Goat and Root Vegetable Stew....An Adventure in Cooking!

Off on another tangent today --- I am cooking goat meat! I never would have thought about eating goat, actually come to think of it, I must have tasted kid when I lived in Toronto years ago, however, I certainly haven't gone looking for it since then.

Until I had an opportunity to get some, that it and so this is it - I personally won't get to taste it today because I am still on my Master Cleanse, but I will put some in the freezer for when I am done. It smells and looks very interesting so far...

Apparently goat meat tastes a lot like a cross between lamb and beef, but is very lean, and not gamey like lamb can sometimes be. It is also considered a low in fat meat which will not raise cholesterol (not an issue here but..) or give any of the other nasty side effects.

There are so many ways to cook goat meat too - when I did a little bit of research I came across tons of recipes, ideas on how others eat it and was surprised so many people out there ARE eating it. Actually, it is considered the most widely consumed meat in the world.

I think it's only in these western countries where people are stuck on beef and chicken or chicken and beef! 

To cook the goat meat I decided to do another crock pot meal to be on the safe side as I have never cooked this before. But even as I was putting it into the pan to brown, it seemed so much like lamb I probably could have done anything with it.

I browned the floured stew meat in a little olive oil, onion and garlic and then added it to 2 cups of boiling water along with several cups of chopped root vegetables. Today I had a huge celeriac to use up so that is what makes up the bulk of the stew.

Next I placed in generous teaspoons of cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, a little cinnamon, bay leaves, thyme, sea salt and pepper and the juice of a lime. After it had been cooking on high for about an hour I turned it down to a low heat setting - and it has been stewing away now for several hours. 

So far the meat looks tender, the stew smells great and I can't wait to taste some once this cleanse is done...very interesting day altogether! 

April

Looks and smells divine!

Changing Menus with the Seasons...

I realized this week that I hardly ever mention cooking meat on this blog - of course we are not big meat eaters but we do enjoy some lamb once in a while and lamb stew is one of my favourite meals to make. And there are also far more vegetables out in the world that we never use often enough. 

As the days grow darker and somewhat colder our meals take on a different dimension almost as if they also transform into heartier more protein based foods with sustenance. Nothing says winter to me the way a meal of lamb stew, with root vegetables and some warm bread right out of the oven.

This week we had one day where I was feeling wintery enough to make a large pot of this magical elixir and of course there was not a drop left. 

I start a lamb stew in the same way as any other root vegetable soup pot. To a pot of water I add seaweed, sautéd onion, leek and garlic, but with meat I use herbs from the garden such as lovage and French sorrel. 

Then I put in a lot of vegetables such as carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin and this week I had celeriac and sweet corn - which are such great vegetables for stews as well as barley. Each of these would be more winter additions to our diets. 

Root vegetables with celeriac

Once these are bubbling away I get started on the meat part of the meal. We eat meat so infrequently, that sometimes I wonder if I have forgotten what to do with it - but cooking is like riding a bike, there are some things you never forget.

With lamb I have it cut up into large chunks which go into a pan with water, onion and garlic as well as some olive oil. I like to get the meat nicely browned before I add it to the vegetable pot. So, this is usually covered for a little while.

Lamb for stew 

Once the meat is ready the stew is pretty well cooked, the lamb goes in last and I don't leave the heat on for very much longer. I find the flavours blend better when this is allowed to sit and cool for about half and hour - not stirring very much.

This week when I cooked lamb I added extra lovage herb to the meat - this has a taste similar to celery and is very complimentary to lamb. It is also an ancient herb with many nutritional benefits. This particular stew had both lovage and celeriac in it making the taste exquisite - especially if you enjoy old fashioned home cooking!

Next time you use lamb, try it with lovage or sorrel and taste the difference.

Have a healthy day,

April 

Lamb, sweet corn root vegetable stew

A Feast Day!!

Today is a feast day (everyone you have got to read my book The Pagan Diet© smile!) therefore I am spending my day cooking and preparing food. Actually it all started last night with the cinnamon apple butter...here's the story so far.

Chopped apples in the slow cooker

Last night I chopped up loads of apples, using about 4 different kinds (both tart and sweet cooking apples) placed them all into the slow cooker with generous spoonfuls of nutmeg and cinnamon. Then just enough apple juice concentrate and water to cover the bottom of the large crock pot. I turned it on high and left it until just before bedtime when I turned it down on low and left it overnight.

Cinnamon Apple Butter after 10 hours cooking 

This morning it was mush and well cooked, I turned it on high again for another couple of hours (probably 12 in total cooking time) and then let it cool down a bit as I got the jars sterilized and ready for the apple butter. 

Apple butter is different from apple sauce which does not cook as long - also, apple sauce is made from usually one kind of apple. With apple butter, the key is in the use of a slow cooker, the apples are gently cooked over lower heat for a long period of time until the apples breakdown, caramelize and thicken. Lovely! Adding spices only makes it more tantalizingly yummy! 

Cinnamon Apple Butter on spelt bread

Next, on the agenda today is our feast dinner which will be ready for tonight (it's a full moon too!). I have a butterflied leg of lamb that has been marinating in homemade mustard sauce for a few hours. This will go into a warm oven to be slowly cooked over the afternoon to be ready for tonights' feast.  I usually make roasted root vegetables to go with this type of meal (sweet potato, carrot, turnip, onion and pumpkin). 

Lamb in mustard marinade

Lastly, during my preparations for the day, I decided to make my own mustard, mostly because I already had all the ingredients at hand for the marinade and I wanted to give it a go. The last time I made this it was tasty, but did not thicken (there's that thick thing again!) as much as I would have liked. I think that I did not put enough dry mustard in or maybe too much liquid. 

Today, it came out perfectly, I just kept blending it (I used an immersion blender) until it was where I was happy with it. The children were not impressed because it was a little spicy from all the mustard, but that is easy to change with a little honey added in. This is the simplest thing in the world to make - why on earth do we buy it??

Homemade mustard 

So, that is where I am at right now, the feast is in progress, the lamb already in the oven, the apple butter has been preserved in jars with some left out for our dinner, and there is enough great tasting mustard for a month! 

Now to get ready for the rest of the meal, hmmm, dessert - ginger cake and peach ice cream? 

Enjoy this day!

April