Lamb at last

At times we have had so many Chicken drumsticks that the kids beg not to be fed them again, at other times we eat lamb every day. It all depends what there is surplus off and what isn't selling. The 'isn't selling thing' has no rhyme or reason, it may be the weather or may be just that the Saturday papers have a must cook recipe for chicken thighs, so we have all the drummers left!
Lately I have been missing lamb, there's non in the freezer and as the grass hasn't been growing we've not had any finished & ready to kill. Most years where we are in Devon there is always some grass, but this year the cold and wet just stopped anything green. As our sheep are only ever fed fresh organic grass, never coming inside on silage and concentrates, we have had to wait.
At last with the better weather we have started killing lambs again and its great to be having Chops, lamb mince and a roast leg in the last week...I promise not to moan this time.

The fastest cake in the west

Zingy Lime cake - perfect for the beach

You must have heard of my reputation for being only just on time, well that applies to my cooking as well. So here is the recipe for perfect cake that can be made at the last minute. Some days I make fairy cakes for lunch boxes that are often still warm by the time the boxes are packed, sometimes I make a large cake in a lined roasting tin, then take the whole tin on a picnic. The magic ingredient is Elsa's Organic Duck Eggs but I have to say that! Honestly the duck eggs give the cake a divine colour and rich taste but chicken eggs are good as well, just use local free range ones for the best taste.

I change the flavouring to suit my mood. Favourite for the beach this year is a plain cake made in roasting tin topped with icing made with icing sugar, grated lime zest and juice of a lime. It's a zingy sweet topping on a moist cake that cuts through the salt and sand after a few hours in the surf.  Best for Lunch boxes is plain fairy cakes with a handful of plain chocolate drops in the mixture, they taste nice and no icing to stick to the sandwich's. Cakes to impress and that sound trendy are plain fairy cakes with butter cream icing made with salted butter and unrefined icing sugar to give a salted caramel icing topped with a fresh Blueberry (local of course!)
So Here's the recipe to make 24 fairy cakes or a small roasting tin:

225g soft margarine
225g Castor sugar
4 Elsa's organic duck eggs
225g self raising flour

Add margarine and sugar into mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer. Add eggs and flour and beat some more. Fill 24 cake cases or your choice of  tin. Cook at 180 degrees until the top springs back when touched or poke with a skewer and make sure it comes out clean
Ice with you choice of topping.
 Easy!

Goat, lamb & Veal chop feast

One of the best bits of farmers markets is trading some of your own goodies for the other stall holders. As a grower and seller of meat we only eat our own fantastic produce, so it was a real treat to swap some goat for some Rose veal from Bocaddon Farm Veal 
It takes a lot to feed our mob and Martin our French Agri student so we had a Chop feast with goat, lamb and veal chops. The veal chops were like mini T bones and we opted for the cutlet or hockey stick chops of goat and lamb. A good squeeze of lemon juice and a handful of English sea salt then we roasted them in the oven although if you are an adventerous type cooking over wood fired BBQ would be ideal.
So which was best? No one could decide, but then that's normal in this house were there is always 7 different opinons but there was total agreement on the best way of eating a chop. It may not be pretty but picking it up and chewing the bone has to be the most satisfying!
And the veal was great and its ethical. Dora has been inspired to grow some of her own after going to Exeter livestock market and seeing holstein bull calves going for as little as £2, but she needs to do some research first as I can see any hand reared calves becoming sacred pets at Higher Fingle if we are not careful. Maybe it would be best to keep swapping!

Goat Kebabs

Elsa is Italy on a school trip,it keeps raining and the rest of the childen are studying the Olympics. So we are pretending that we are in Greece and what else should we eat than Goat kebabs. All it takes is some goat & imagination and we will soon be on a Greek island..... 450 grams diced goat leg or shoulder 1 teaspoon of cumin, ground 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, ground 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom, ground 1 clove of garlic, minced 1 small hot pepper, minced(go steady if you don't like hot) 6 tablespoons plain organic yoghurt Salt and pepper

••••••••
Make a marinade by mixing the cumin, cinnamon, garlic and hot pepper, salt and pepper in the yogurt. Add the goat meat and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Soak some wood skewers in water for 20 minutes, or use metal skewers.
Take the meat out of the marinade, flick off the liquid, and put on the skewers. Discard the marinade.
Grill, bake or BBQ for about 7 to 10 minutes until done, flipping at least once.
Serve with sliced tomatoes,  couscous and lots of yummy bread.
Serves 4.

