SPINACH, ROASTED RED BELL PEPPER, MUSHROOM & IBERICO CHEESE OMELET

So, it was Sunday, and Sunday is a day that I take some time to do things for myself, my 'day off' if you will (not that there are any real days off for a photographer/farmer). I also like to think of it as a day I can eat a little bit differently.  More like a person that doesn't need to eat well, ya know what I mean?  Well, anywho… I don't like breakfast.  Breakfast is a difficult thing for me because it usually contains items that I can't/won't eat like bread type items - pancakes, bagels, muffins, french toast, biscuits, heavy with sugar-laden syrups and served with sides of fat filled, artery-clogging sausages.  Yes, every now and then they are good, I mean I treated myself to a bagel for Christmas morn', but for the most part I've never really liked breakfast.  I would ordered steak and eggs when we went out for breakfast as a child, just because I didn't like anything else to eat on the menu.

So Sunday comes now and I start thinking about eggs.  Now, everyone knows how well I eat on a regular basis and technically I do, but I recently had a check up form the Doc and found that my cholesterol was a tad bit on the high side.  I freaked out!  I mean, ME??  how could that be?  But then when I really thought about it, a lot of the foods I enjoy, although mostly good for you, some of the stuff I like too much is cholesterol ridden.  I.E. meat. I.E. cheese.  My two favorite things in the world.  There isn't a charcuterie plate in the world I haven't met and didn't like (ok, maybe the headcheese one - that's a little too much for me).  And cheese?  OMG!  CHEESE is the next coming of the lord to me!  I mean I bought a goat just so I could make cheese!  I find a cheese store and spend $100 just on cheese alone! Now, granted my cholesterol was a tad bit high but my good cholesterol was hitting the roof!  Way over the average number so I think that might balance it out.  I wish I could blame genes, but my parents passed away rather young and I don't know if they had cholesterol problems or not.

Soooooo, with the cholesterol monster screaming at me, I try to avoid eggs now.  Not that I ever really ate a lot of eggs, but I am more conscious of them.  So Sunday I decided to make an omelet, not just any omelet, but a:

SPINACH, ROASTED RED BELL PEPPER, MUSHROOM & IBERICO CHEESE OMELET

The cast of characters:

1/4 cup each chopped:  mushrooms, roasted red bell pepper, onion and spinach
4 eggs (I know the pic only has 3 - I had to add another egg later cuz I had too many veggies)
1/8 cup milk
S&P to taste (that's salt & pepper)
1/2 cup Iberico cheese

Chop veggies. Make 'em look all purty.

Add a little oil to the pan and cook the veggies (all but the spinach) until onions are tender - about 5 minutes.

Add the spinach and cook until wilted - about 1-2 minutes.  Wilted spinach…sounds sad.

Whisk together the eggs and milk.

Pour egg mixture into the pan.

Using a spoon or spatula, pull the cooked sides from the pan and allow the uncooked egg mixture to bleed into the area.  (this takes some getting use to, tipping the pan helps).  And it isn't easy to do with a camera in one hand and a spoon in the other.  Gonna have to figure this out.  May have to get out the ol' tripod.

Add the cheese.

Tempt the pig with the cheese rind.

Flip half of the omelet over the cheese.




Turn off the heat and let the cheeses melt.

Enjoy!  and don't forget to add the artery-clogging sausages on the side.











SPINACH, ROASTED RED BELL PEPPER, MUSHROOM & IBERICO CHEESE OMELET

1/4 cup each chopped:  mushrooms, roasted red bell pepper, onion and spinach

4 eggs (I know the pic only has 3 - I had to add another egg later cuz I had too many veggies)

1/8 cup milk

S&P to taste (that's salt & pepper)

1/2 cup Iberico cheese

1. Chop veggies.

2. Add a little oil to the pan and cook the veggies (all but the spinach) until onions are tender - about 5 minutes.

3. Add the spinach and cook until wilted - about 1-2 minutes

4. Whisk together the eggs and milk.

5. Pour egg mixture into the pan.

6. Using a spoon or spatula, pull the cooked sides from the pan and allow the uncooked egg mixture to bleed into the area.  (this takes some getting use to, tipping the pan helps).

7. Add the cheese.

8. Flip half of the omelet over the cheese.

9. Turn off the heat and let the cheeses melt.

BRANDIED HAM AND DAUPHINE POTATOES w/a side of green beans

Since Bob's birthday is Christmas eve we celebrate with homemade sushi, saki and a good time.  So for Christmas night I wanted to make something a little more…well, comfy-type food.  So when I was at the grocery picking up some more fruit the other day there was this deal on meat:  buy a ham get a turkey free!  Well, I was overcome by my thrifty upbringing and gave into the urge to buy factory farm meat.  Oh well, once in awhile is not so bad.  Right?  I'm a good citizen, I buy most of my food from local farmers.  I'm GUILTY!  OK!  I"M SORRY!  What can I say - I like a good bargain and I'm cheap.  (Cheap when it comes to bargains - not cheap in the sense you are thinking.  Get your mind outta the….)

