Grilled Lamb with Yogurt Sauce

This recipe can be made with either back strap medallions (like what I had) or lamb chops.  Last year we raised 3 grass-fed lambs, so we are lucky that we can have this luxury meat often. I served it with a baked potato, garden salad, and grilled corn.  It would also be excellent with my recipe for "Garden" Tabbouleh Salad.

DH loves meat with sauces.  The cucumber-yogurt sauce is a great accompaniment to the lamb.  If you have leftovers you can put the meat in a pita pocket with tomatoes and lettuce and have a great lunch or dinner. 

Yogurt is one of those miracle foods.  The bacteria in it can strengthen the immune system and help ulcers heal more quickly.  It may also help prevent yeast infections.  Some evidence shows that yogurt may also work against bacterial infections.  As we all know there are large amounts of calcium in milk, but millions of people are lactose intolerant.  Yogurt is an easy-to-digest alternative to milk for a couple of reasons.  Reason #1: the live bacteria help the body break down the lactose for you, making it less likely to cause discomfort.  Reason #2: yogurt contains more calcium per serving than milk.  Just 1 cup of yogurt provides more than 40% of the daily value at 414 mg whereas one serving of milk contains only 300mg.

Grilled Lamb with Yogurt Sauce Recipe

Ingredients: 
1 lb. lamb (backstrap medallions or chops)
salt and pepper

SAUCE
1/2 c plain yogurt
1/2 T lemon juice
1/8 t paprika
1/8 t cumin
1/4 to 1/3 c cucumber, diced small

Directions: 
1. Season both sides of lamb with salt and pepper.

2. Prepare grill or grill pan- lightly oil and heat high.

3. Grill lamb for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side for rare.

If you like your meat more done than rare follow the next direction: 
4. Turn off grill and leave lamb on the grill for 5 minutes longer to reach medium-rare or around 7 or 8 minutes longer -depending on thickness- to reach medium doneness.
(A lot of people like lamb rare.  I personally do not. I cooked mine to medium.)

5. Whisk plain yogurt, lemon juice, paprika, and cumin in  small bowl.  Stir in cucumber.  Serve sauce with lamb. 

Mixed Berry (with Gooseberries) and Peach Lattice Pie

This is a very versatile pie recipe and one of my favorite.   Basically you can use any combination of soft fruit (peaches, nectarines, any berries), as long as you have 5 cups worth.  This time I used strawberries, gooseberries, and canned peaches (you can use fresh).  The only reason I used the canned peaches is because I practically canned our entire peach tree last year and we still have 20 or 30 jars of them left.

This pie is so good that I ended up making two.  Originally I had intended on giving the pie away, but DH and I couldn't part with it (It's almost too embarrassing to admit that).

Assortment of gooseberries, blueberries and Josta berries from our yard

This is the first year that we have grown gooseberries.  Gooseberries can range in color from green to deep red.  They are sweet-tart in flavor right off the bush.  They make an excellent addition to pie. I like them because they seem to be high in pectin and helped the pie gel up really nicely.  It prevented the pie from being too runny.  We also started growing Josta berries which are a cross between two varieties of gooseberries and a black currant.  Currants are quite tart, but the gooseberry cross sweetens them up a bit.  We've been growing blueberries for a couple of years.  We took our original blueberry bushes with us when we moved and transplanted them.  They are recovering nicely and have actually produced berries.  We also bought another 5 that are specifically for our growing zone and they have been belting them out amazingly in the first year in the ground.

Berries are special because they contain a compound called ellagic acid.  Why is that so special? Ellagic acid is a powerful antioxidant that is believed to help prevent cellular changes that can lead to cancer.  Strawberries and blackberries contain the most.   Antioxidants help get rid of damage caused by free radicals (harmful oxygen molecules that punch holes in healthy cells and begin the cancerous process).  Antioxidants also detoxify carcinogens. Berries also are high in vitamin C, which is also a powerful antioxidant.

Mixed Berry (with Gooseberries) & Peach Lattice Pie Recipe

 Ingredients: 
5 cups assorted fruit (berries and peaches)
1/2 c to 1 c sugar, depending on sweetness of fruit (I only used 1/2 c)
1/4 c quick cooking "minute" tapioca
2 T lemon juice

Favorite Double Pie Crust (see other My Favorite Pie Crust post if you need a good one)

Directions: 
1. If using gooseberries, you have to trim both ends of the berry.

