar and the quality will depend upon who you purchased them from, as is true of regular chickens. I love them, every once in a while, because it is such a treat to get your own individual bird. I purchased these beautiful little birds from Hilltop Acres Poultry at the St. Jacob's farmers market.

If you have leftover polenta, slice up pieces and fry them in a little bit of butter or olive oil. This is a great base for a quick dinner when topped with fried mushrooms or tomato sauce.

Sage Polenta Stuffed Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Greens
3 T olive oil, divided
1/4 cup sage leaves, chopped fine
2 shallots, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 1/2 cups course grind corn meal
1 cup dry white wine or vermouth, divided
4 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1 T butter, for baking pan
4 Cornish game hens
1 or 2 large bunches Red Swiss Chard (or another green), chopped
2 T flour
salt and pepper


Heat 2 T olive oil over medium high heat. Add shallots and 3 T garlic. Cook until soft. Add sage and brown. Add 1/2 cup wine and deglaze pan. Add stock and bring to a boil. When liquid is boiling, add corn meal, a little bit at a time while whisking vigorously.

Once all of the cornmeal has been added, continue to whisk for at least two minutes to ensure there are no lumps in polenta. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 40-45 minutes longer over low heat, stirring well with a wooden spoon, every 5 minutes. Once polenta is soft, turn off heat and add cheeses. Adjust seasonings to taste. Butter a 9" x 13" glass baking pan and pour polenta into pan, smooth top. Place in refrigerator for at least one hour to set up.

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Once polenta is set. Cut into 1 inch cubes. Wash hens inside and out and dry well. Season the inside of the birds with salt and pepper. Stuff with polenta cubes. Truss feet together with string. Liberally coat outside of birds with butter or olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Place birds in roasting pan, and place in oven. Immediately reduce heat of oven to 375 degrees. Roast birds for one hour.

When birds are almost finished, heat 1 T olive oil over medium high heat. Add remaining 2 T garlic to pan and fry until fragrant. Add stems of greens to pan and saute until browned. Add leaves of greens to pan and saute until wilted.

When birds are finished roasting remove them from their roasting pan and set aside, tented with tin foil, to rest. Add flour to roasting pan and mix with drippings until dissolved. Place roasting pan over medium high heat. Add remaining 1/2 cup white wine and stir until brown bits from pan have been incorporated into the flour and wine mixture. Add water (or any leftover chicken stock) to loosen gravy. Bring to a boil and stir until flour has been cooked out of gravy, about 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Pour into gravy boat.

Serve birds with greens and gravy alongside.

lamb burgers

I had a craving for lamb burgers, and we wanted to try out our new meat grinder, so we purchased a leg of lamb and made our own ground lamb. The meat was fantastic! Just enough fat to make the burgers juicy and flavourful. I have made the burger recipe below with many different types of fresh herbs: chives, mint, rosemary and oregano all work very well.

Lamb Burgers
2 lbs freshly ground lamb meat
1 egg
2 T plain yogurt
2 T dijon mustard
1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 T fresh dill, chopped well
large pinch salt
large pinch freshly ground black pepper
6-8 portabella mushrooms
250 grams goat cheese (chevre)

Combine ingredients and shape into patties that are as large or small as you like. Grill over high heat until done to your likeness. Meanwhile, grill the portabella mushrooms, gill side down and then flip to grill opposite side. Top with 2 T chevre, per mushroom. Serve mushrooms over burgers on a multigrain roll!

Spring is here ... lets go for a hike!

We went for a walk on the Tiger Dunlop Heritage Trail in Goderich yesterday. It was my first time on the trail this year. It has become an early spring ritual and a path that I return to over the warm seasons whenever I find the time, or need, to get outside to enjoy the air. The trail begins along the old CNR bridge and follows the river for a few kilometres of gravel pathway, overlooking the river valley. Everything is in early bloom, flower buds are emerging on the trees, mallard ducks flirt with their partners, and rainbow trout dodge devoted fishermen as they make their way upstream to spawn.

As you can see I am feeling a bit poetic and excited about the new season. We purchased our first vegetable seeds today for our garden this year and I placed my order for heirloom tomato plants. I can't wait to start planting!

