Secret Recipe #2: Sweet Kidneys with Rice for 4

This is a great midweek supper as it's quick, easy & cheap. It works equally well if you substitute lambs liver or heart instead of the kidneys. Just pick the nutrient you'd like a boost of:

Lamb Liver:
Rich in vitamin D & provides essential fatty acids helping to maintain the immune system.

Lamb Heart:
Rich in vitamins A, C, D, E and K. Provides essential fatty acids helping to maintain the cardiovascular and immune systems. Rich in minerals such as iron, manganese, potassium and selenium.

Lamb Kidney:
Rich in B vitamins which support energy production. Vitamin B2 is also required for red blood cell formation and respiration, antibody production. Aids in regulating thyroid activity.

Sweet Lambs Kidneys/Liver/Heart with Rice
1 small red onion, finely chopped
500grams lamb kidneys, liver or heart, sliced
2 small sweet apples, cored & finely chopped
2 handfuls sultanas (if you like it sweet)
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp mixed herbs
1.5 tsp green peppercorns
1 litre lamb stock
1tbsp sunflower oil
4 good handfuls basmati rice

Fry off the onions in oil, over a med-high heat, until transparent then add the meat & brown. Next add the rice and stir. Throw in the apples & sultanas and stir again. Add the stock, tomato puree, herbs & peppercorns and stir well, then lower the heat and stir occasionally until the liquid is reduced and the rice is cooked. Eat while there's still a little liquid left (about 1tsp) in the bottom of the pan as this will make it deliciously moist.

Thanks again to Mother's secret recipe brain :-)

Juliet D-H

our own christmas tonic, bottled & ready to go under the tree

I've just spent the morning bottling our Christmas tonic ready to give as presents. It's been fermenting since August so it's a bit special.

Here's how we made it:
1 litre of whisky or vodka
1 lb (500g) sugar
1 lb (500g) winter berries
Leave in a cool, dark place for at least 3 months, giving it a good shake every week or so. Then strain & bottle. Serve either in suitably smart liqueur glasses to sip in a genteel manner or in a hip flask to nip from while enjoying the great outdoors.

This year we used a mixture of blackberries, raspberries & redcurrants, however you could use any berries. We made a whisky and a vodka, however you could also use brandy instead, or gin is great with sloe berries. If you do make a sloe gin, the sloe skins need to be broken - instead of pricking each individual berry you can freeze them, spread out on a tray, for 24 hours then defrost them so the skin breaks.

We did have a cheeky taster at the weekend & it definitely warms you up! We'll be keeping a few bottles for sure & I'm already planning to make some for our wedding next year. Any new recipe ideas would be welcome...



Juliet D-H

experiment #573: rolled pork joints, roasted in wild garlic leaves

I've just found some pics on my old camera from a weekend at M&D's few weeks ago. Apart from reminding me how much better my new camera is, they also reminded me of my most recent experiment.

I was doing the Sunday roast to give Mum a break & nipped out to the herb bed to get some mint for the potatoes when I spotted some wild garlic. I wrenched some leaves from it and proceeded to stuff them, with some difficulty, through the string holding together the two small(ish) rolled pork joints we were having. Then rubbed in plenty of salt & oil and popped them in the lovely aga...



They looked a little scary after roasting...



The wild garlic leaves were delicious - like mildly garlicky seaweed - but didn't seem to flavour the pork enough to notice, obviously because I'd put them on the outside & because the pork is quite strongly flavoured (that's the marvellousness of the rare breed pig, of course). So, next time probably best to use garlic cloves & save the wild garlic for salads or stuffing chicken breasts. Good experiment though.

Here's more about eating wild garlic

Juliet D-H

Some crackingly good crackling

Hmmm... home-grown pork roast. Wins every time.













Juliet D-H

"I carried a marrow"

Well actually it wasn't a marrow, it was an overgrown courgette which resembled a small manatee and required eating. Thus I found myself creating stuffed courgette skyscrapers for supper last night. Here's the recipe:

> 1 gigantic courgette (or a marrow will do), sliced to make one slice each, cored & boiled til just tender (turning translucent)
> 1 lb delicious beef mince (we used some from beef raised on the farm, obviously), fried with 1 onion & 2 garlic cloves, half a pint of beef stock, tomato puree, anchovy sauce and whatever interesting herbs and spices you'd usually add to a bolognese.
> a saucepan full of cheese sauce - I make a classic white sauce (melt butter, add flour, mix to a paste, cook til the edges sizzle then slowly stir in dashes milk til you get a gooey sauce) then add plenty of grated strong cheddar.

Place the courgette-marrow pieces on their ends in a baking dish, fill each with mince sauce (just pour any overflow into the dish) then pour the cheese sauce over the top. Add a liberal sprinkling of parmesan and bake in a hot oven (top of the aga so i guess about 250+) for 20mins until the top browns.

We usually have this with boiled potatoes or crusty bread.
Leftovers are fab cold from the fridge, on hot toast or ciabatta.

Juliet D-H