2. Mix sugar, tapioca, and lemon juice in a large bowl.  Add assorted fruit and toss gently to combine. Let stand at least 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Roll out bottom pie crust, transfer to pie dish.

This is a great tool to have but you can use a knife if you don't have one

4. Roll out top crust to measure 14" dough round and cut into 3/4" wide strips.  Place strips on pan lined with parchment paper.  Refrigerate both the bottom pie crust and the strips for 1 hour.

4. Preheat oven to 400 F. Fill bottom pie crust with fruit filling.  Make lattice. 

Lay out strips (about 6 or so) across pie using the long pieces for the center and short pieces for the ends

Fold every other strip back in half starting with the very ends

Place one strip in the center of the pie and then unfold strips back over pie

Next fold back every other strip starting with the second strip from the edge (the ones you did not fold back the first time).

Lay another strip on top and then unfold the strips back over it. 

Repeat the pattern until you reach the edge and then turn pie and repeat the steps on the other half.

Almost Done!

To finish: trim strips, fold bottom crust overhang over lattice and decoratively crimp edges.

Overhang folded over lattice

Crimping edges

Finished product

 5. Bake pie for 40 minutes. If crust gets too brown, cover edges with pie shield or aluminum foil.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 F. Bake until crust is golden brown and juices bubble, about 30-40 minutes longer.  Let cool on wire rack.

*Any remaining dough can be wrapped in plastic, placed in a ziplock bag and frozen for another use.  I collect the dough and use it to make a single pie crust for another purpose or I use it to make mini pies in my mini tart pans or to make hand pies.   It usually takes me a couple of full pie scraps worth to have enough dough to make a single pie crust.

My Favorite Pie Crust

MY FAVORITE PIE CRUST

The Best & Most Forgiving Flaky Crust

 Makes 2 crusts

Ingredients: 
 3 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/4 c vegetable shortening
1 T plus 1 t sugar
1 t salt
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Directions: 
1. Process flour, vegetable shortening, sugar, salt, and butter in food processor until butter is the size of tiny pebbles, but still visible, about 30 seconds.

2. Transfer to a large bowl.  Gradually add 3/4 c of ice water, adding 1/4 c at at time and stir with a fork until mixture has some clumping wet pieces and some sandier pieces.  If it is still dry, add 1 T at a time.  Press plastic wrap over dough.  Chill for at least 1 hour.

3. Divide dough in half.  Flatten each half into a disk.  If you only need a single crust, wrap the other disk in plastic wrap, place in ziplock bag, and freeze until needed for another use.  You can thaw the dough in the fridge for a few hours.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disk into a 13" to 14" round.  Transfer to a pie dish by rolling over a rolling pin.  Trim edges, leaving a 1 inch overhang.  Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.  If making a double crust chill the other disk and roll out after filling the bottom crust.

Make into round dish shape

Roll out to 13" to 14" round

Transfer dough to dish by rolling it on rolling pin

Trim overhang to about 1"

Potstickers From Scratch

Homemade Potstickers From Scratch

With homemade wonton wrappers & dipping sauce

Ingredients: 
FILLING
1/2 c finely chopped cabbage ( I used purple cabbage)
1/2 t coarse salt
6 oz. ground pork, not all lean- if you can't find ground, buy pork and chop in food processor-
                      (I bought stir fry pork strips)
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 T ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 t soy sauce
1 t sesame oil

Wonton Wrappers (either store bought or see recipe below)

DIPPING SAUCE
4 T soy sauce
1/2 t white wine vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 t sesame chili oil (DH doesn't like a lot of spiciness so he preferred 1/4 t) 
1/4 t sesame seeds

 Directions: 
1. If you need to grind the pork, chop in food processor. Use the pulse button and don't over process.  You don't want to make a paste.  Its best to cut the meat first into small pieces before processing.

1. In a medium bowl, toss cabbage with salt and let stand 10 minutes to draw out excess water.  Wrap cabbage in towels; squeeze out excess liquid.











2. Return cabbage to bowl, add pork, green onions, ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil. Mix well with a fork. 

3. Work with one wrapper at a time.  Keep the rest covered with a damp towel to prevent drying out.

4. Spoon 1 rounded tablespoonful in the center of the wrapper.

 5. With dampened fingers, wet the four edges.  Make a triangle by folding wrapper in half over filling.  Make sure the edges meet and filling is centered.  Press edges firmly to seal.



