Almost exactly a month ago I read this post by @ericvancewalton and a lot of what he writes about big corporations vs small businesses resonates with me a lot. I dislike the way we shop as all it seems to be these days is Amazon, Amazon and Amazon again.
I get it though and I do it too because it's just so darn' convenient. No dealing with crowds and parking, delivery to your door next day or the day after - sure, sign me up. But do we really need whatever it is that we bought that fast? More often than not the answer to that is probably 'no'. 'Then why don't you use Amazon delivery day or ground transport' to have fewer trips to your home - LOL - yeah, tried that many times and every second time Amazon stuffs up exactly those no-time-critical deliveries. So, sadly, none of that for me anymore. Now I am punishing Amazon and order everything that I order through them the fastest way possible - hah - there take that inflexible, insatiable corporation!
Rant off! Breaaaathe...
So, yeah, EVW posted a couple of links to small(ish) businesses that are family owned and operated. I was immediately interested and checked them out. And when I found Einkorn flour on Dutch Meadows Farms (this is a referral link that will give both of us $10 off our next orders should you decide to follow the link and shop at Dutch Meadows Farms) I was hooked. I have been baking sourdough bread for a few years now and started looking into getting heritage flour a couple of times in the past but each time I was out of luck because it had sold out. Not this time!
Labor Day long weekend was just around the corner so I decided to put together a nice order to Dutch Meadows Farms. All went really smooth, lots of information on their website about the individual products and loads to choose from. Of course, I bought a bit more than I needed to but I didn't feel too bad because it was good stuff I was getting for us.
This is how my order arrived, actually earlier than expected while I was on business travel, so hubby took these photos
One of the boxes was insulated and contained ice packs to keep the meat, fish and butter frozen, the other box contained the product storable at ambient temps. All was packed immaculately and in recyclable material, no plastic, well, except for the foil on the meat/fish and the leakage proof bag in the frozen package.
This is really the only slight regret I have about my purchase - the added transportation and packaging. Which, of course, is no different to Amazon but it were better if I could find the same product locally. For some of you or us this may be possible but for most of us this is not the world we live in anymore.
I already made an Einkorn sourdough bread which was highly yummy but I forgot to take photos so that's for another post. I'll probably be baking another one tomorrow and photos WILL be taken.
So, in the meantime, here is what I made for Labor Day dinner
Oven-roasted rabbit with red cabbage and blue potato gratin
Gravy, of course, as well but that just doesn't belong into a dish's title for some reason. I'm not sure I ever prepared a whole rabbit, if I did I forgot about it, maybe it traumatized me? No, no, it didn't I am not that squeamish when it comes to cooking. But I did have to look up how to best cut up and prepare i.e. butcher the rabbit. There are lots of websites illustrating this, apparently hunting rabbits is a (good) thing. I wouldn't know, I'm a city girl. Anyhow, cutting up a whole rabbit shouldn't be keeping you from preparing one. It tastes really good.
Since a rabbit cooks pretty fast, faster than chicken in my experience, I had some time before I had to start the actual cooking. Hence, I decided to marinate the rabbit pieces in - something. It was likely a mix of olive oil, wine, salt pepper and fresh basil and rosemary from the garden, oh, and garlic.
While it was marinating, I cut up the blue potatoes, a red onion, some carrots and the red cabbage.
For the red cabbage I also used some bacon and an apple plus a little sugar and apple cider vinegar. All of this goes into the pressure cooker for just a few minutes, salt and add maybe more vinegar/sugar and - done.
For the potato gratin arrange the slices together with half the onion in an oven safe dish, salt and pepper and pour in generous amount of milk, I use oat or almond milk. This goes into the oven together with the rabbit.
First though, the rabbit pieces get browned in a pan and then you can either transfer the pan, if oven safe, into the oven or transfer its contents to a dish which is what I did.
I roasted the rabbit in the oven for just over thirty minutes but it felt a little dry, so next time - less oven time. It still tasted great though especially with all the sides and the gravy which I made from the rabbit juices (pan and oven dish) + white wine, water and I also always puree in the carrots, onions, garlic etc. that were baked together with the rabbit in the roasting dish. There is always tons of flavor. Finish the gravy with spices and a little Herbs de Provence and the gratin with a little cheese on top.
And then it was time to dig in: Our Labor Day dinner. Bon appetit!
Till next time!
Have a great rest of your day!
Cheers,
(Ocean)Bee
That looks a pretty amazing dish! I have never eaten rabbit, but I heard it can give you a hop in your step! I hope you had a great Friday off!
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It was pretty darn' good despite the rabbit meat being a little dry. I'll definitely make it again. You should try it, kind of like white chicken meat.
Had a great Friday. Went bicycling again and to the same brew pub afterwards.
I must admit, wherever possible I will shop local especially for produce. Amazon though yeah still buy loads from there, mind you the only thing food related is pinto beans.
The rabbit looks delicious and I haven't had any for ages!
Yeah, we don't buy produce or food on Amazon either, well, except for those specialties that we found in a local shop that doesn't carry it anymore - on Amazon you can find it. Great - but also kind of annoying.
I have a local supermarket that is a ten walk away and used to get my pinto beans there, no other supermarkets carry them. Then I found they kept not being in stock. But they were in Amazon and cheaper! And from the same supermarket. How bizare!
Exactly that! But from the same supermarket? That is indeed weird, guess they didn't want to give the prime real estate to the pinto beans
Thank you @ewkaw and Qurator - appreciate it 😍
Enjoy your Delicacy 🤗
We did!
I'm glad it worked out for you! The food you made looks delicious. I like having the red cabbage as a side. Sometimes I'll buy a bag of the pre-sliced cabbage slaw mix and saute that with some kielbasa and potatoes. I just placed another Dutch Meadows order myself. This time I'm trying the raw kefir and the einkorn tortillas. The beef patties are the best I've ever tried so I ordered a few more packs of those also.
It did, thanks for the link! Red cabbage seems to be somewhat underrated here in the US, your recipe sounds tasty. We don't really eat beef only occasionally when we go out which doesn't happen often otherwise I would try the patties for sure.
You can come to mine and catch all the rabbits you can eat 😜
Wierd... That's the second time I have heard about that today, off to Google it as I haven't heard of it before.
I know, right? The Australian rabbit plague, they're just multiplying so fast.
Einkorn flour - ancient flour or heritage flour, I'm sure you googled your way through the gazillion websites already. Let me just say - it handles quite different from today's regular flour and I haven't found the right prep yet. Still testing. But - the taste is really good, a little more nutty IMO.
Lovely meal
Thank you.
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We have a phrase here in SA - 'Local is Lekker'
I try to support small local businesses as well. It sure tastes much nicer when it's grown and reared in one's own backyard, (well, almost)
I've never eaten rabbit or blue potatoes, but your meal looks fit for a king!
Couldn't agree more. Honestly, to me the blue potatoes don't taste much if any different to normal ones. But you know the saying you eat with your eyes first - I like it when dishes not only taste great but also look pretty.
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