Ok back to the food….

I saw this spiced brandy and herb marinade there at the store too - ok! I'm not going to the store anymore, I promise!  But really, I looked at the label and it didn't have anything in there I couldn't pronounce so I thought I was pretty safe.  It seemed non-toxic.  And I like brandy.

So I decided to marinate the ham for a day to give it that real brandy flavor.

BRANDIED HAM

I mixed together the mix as stated on the package, except I added more brandy, it seemed the logical thing to do.

Poured it over the ham:

Then set it the fridge to bake tomorrow night.











And the compliment to ham?  What else?  POTATOES!  I know - I'm not supposed to be eating potatoes either but IT"S CHRISTMAS FOR GOODNESS SAKE!  Ya gotta have the comfort food at this time of year, you do!

DAUPHINE POTATOES

Now, when I was working at a restaurant way back when, they had these awesome Dauphine potatoes as a side dish offering.  But when I was looking on line for an example they showed these deep fried potato puffy looking thingies when I remember them being a casserole type potato dish.  That's when I learned that the actual name of the one I remembered (way back when) is called Dauphinoise.  But that's too bad because what I remember is fact.  They will be called Dauphine Potatoes here in my world. That's just the kinda rebel I am.

The cast of characters:

1 TBS butter
1 1/4 lbs Potatoes - I used the fingerlings from my garden this year but yukon gold or some other creamy type of potato will do
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup whole milk (I used goats milk of course!)
1 garlic clove, mashed
Salt & Pepper to taste
4 ounces Asiago or Gruyere cheese
1/8 tsp nutmeg (optional)


Heat oven to 400* and butter a two quart baking dish.

You can peel the potatoes if you'd like but I like the skins in my potato dishes, I think it gives a nice added texture.  Slice the potatoes thin (like 1/8") and place in a bowl of cold water for few minutes.  Drain thoroughly.

Bring heavy cream, whole milk and garlic to a simmer in a large, wide saucepan. Add potatoes, salt & pepper and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are tender - about 20 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer half of the potatoes into the buttered dish.  Top with half the cheese.

Then grate some more cheese because you already ate half of it, I know I did.






Add the rest of the potatoes to the dish and pour enough of the milk/cream mixture to cover the potatoes.

Then top with the rest of the cheese.


Bake for about 45 minutes or until brown.  Top with a little grated nutmeg if desired.



Then add some green beans to complete your meal,

and WALAH!

IT'S A SAD DAY

Yes, the time has come.  Ezzy is slowing down in her milk production and I feel it is time to stop milking her and dry her off.  So sad!  I'm not sure I will breed again, as I am a really bad farmer and refuse to get rid of any of my kids so I do have too many. My goat milk customer is not gonna be happy! And I think for now, the break will be nice.  Not having to milk twice a day will afford us some time away from the farm too.  Most helpers don't mind the tossing of hay out for the animals, but the milking thing gets them a little freaked out sometimes.  I don't know why, it's just a little teat.

I will miss my goat milk, but I was smart this time and planned ahead, knowing the inevitable.  I froze a whole bunch!  This way when I get a craving for some chevre - I'll just whip out a bag of frozen and make it!

Sometimes my mind works….sometimes it don't.

This here is Ezzy when we first got her:

 

This here is Ezzy when we had her horns removed, (I'm sure the vet thought we were nuts, but we wanted to show her at the fair and you can't show a goat with horns and besides he probably knew better: you don't mess with a 4H mom!).  She had to wear this babooshka looking bandage for a week. And read the paper on the latest events in town (she's a socialite, what can I say?)

This here is Ezzy when we took her with us in the parade with the horses:

This here is Ezzy lounging with me in the hammock, I love my goat!

This here is Ezzy and me after she gave birth to her first set of kids:

And here is Ezzy and me after her second set of kids:

This is Maddie with Hermes and Athena

and this here is Percy enjoying milk - straight from the teat.

DARK DAYS CHALLENGE

It's been a long winter, not as harsh as the terrible -20 degree days of last winter but long anyway.  As I feel the approaching spring air and see the sun shining out there, all I can think of is - the garden!  How fun this is gonna be this year, we have so many new plans and so many possibilities out there!

But for now, I resort to my fellow farmers out there and buy their wonderful beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and meat from the Farmer's Market.  Don't know how I could survive a winter without it!

So last week, a few days I go I took the night to do the Dark Days challenge and make an all around, if not perfect SOLE meal:  Ricotta Cheese Stuffed Chicken Thighs with Whole Grain Pasta and a Garden Salad.

I took all the ingredients for the salad that I bought at market; cucumbers, tomatoes, spicy greens, onion and carrots, then chopped, sliced and diced and made a wonderful Garden salad.

I took the chicken thighs and stuffed them with home made ricotta cheese form our goat's milk.  Topped it with some homemade pasta sauce that I whipped up this last October from our plethora of tomatoes, sprinkled some homemade mozzarella cheese I made from that wonderful goat Ezzy's milk.  Baked it in the oven for about 40 minutes at 350*.