6. Fold bottom corners over slightly and roll top over and crimp decoratively to make the standard potsticker shape.

 7. Place potsticker on an oiled plate and cover with a damp towel to keep from drying out.  Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.


8. Boil water in a large sauce pan or stock pot.  Drop potstickers in the boiling water and boil for 8 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon remove potstickers and dry of any excess water with a towel.

9. Heat oil in a pan over medium high.  Brown all sides of potstickers and place on plate lined with a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Serve with dipping sauce.

Homemade Wonton Wrappers: 

*Warning, without a pasta roller, this is very time consuming.  To me it was worth it, although it has made me really want a pasta roller.

Ingredients: 
1 egg
1/3 c water
2 c all purpose flour
1/2 t salt

Directions: 

1. In  medium bowl, beat egg.  Mix in water.

2. In large bowl, mix flour and salt.  Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in egg mixture.  Mix well.  If the dough is too dry, add water 1 t at at time until the dough is pliable.  Don't add too much water, though because it will turn into a paste.

It will seem dry at first but knead in the bowl a bit to bring it all together.

3. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until it is elastic.  Cut dough into 8 separate balls and cover with a damp cloth for 10 minutes.

4. Work with one ball of dough at a time, keeping the others covered with the damp towel. Roll out dough until it is ultra thin (this is where the pasta roller would be nice).  You should be able to see through the dough once it is thin enough.  If you find that the dough is difficult to roll out, I found that sprinkling it with water makes it slightly easier.

s5. Cut dough into squares that measure 3 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. 

 6. Use in any recipe that calls for wonton wrappers. If using for potsticker recipe, you won't need all of the dough.  I froze the remaining dough by wrapping each ball in a sandwich bag and then put all of them in a ziplock.  You can save them for another use or make potstickers again another time.

Mongolian Tomato Beef (Venison)

Serve this slightly spicy dish over white rice, whole grain brown rice or wide rice noodles to catch all of the yummy garlic and ginger sauce.

If you are like me and are trying to decrease the amount of refined grains in your diet, then you might prefer to serve it with brown rice.  Since brown rice is filled with oils, it can quickly turn rancid when stored at room temperature.  To keep this from happening and to prevent it from losing its healing compounds, store it in an airtight container in the fridge.  Storing it in this method will allow it to stay fresh for up to a year.

When cooking brown rice, I use the typical 2:1 water to rice ratio.  (For example 2 cups of water and 1 cup of rice.)  Just bring water to a boil, turn down to low, add rice, cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes.  I haven't figured out the reason yet, but it seems like my brown rice takes less time to cook now that I moved.  Maybe its the gas range instead of the electric?

Many of the important nutrients in the rice will leach into the water during cooking.  To make sure you actually get these nutrients into your body instead of pouring them down the drain, let the rice cook until all of the water is absorbed.

We don't actually have any beef in our house.  We have practically everything else though: lamb, deer, antelope, elk, and we just ran out of moose.  Of course you can use regular beef and this recipe is great, but if you too have a husband that is a hunter or hunt yourself, this is a great recipe for deer or another game meat. 

Mongolian Tomato Beef (or Venison) Recipe

Perfect recipe for beef, deer, elk, antelope, moose or other big game meat

Ingredients: 

SAUCE
6 T low-sodium soy sauce
3 t sugar
3 t cornstarch
6 t dry sherry
6 t hoisin sauce
3 t rice vinegar
3 t chile paste with garlic

1 T olive oil
1 T ginger, peeled and minced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 bell pepper thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1/2 c zucchini, cut into bite size pieces
1 c sugar snap peas
1 1/2 c wedged tomatoes (about 2)

1 pound sirloin steak (I used deer)

1/4 c peanuts (I used roasted unsalted)
1/4 green onions, sliced

Directions: 
1. Whisk soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, dry sherry, hoisin sauce, vinegar, and chile paste until smooth.  Set aside.

2. Sear steak either in a pan or on a grill and set aside.

2. Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add ginger and garlic.  Cook for about a minute or until fragrant.

3. Add bell pepper, onion, zucchini, tomatoes, and peas to pan and saute until brown and slightly tender. 

4. Thinly slice meat against the grain.  Add to pan and cook to desired doneness.  I cooked my meat medium rare because it is deer, but with beef you might want to cook a bit more.

5. Add soy sauce mixture and cook for 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly.

6. Stir in green onions and peanuts.

7. Serve over rice or noodles.

It doesn't look like brown rice in the picture, but it is....