Protein
That's A Spicy Meatball!
These are no ordinary meatballs![/caption] Recently on our Facebook page one of our amazing Fire Cider fans told us she's been making Fire Cider infused meatballs. Yum! I decided to give the idea a try. We were having friends over for dinner so I made a meatloaf version using Mark Bittman's basic meatloaf recipe as a guide. I'm sure most of you have a recipe you always use but just in case, here's what I did, the recipe will serve 6-8 people. And if you have time, this recipe is great for meatballs too! Ingredients: 2 pounds ground beef 1 pound ground lamb (or pork) 1/2 pound bacon, half of it minced and half reserved in strips. 1/2 cup cream or milk 3 Tablespoons ground flax 1 extra-large farm egg 2 Tablespoons Fire Cider 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese 1/2 small white onion, minced 1 tsp salt 1 tsp chili powder or hot pepper flakes [caption id="attachment_448" align="aligncenter" width="538"]
Ready to bake![/caption] Method: Pre heat oven to 350 Beat the egg into the milk and flax, add all of the other ingredients and mix well in a large bowl. Shape into a loaf in a glass baking dish, make sure there is some room on all four sides. Lay the remaining strips of bacon on top. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour to 1.5 hours, until it's firm and reads 160 degrees in the center! Take it out, let it rest for about 15 minutes, transfer to a plate and serve.
Salmon is for Lovers
Is it officially grilling season? We think so! Here's a grill perfect recipe to get you started....
The following recipe was sent to us by Brian P., a patron of the Honest Weight Co-op in Albany, NY. He claims it's the perfect meal to impress the one you love, or the one you're with, so the song goes.
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Best to start with wild caught salmon![/caption] Fire Cider Marinated Wild Salmon
Marinade for 2 generous servings of wild caught salmon fillet:
- 4 tablespoons Fire Cider
- A half cup or less brown sugar
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- A little fennel seed
Mix all ingredients and cover salmon with marinade for 20 minutes before cooking.
Start with a hot- 350 degree/medium heat outdoor grill.
Cook marinated salmon, skin down, for 10 minutes or until done to your liking, with the grill top down/covered. Brain P. says: I served the grilled salmon with a salad, couscous and five grain bread with a little olive oil and cracked pepper for dipping. It felt like an expensive restaurant meal. For dessert we had really good sex (yes, even older guys get laid sometimes). Happy Friday everyone! [caption id="attachment_210" align="aligncenter" width="538"]
Fire cider marinated and grilled salmon with couscous and a salad makes a healthy meal.[/caption]
Pork Tenderloin Braised with Fire Cider
This is an adaptation of a Marcella Hazan recipe by Jim Huebner
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons pasture butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds boneless organic, humanly raised pork loin or butt
salt and cracked peppercorns to cover
1-3 bay leaves
1/2 cup Fire Cider
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Simple and delicious![/caption]
Procedure:
Heat the 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon cooking oil on medium heat in a heavy bottom pot just large enough for the meat; thoroughly brown a 2 pound chunk of boneless organic pork (loin or butt) on all sides without letting the oil/butter burn.
Turn the heat to low, remove the meat, sprinkle it with salt and cracked peppercorns on all sides.
Add bay leaves and ½ cup Fire Cider to the pot, dissolve any browned bits and bring to a simmer with the meat back in the pot. Cover and cook, turning occasionally, until tender and cooked through. Add 2-3 T water if needed to keep the pot from drying out.
Let the meat rest while you pour off any fat from the pan, remove the bay leaves and add water to dissolve or dislodge any browned bits; pour the pan juices over the sliced roast.
Serve with Apple Chutney, yum!
Fiery Honey Hot Wings
- Canola or peanut oil for frying
- 24 organic chicken wing parts (12 wings separated into 2 pieces)
- One 8-ounce bottle Fire Cider
- 4 ounces hot sauce, we love Frank’s Red Hot
- 1 stick pasture butter
- Several dashes Worcestershire sauce
Hot wings with Fire Cider are sweet, spicy and tangy good![/caption] Heat 3 inches of canola/peanut oil in a heavy pot to 375 degrees F. Add half the chicken wing parts to the oil and fry them until they're golden brown and fully cooked, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the other half of the wing parts. In a saucepan, heat the Fire Cider, hot sauce and butter over medium-low heat. Add the Worcestershire and hot sauce. Let it bubble up, and then turn off the heat. Place ½ of the wings in a big bowl and toss with just enough sauce to coat, if you use too much sauce you’ll lose the crunch! Repeat with the remaining fried wings. Serve with left over sauce, blue cheese dip and celery sticks. Left over sauce will keep in the fridge for your next batch of wings!
Brussels Sprouts N Bacon
Two big bowls of Brussels sprouts (my favorite vegetable!) and plenty of greens.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_60" align="aligncenter" width="460"]
Dana's happy because he got to use his harvesting machete : - )[/caption] And now it's time to make dinner.... First, I got out a few slices of bacon from The Meat Market in Great Barrington and cooked them in the large cast iron skillet. [caption id="attachment_61" align="aligncenter" width="460"]
Naturally, the bacon is shaped like it's home state of Massachusetts. Pigs are wicked smart![/caption] Once the bacon was cooked, I made 4 pieces, and the fat rendered, I set the bacon aside and added as many small Brussels sprouts as I could fit in the pan. Keep the heat on medium low, toss to coat in the rendered fat and put the lid on for a few minutes. The sprouts were small so they cooked quickly. [caption id="attachment_62" align="aligncenter" width="460"]
Brussels sprouts, fresh from our garden, cooking in bacon fat.[/caption] When the sprouts are cooked through and nicely browned on the outside, turn the heat up a bit and deglaze with a splash of Fire Cider. Add some black pepper and serve! [caption id="attachment_63" align="aligncenter" width="460"]
A balanced meal: a few slices of bacon, a huge bowl full of greens and a side of veggie soup![/caption] I think this is a great meal: there's some protein from the bacon (note the ratio of meat to veggies, very important!) and the sprouts were cooked in the rendered fat which is as good for you as olive oil- check it out: "According to a new book out called Fat by Jennifer McLagan, bacon's fat is a lot like that of olive oil: "45 percent of the fat in bacon is monounsaturated, the good-for-you fat that can help lower bad cholesterol levels. Better still, bacon's monounsaturated fat turns out to be oleic acid, the same fat found in olive oil. So that means that some could argue that bacon is about half as good for you as olive oil and about 100 times more delicious." Quote taken from Charleston City Paper.com Plus a side of the leek and mushroom soup I'd made a few days earlier, you can find that recipe here. So this meal is about 70% veggies: the Brussels sprouts plus the leeks, mushrooms and carrots from the soup, with the majority of the filling calories from high quality animal sources: cream, butter, bacon and lard. This is how the Fire Cider makers stay healthy, all winter long. Hope you enjoy this meal as much as we did!
