Venison

It's deer season in Ohio, and as I write this, my husband is sitting in our woods with his shotgun. Venison is a very healthy meat. It has less fat, calories and cholesterol than beef. It is also wild, organic food.

Some people look at deer hunting as cruel, or as an activity for "rednecks." They couldn't be more wrong. My husband's family has been hunting deer for generations. It is a time-honored tradition. Deer are treated with respect and dispatched as quickly as possible. The meat is never wasted. It is a more humane way of getting meat than the methods used by factory farms that supply the supermarkets.

Because venison is so lean, it must be cooked carefully. It has a tendency to be tough if not handled properly. It's not a meat to be put on the grill. Tenderloins can be fried, but most of the cuts of meat should be cooked in sauce or gravy. Some people like to make summer sausage, but I'm not crazy about it myself. I like to prepare venison in the slow cooker with a mushroom gravy or hunter sauce. I also like to can it. Canned venison is almost like shredded beef and is very tender. The recipe below came from my husband's Aunt Cheryl in Minnesota. When canning, always be sure to follow your canner instructions carefully and use all food safety precautions.

Aunt Cheryl's Canned Venison

1. Make a bouillon brine, using 2 beef bouillon cubes to one 1 cup of water. (The amount you make will depend on how much meat you are canning.)

2. Cut venison into chunks.

3. Fill canning pint jars with meat up to 1 inch from top of jar. Add 4 tablespoons of bouillon brine and 1/2 tsp. of canning salt to each jar. Put lids on jars as directed in your pressure canner instructions.

4. Process venison at 10 lbs. of pressure for 75 minutes, or 15 lbs. of pressure for 60 minutes. Remove and cool as directed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

For most of us, this week will be a busy one! There is the Thanksgiving meal to plan and buy food for and cook. Or there are travel plans to make. Or both! And, of course, Christmas is just around the corner. But during this busy time, don't forget the reason for all the fuss. Remember that the Thanksgiving meal is a true blessing, and when you sit down to break bread with loved ones, it is the perfect opportunity to really think about what nourishes us. I wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving!

Great Fish Recipe

I've been looking for more vegetarian and seafood meals to cook for my family. It had been a while since I had found a great seafood recipe, though. My husband is a meat-and-potato kind of guy, and I need delicious recipes to get him to eat healthier. Last night I tried a recipe that I saw on David Rocco's Dolce Vita on the Cooking Channel. It was great! It uses a sweet and sour sauce made with balsamic vinegar. Very different, but delicious. The recipe calls for sea bass (or branzino), but I used tilapia. It worked great. The link to the recipe is below.

Branzino alla Max - Italian Fish Recipe

Soup Weather

It's November now, and the garden has now been put to rest for the season. Before pulling up my tomato plants, I picked the several green tomatoes that were still on the vines. I've been putting them in my kitchen window and letting them ripen there. They aren't the same as the tomatoes picked ripe off the vine, but they are good!

Nothing tastes better on a grey November day than a hot bowl of soup! I've had the following recipe for years and have tweaked it over time. Everyone I've made it for loves it!

California Chicken Soup

64 oz. chicken broth (recommended: Imagine Organic Free-Range Chicken Broth)
1 pound chicken, cooked and cubed (recommended: organic, pasture-raised chicken)
1 small onion, diced
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 3/4 tsp. lemon pepper
1 tsp. oregano
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. parsley
2 bay leaves
15 oz. package of cheese tortellini
grated romano cheese

1. In a stock pot, combine all ingredients except tortellini and cheese. Bring to a boil.

2. Add tortellini and reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 25-35 minutes.

3. Remove bay leaves. Serve with romano cheese sprinkled on top.