As I sat down for what might be the last of the wild blueberry pancake breakfast of the year at our cabin I was thinking about recent and future meals. Last week I bought a pound of ground goat meat at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market. Eating goat brings back memories of Andalucia, Spain where I first had goat. It also elicits memories of a well traveled friend who studied birds in Egypt and the Sudan, then later in Madagascar. He once roasted a goat in the backyard of a friend. But how can I forget cabrito in Mexico and then finding it at a restaurant in Ann Arbor. Needless to say I like goat. Susan wasn’t sure, but as always was up for an adventurous meal. Years ago we both took a liking to lamb kofta, a Middle Eastern dish (for lack of how to describe spiced ground lamb on a wooden skewer). I figured out how to make it and for years made both the kofta spice mix and lamb kofta. Now the kofta that we eat is about half lamb and half beef. So, with the goat meat in the refrigerator I decided to make goat kofta. I had enough of the kofta spice mix to make a single batch. I mixed the goat with ground beef, toasted and chopped pine nuts, minced garlic and mint (from the garden)and the spice mix. In the end we had two pounds of kofta meat for more than one dinner. We were both pleased along with a guest at how good the goat kofta had turned out. I imagine that we have at least enough for two more meals for the two of us in the near future.
Something that we do frequently is buy a rotisserie chicken, often with a coupon that allows us to get two for the price of one. Susan will de-bone the chicken, putting the bones into a freezer bag for making stock in the future. The meat is then mixed together (although I might sneak a leg out for immediate consumption) and put into two or three freezer bags, each weighing in at about two pounds. One will be left in the refrigerator for weekly consumption, the others frozen. The chicken in the refrigerator will go into chicken sandwiches, sopa de azteca (tortilla soup, another favorite from my years in Mexico), or into pasta dishes. This time the chicken was divided into two batches for a tomato sauce and a basil pesto (both recently made from garden tomatoes and basil), then served with penne pasta.
On our way home from the cabin we stopped at King’s Whitefish, in Moran on M-123. We bought walleye which will be for dinner tomorrow.
When we arrived in Ann Arbor we had to take care of spoiled food in the refrigerator, since our neighborhood was without power for close to five days. Then I looked at the garden.
The bean crop, both Italian flat beans and traditional pole beans were in need of a serious picking. For tonight I picked enough flat beans for dinner. Then there were tomatoes (those get harvested tomorrow) and squash (since they’re winter squash those will stay for later.
I collected what is most likely the last cucumber of the year, a black sweet pepper and some hot peppers for drying. Susan picked enough cherry tomatoes for salads tonight.
Well, the garden seems to be thriving (even with our eight day absence) and providing us with great vegetables. More on the garden next week.
Michael's Place 