Recipes « Cromwell Farms

Making a hot rub with Aubrey 0

Aubrey is a great cook and is always keen to lend a hand in the kitchen. One of Aub’s favourite things is giving our meal a good rub before we pop it in for cooking. Today we are sending out the year making our in house rub using one of our Porlex Mini Grinders. It’s working a treat and Aubrey is getting a good work out grinding up herbs. Some of our own seeds too which is exciting.

Found this recipe after putting a chicken on the Anuka Smoker. As usual I have used the fire, ready aim technique and have taken the chook off the smoker now for some refinements. Which brings us to the great rub recipe.

Kev’s Hot Rub (Makes about 1 cup)

Recommended for Fish, Beef and Chicken

1/4 cup ground cumin
1/4 cup ground coriander
1 tbs ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chili power
2 tbs firmly packed brown sugar
1 tbs salt
1 tbs dried pepper flakes
2 tbs freshly ground black pepper

Posted on: 12-31-2011
Posted in: Farming News, Recipes

Neil Perry’s barbecued pork chops with apple, potato, parsley and lemon salad 0

It seems fitting the first recipe google gave to me when searching for a recipe for our Free Range Pork was this one. Our farming buddies the Swans are going to be excited to see hear how we go with the chops from the pig we just got back. Time to get the girls prepping.

Cromwell Swan Chops Getting Ready

Ingredients
Serves 4

4 free-range pork chops (about 250-300g each)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8 pieces
80g unsalted butter
2 kipfler potatoes, peeled and cut into 8 pieces
1/4 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves only
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra
The pork is great drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar. Or try the salad with dried fruit such as dates, prunes or apricots. I also like it with a chopped jalapeno chilli or two folded through. Or you can replace the lemon juice with 1-2 tbsp verjuice.

Method
Remove the chops from the refrigerator 2 hours before you intend to start cooking, and season liberally with sea salt.
Using a microplane, grate 1/2 the zest from 1 lemon into a bowl. Cut the top and bottom off the lemon and, with a paring knife, remove the remaining skin and pith and discard. Fillet the lemon and add the fillets to the bowl with the zest. Squeeze the juice from the second lemon into the bowl.
In a small non-stick pan, saut

Posted on: 12-14-2011
Posted in: Farming News, Recipes

In a Pickle 0

Sunday night and we have a fridge full of cucumbers and all the ingredients to make dill pickles. I am not up for a bunch of jars and all that preparation. All I want is to get those cukes into some brine. Found a 4 Litre sealing glass jar that looks perfect for a big batch to keep refrigerated. That should make it quick and easy. Here are some guidelines I am going to go by from epicurious that have been Greg’d. I have tripled them and embellished.

20 small pickling cucumbers (about 3pounds/1.5kg)
2 L white vinegar
2 L (500 mL) water
10 tablespoons (25 mL) pickling salt–how about some sea salt
20 heads fresh dill and 4 teaspoons dill seeds –got plenty of this in the garden
20

Posted on: 10-9-2011
Posted in: Recipes

Cromwell Sheep Farm? 0

Maybe its time for a few sheep. Wish this was our little lamb. At $20 for a wee leg its tempting. The leg is not from sliver wood but it’s organic and I can’t wait to start rubbing it up and getting it in the oven. Sunday Roast Dinner my favourite.

: Aubrey lambing it up

: Aubs punching the holes

Traditional Garlic and rosemary lamb roast
Ingredients

1 organic leg of lamb
6 whole cloves of garlic peeled
6-8 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Salt flakes and freshly ground pepper

Method

Rub the meat with some olive oil and sprinkle well with freshly ground salt and pepper.

Posted on: 10-2-2011
Posted in: Farming News, Recipes, Sheaffes Road

Mulberry Madness 0

Our Mulberry tree is ripe for the picking. Time for some purple fingers.

Posted on: 10-2-2011
Posted in: Farming News, Recipes, Sheaffes Road

Spinach Harvest 0

The clocks moved forward today–time to start saving some daylight. It’s also a signal that the heat of the Australian summer is on the way. Our vegetable garden is looking great and it’s time to get into harvest mode. Today’s mission is spinach. We have lots and lots and there is nothing handier then a bag out of the freezer. The next best thing to fresh from the garden.

: Laundry Basket Bounty

: Spinach Splendour

In the past we have blanched the spinach with boiling water; however, I have just come across this process from Colorado State University. My daughter Kaleigh would not approve but I like the simplicity.

The best way to preserve spinach for winter use is to freeze it. Rinse the leaves well, place them in a resealable plastic bag and blanch them in the microwave (600-700 watts) for 1 minute, then place in the freezer. Spinach loses too much of its vitamin content if you blanch it in boiling water.

Some more research and I like what this video shows. Nothing like the less is more method. Will call this the Kaleigh Spinach storage strategy–less is more and NO NUKE.

All done–in less then an hour we picked, processed and froze about 10 kg of spinach. Feeling hungry now. Time to cook up some spinach /Eggs Benedict.

Posted on: 10-1-2011
Posted in: Farming News, Recipes, Sheaffes Road

Fresh Corn and Steam Whistle 0

I have been asked on many occasions what do I miss about living in Canada since the move to Australia. Of course being close to family and friends is at the top of the list; followed very closely by, Fresh food from the farm and Steam Whistle. Might have to smuggle some corn and Steam back with me in a couple of weeks.

What a pair.

Is it Supper time again yet?

Posted on: 09-13-2011
Posted in: Farming News, Gregory Line, People, Recipes

How to Make Beef Stock 0

How to Make Beef Stock

INGREDIENTS

4-6 pounds meaty beef stock bones (with lots of marrow), including some knuckle bones if possible, cut to expose the center marrow, and include at least a couple veal bones if you can, for their gelatin
1/2 to 1 pound of stew meat (chuck or flank steak) and/or beef scraps, cut into 2-inch chunks (optional)
Olive oil
1-2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
1-2 large carrots, cut into 1-2 inch segments
Handful of celery tops, or 1 large celery rib, cut into 1 inch segments
2-3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
Handful of parsley, stems and leaves
1-2 bay leaves
10 peppercorns
METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 400

Posted on: 08-24-2011
Posted in: Recipes