Fresh pasta with spring artichokes, asparagus, pine nuts and goat cheese

As promised, here is my recipe for artichoke pasta with goat cheese. You can make it with store-bought fresh pasta, or dry pasta (white or whole wheat), but making fresh pasta is much easier than it sounds, and it can be quite comforting as kneading the dough can be quite a therapeutic way to work out the days stresses!

I have used multiple recipes over the years for fresh pasta, but the easiest (never fail) recipe is from Italian home cooking guru Lidia Matticchio Bastianich's book Lidia's Family Table. Here is the recipe:

Fresh Pasta
2 cups all purpose flour
2 jumbo free range eggs
4 T good quality olive oil
3 T cold water
pinch sea salt

Make a well in the middle of the flour. Add remaining ingredients to well.


Slowly mix egg mixture into flour. Incorporating sides of well into egg mixture until fully incorporated.


Kneed for 5-10 minutes or until pasta is soft and springs back when pressed. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and let rest, at room temperature, for at least 30 minutes (or refrigerate overnight if you are preparing in advance).


Divide pasta into three sections. Roll out pasta and cut into lengths according to your preference.



Pasta with Spring Artichokes, Asparagus, Pine Nuts and Goat Cheese


Ingredients
2 T olive oil
2 T butter, unsalted
2 cloves garlic, minced
5-7 baby artichoke hearts, quartered
5-10 sprigs of asparagus, bottom shaved and tough ends removed, cut into 2 inch pieces
zest of one lemon
1 large glass dry white wine or dry vermouth
1/4 cup free range chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
4 T goat cheese
1/4 cup fresh chives, minced
pasta recipe (above)
freshly ground pepper and sea salt

Toast pine nuts in a dry pan over high heat until browned, remove and set aside. Heat oil and butter over medium high heat. Add garlic, artichoke hearts, asparagus and lemon zest. Saute until softened. Add wine and stock. Reduce by half. Add mascarpone and pine nuts and stir until cheese is melted. Adjust seasonings. Cook pasta for 2-3 minutes in salted boiling water. Reserve 1-2 cups pasta water and drain pasta. Add pasta to vegetables and toss. Add reserved pasta water if pasta seems dry. Serve sprinkled with goat cheese and chives.

Baby Artichoke Risotto with Lemon Thyme

I first made this recipe while living in Florence, Italy for the summer after my second year of law school. We had a gorgeous produce shop, two doors down from our apartment, and we would stop in daily to see what was fresh and seasonal so that we could plan our night's dinner around the ingredients. One spring day they had a beautiful display of purple baby artichokes. I brought a huge bag of them home and made this risotto that night and a fantastic pasta the following evening (I promise to provide that recipe at a later date!).

Spring baby artichokes are just starting to emerge at farmer's markets across the province. I was going to prepare some pictures on how to clean them but I think this fantastic slide show provides more than enough assistance on the subject.

If you would like to make this dish vegetarian, you can easily substitute chicken broth for vegetable broth.

~ Serves 4 ~

Baby Artichoke Risotto with Lemon Thyme
2 T olive oil
2 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 t lemon thyme, removed from stems
5-7 baby artichoke hearts, quartered
3 hand-fulls arborio rice
1 large glass dry white wine or dry vermouth
4-5 cups free range chicken stock
2 oz parmigiano-reggiano, grated finely
sea salt and freshly grated black pepper

1. Heat chicken broth over high heat until boiling, reduce heat and keep reserved at a simmer.
   
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and saute until golden.
   
3. Add artichoke hearts and saute until browned.
   
4. Add thyme and rice and mix until rice is translucent. Season rice with salt and pepper.
   
5. Add wine, scrape up all the brown bits and stir until absorbed into rice.
6. Add the broth to the rice mixture, one ladle at a time, stirring after each addition until the liquid is fully absorbed before you add the next ladle full.
7. After about 20-25 minutes, start to taste the rice. Add small ladles of broth until the rice is al dente, or the texture you prefer.
   
8. Add parmesan and stir until melted. Adjust seasonings.
   
9. Serve with shavings of parmesan.