2013 Tolland Sheep and Wool Festival

I have come out of cooking seclusion! I will once again be presenting two different cooking demonstrations this Saturday (4.27.03) at the Tolland Sheep and Wool Festival. The first one kicks off at 11am and then another at 1pm. This year I will be preparing some simple and tasty appetizers.
I have borrowed three of the recipes from the American Lamb website; www.americanlamb.com. There is a ton of information on their site, just about anything and everything you ever wanted to know about lamb!
I am also preparing two other recipes that I will share with you. I have included them is this post. Look forward to seeing you all tomorrow, the weather looks promising!

Lamb Skewers with Mint-Mustard Dipping Sauce

For the marinade:
1/4 cup Extra Virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, rough chopped
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3/4 pound boneless trimmed lamb loin (I am using a boned leg of lamb from Sankow's)

For the dipping sauce:
1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup Sheep's Milk Yogurt (another great find from Sankow's
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Bamboo Skewer

Sear the the lamb in a cast iron pan on both side until cooked to desired temperature.
Let rest then slice thin and thread the meat onto the skewers.

Fillo Cups with Spiced Lamb, Mint and Feta

30 store bought fillo cups

1 tablespoon Extra Virigin Olive Oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
8 ounces lean ground lamb

Brown meat in a cast iron pan with the onions and garlic till cooked through.

Then add:
1/2 cup black currants
1 1/4 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon all spice

Spoon the lamb filling into fillo cups and garnish with fresh mint and crumbled Sheep's Milk Feta; another tasty addition from Sankow's.

Visit Sankow's Beaver Brook Farm in Lyme, CT at www.beaverbrookfarm.com.

Watercress Pesto

I love watercress! It is very versatile; great in salads, soups, pesto...

I had bought a bag from our favorite organic farm, White Gate in East Lyme. It had been in the fridge a little too long for a salad, so I thought I would try Pauline's (White Gate's owner) suggestion. I whipped up a batch of pesto. I didn't have the traditional walnuts or pine nuts, but a handful of hazelnuts. I thought," How bad could that be?"

Well, I have to say it was great!!!! We had the pesto over cheese tortellini for dinner and the next day with friends as a veggie dip.

The pesto was very simple; I pulsed the hazelnuts and garlic in the food processor first then added the watercress (stems and all,) extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Matthew garnished his with Parmesan, but it was delicious without!

Childhood Vaccines

I would love to say that our table is adorned with beautiful and delicious food, but no. It is cluttered with books, pamphlets and papers about childhood vaccines. All new parents are finding themselves in this situation. I'm not opposed to vaccines, but so many at once. The recommendation for a baby's 2 month pediatrician appointment is a total of 8, combined into three injections.This seems severe and drastic for any person, of any age. Many rumors about autism have recently been debunked, but many ingredients despite this are frightening. Mercury has been taken out of children immunizations, but replaced with aluminum. This is another scary element and has been linked to Alzheimer's and the FDA has specific amounts not to exceed. However, vaccines can contain up to 3 times this allotment. I just can't get my head around that!

In defence of vaccines, without immunizations we will be dealing with the rise of these seemly distant diseases. The less people are vaccinated the greater the chance for many of these diseases to make a comeback. This has already been proven with the rise of Measles, Mumps and Pertussis. The Polio vaccine has helped to eradicated wild Polio from the Americas and this could be achieved worldwide.

This is just the tip of the iceberg! I have decided to educate myself the best I can. My family, friends, books and the Internet have all given me many facts and suggestions, giving me much to consider. Out of all this great advice I have found three references to be the most helpful. So, happy reading!

I have found a great blog that has Dr. Sears and Dr. Stephanie Cave's Alternative Vaccine Schedule.
The Daily Hammond
I found these very helpful. They recommend spreading out the vaccines and Dr. Cave's has them starting at 5 months. As I said before I'm not against Western medicine, I just have learned not to believe everything at face value. The medical industry is now driven and guided by insurance companies and drug manufacturers.

Another great blog!
The Natural Mommy
She has a great entry about the Pc vaccine.

I have also read The Vaccine Guide by Randall Neustaedter OMD. This has proven very helpful, but also scary! When you read anything that spells out the facts you become enlightened. I believe knowledge equals power but, what to do with this power. We all can say, "Oh, those side effects won't effect our child." We need to face the fact that they are affecting someone's child somewhere!

After much thought my husband and I decided at the 2 month appointment to start with the Pedi dt. This begins her protection of Tetanus and Diphtheria. I decided to hold off on the Pertussis because of the side effects and my ability to be a stay-at-home mom. I was also vaccinated with Dtap before leaving the hospital helping to protect her further. I had read that an infant is protected against Tetanus if the mother is current with her immunizations, but we have dogs. Tetanus can be found in the familiar places; rusty nails, deep cuts, dirty cuts, puncture wounds....it can also be found in unfamiliar places like horse and dog feces. My dogs have the wonderful habit of eating horse poop. This, I'd imagine, would make the chance even higher that they could have Tetanus. I can't keep them away from her every second of the day, so I thought it best to protect her.

Be sure to double check everything you read on blogs, including mine!! We are just well intentioned parents sharing what we believe to be true.

Well, wish me luck and in return I wish every parent the same!!

Bread recipe update...

I searched around and found the cookbook on Amazon, $63!!!!
Wow! This book must be very sought after, so if you find it used at a tag sale or used book store, GET IT!!! Even if you just turn around and sell it, the book is worth buying.

Homemade Bread

Another great slow rise recipe. A friend shared this recipe with me as a shower gift. I can't share this recipe because I haven't yet asked my friend. I do however feel safe telling you the recipe come from the La Leche League Cookbook. I don't know if this book is still in circulation, so keep your eyes open at the used book stores.

This bread also toasts wonderfully. I have been devouring egg sandwiches every morning. The featured sandwich has arugula, tomatoes (from VT, sooo good,) a farm fresh egg, mayo and homemade hot sauce. If you have never had mayo on an egg sandwich before you are missing a tasty surprise. I justify the morning mayo by having no cheese and using light mayo. Hellman's Light Mayo if actually delicious and only uses potato starch as the thickening agent. I can live with that, at least I can pronounce "potato starch"

A May Day

This butterfly was too beautiful not to share.

Miriam's Library

At only a few weeks old Miriam has quite a library for herself. To help myself and our loved ones keep track of these books here's the list:

Marshmallow, by Clare Turlay Newberry
Library Lion, by Michelle Knudsen
Kitten's First Full Moon, by Kevin Henkens
The Runaway Bunny, by Margaret Wise Brown
Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown
Mike Mulligan and More, by Virginia Lee Burton
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, by Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, by Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle
The Very Hungery Caterpillar, by Eric Carle
Where The Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin Jr/John Archambault
Roger Tory Peterson's ABC Of Birds, by Linda Westervelt
Over The Rainbow, performed by Judy Collins and paintings by Eric Puybaret
Forever Young, by Bob Dylan
The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg

I will do my best to keep this updated!!