Devonshire Goat Hotpot

Easter holidays saw my cooking numbers swell to 9, thats only 2 more but it seemed to make it feel that I was feeding the 5000. This year our Agriculture student from ESA Angers is a male which is great that we don't have a teenage french girl on a faddy diet but it means that I have an extra big lad to feed, that's not too keen on anything green.
Easter Saturday using my giant creuset I piled in goat chops then layered sliced onions and sliced potatoes, seasoning each layer with salt & pepper. Then just boiling water half way up the pan and I cooked it around 17o degrees for about two & half hours taking the lid off towards the end to crisp the top layer of potatoes.
We had it with green cabbage and peas (a veg that french boys will eat) but next time I shall pickle some crunchy red cabbage.
Not difficult recipe, but it shows how versatile goat can be and if you are worried about calories it is a low fat version of a traditional favourite. Although I cooked for lots a great version would be individual hotpots with a couple of dinky goat chops per person.

Food festivals & Goat chops

Mortonhampstead Food festival has restored my faith in Festivals. After the foot & mouth outbreak in 2001 our newly diversified business was involved in Exmoor food Festival, a week of farm walks, food tasting and special events culminating in a food market in Porlock village hall. Tables were £10 and we sold out of produce. The tiny village hall was packed with excited foodies that wanted to supported us desperate farmers. Now there is a food festival every week during the summer, mostly run by event companies that charge £100's for a table and after the customers have paid to get in they buy a beer, a burger and very little else. After attending a few such events last year with great optimism I came away feeling that the only one making a profit was the event company. So a big well done to Mortonhampstead that got the atmosphere just right, like the old days when festivals were a novelty, we have come home with a decent return and most of all the encouragement that customers are championing local produce and it is worth our while producing quality.
Taking along some goat recipes we quickly sold out of mince & diced. Not having any recipes for chops meant they were slower to go so .....

Mediteranean Braised Goat chops
Goat chops to feed the family
large glass of red wine
Seasoning
rosemary
handful of Smoked garlic cloves peeled

Chuck everything in a heavy based casserole pan, or in roasting tin covered with tinfoil.
Cooked 200 degreesC for 30 minutes
Serve with rice, green salad & crusty bread.

Next weekend is Totnes Good food Sunday which thanks to the dedication of Ray is another event that just gets better & better. This time I planning on selling out of chops first!

A spicy mutton curry, with lamb mutton!

So travelling in India last year we ate a lot of mutton curry, some times the mutton was goat and sometimes it was sheep. The indians were pretty evasive if you tried to find out which, trying always to give the answer that they thought you wanted. Some of it was dreadful and some of it was excellant. The most dreadful meal had to be a chicken curry served up by the owner of a massive integrated poultry and feed mill enterprise after which I avoided anything other than vegetables & mutton. The plus point was I managed to not get ill, i think living on a farm must make me immune to most diseases. As we are selling sheep mutton & goat this month here is a recipe that can be used for both.... I love using dred Apricots in cooking i am sure they must be healthy! Indian Spiced Mutton with Apricots Ingredients serves 4-6 4 tbsp sunflower oil 2 onions, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, crushed 2 ½ cm (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, grated 1 tsp ground cinnamon,1 tsp ground cardamom 1 tsp ground cumin,1 tsp chilli powder 1 1/2 tsp garam masala or curry powder 2 tbsp tomato puree 1 kg (2 lb) cubed Higher Fingle organic mutton 200 g (7 oz) dried apricots 1 tsp red or white wine vinegar 1 tsp honey, salt, black pepper Cooking instructions Preheat the oven to 160C (325F) Gas 3. Heat the oil in a large, heavy casserole over medium heat. Add the onion and fry until golden, 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, chilli,garam masala and tomato puree, and fry, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the mutton with the flour, stirring until it is thoroughly coatedwith the spiced mixture, then cook gently until lightly browned, 10-15 minutes. Add water just to cover and bring a simmer. Cover and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Stir in the apricots, honey and vinegar and cook for a further 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot and accompanied by creamy yoghurt and steamed rice.