Add a side of organic whole wheat pasta and top with some more homemade sauce and walah!  a good meal!

DARK DAYS CHALLENGE - VEGETARIAN!

If anyone knows me they know that a meal without meat is, well, a meal that is lacking in one of the most important things in life ( I live by Basset mentality).  But I was challenged this week by our team at the Dark Days Challenge: to produce a fully SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) meal that was VEGETARIAN, one that  lacked that all important ingredient - MEAT!  Ask Louisa, my hound dog, and she will tell you - no meal is complete without ~ meat! (She prays every day that meat will fall from the sky - she does!)

So  I did it.  I went and looked at what I had in that there cupboard and found some sweet potatoes (our fav!), some salad greens and homemade herbed goat cheese and local walnuts.  What to make, what to make?!?!?

Well, here ya go - I did it!  I made a vegetarian meal that was to die for!

SWEET POTATO LATKES WITH GARLIC AIOLI AND A CRISP MIXED  GREEN SALAD

Oh baby!

 I took a couple sweet potatoes and shredded them, added some seasoning, egg, flour and mixed it all together, placing them on a cookie sheet and coking them in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Next I made some homemade aioli with garlic to top off the latkes.

Next I took the greens I got from the Farmer's Market a week and a half ago and topped it off with some home made herbed chevre, some local walnuts and added a bit of balsamic vinegar.

Add a slice of homemade bread and life is good!

Yeah, you wish you would've thought of this one yourself, didn't you?

DARK DAYS CHALLENGE - WEEK ?

Not sure what week were in, I think 8 but oh well, I'm just here for the fun of it.

More info

We have been presented by our administrators with some challenges!  Yay!  I love a good challenge.  This week:  One pot meals

Easy schmeezy, lemon peezy.

OVER ROASTED HAM, SQUASH AND BEETS
Ham from Huneke Farms
Kabotcha squash from Many Hands Gardens (Theilman, MN)
Beets from Merril's MerriBees, Chatfield MN

Take a large 6 lb ham from a farm not more then, hmmmmm - 10 miles away from yours.

Place in a roasting pan, set quartered squash and peeled beets in pan. Add a cup of water and sprinkle some cumin, black pepper and chili pepper on top, cover with foil  and roast in 350 degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours.

I made a little sauce from the juices by adding a little flour mixed with goat milk to top off the ham (guilty!  I can't eat meat without a sauce, I am a pure mid-westerner).

Crazy good, and easy, local, sustainable, organic, ethical and just darn right.

I'm tellin' ya - I am on a mission to prove to people this really is possible!

DARK DAYS CHALLENGE WEEK 6

Still not sure what's going on with the days but I thought I would pretend like I am on the right track. : )

When I cook, recipes are to me like fences are to goats: a mere suggestion.  So I find recipes and tweak them the entire time to make them my own.  This one sounded good so I thought I would give it a whirl and still stay within the confines of SOLE (sustainable, organic, local & ethical).


BAKED OMELET WITH ELK BREAKFAST SAUSAGE GRAVY

1/2 C chopped onion (Thoreson's Farm)
3 Tbs Butter ( from Wisconsin)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I didn't have any on hand so I omitted them)
 - I also think adding a lot more veggies to this would be a great idea-
3 Tbs flour
1/8 tsp dried rosemary (from my garden this summer)
1 3/4 cup milk (from my goat)
1 1/2 cups of cooked Elk breakfast sausage (from Pronschinske Elk Farm, Winona, MN)
1 cup shredded cheese (mine)
3/4 tsp salt - divided
1/4 cup milk
4 egg whites (from my chickens)
4 egg yolks (from my chickens)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar*

* not SOLE

For the gravy:
Cook over medium heat the onion and butter, until soft (if you are adding any veggies, do it now, saute until soft as well). Cook the sausage in a separate pan now too.

Stir in flour, rosemary, and 1/2 tsp salt.
Add milk all at once, cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, cook and stir 2 minutes more.
Stir in the Elk sausage, 3/4 cup of the cheese and the milk. Stir until the cheese melts.

Turn into a baking dish, place into a 375 degree oven to keep warm.


For the omelet:

look how pretty orange them yolks are!  Good girls, my chickens!

Beat egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.

them's stiff!

Beat egg yolks in a separate bowl until thick and yellow.

Add remaining 1/4 cup cheese and 1/4 tsp salt and fold into egg whites.
Spread over the Elk sausage gravy.

Bake in a 375 degree oven until eggs are cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Take a pretty picture of the empty egg shells too.

Things I would change:
I would definitely add more veggies.  This was good but if I'm gonna have breakfast, I have to have something that at least resembles a vegetable or green.  Maybe layer some spinach in between the gravy and omelet layers.

Otherwise, it was superb!

And the only thing used that wasn't bought within 50 miles or not SOLE was the cream of tartar.  I'll have to look for that next time I am at the Good Food Store (our local co-op).  AND only if it isn't from California.  I could go on a rant now about eating local vs. eating organic, but I'll save that for another post. : )