Week 1

Social Distancing Week #1 is complete. I'll be honest with you, it wasn't easy and that was with two added helpers (Mom and Dad were visiting). Week 2 begins tomorrow, without any helpers. School sent some awesome homeschool material but how exactly do you "work" and guide your kiddos through the curriculum? I'll let you know after this week!

In the meantime, have y'all been cooking at home a lot? Meal planning to make the most of grocery runs has been super important for us. I have been trying to plan out 5 meals at a time (main + sides). We gave this easy Beef Stroganoff a try tonight and it was great, ranking high on the effort vs reward matrix :) We made it with a mix of venison and beef because that's what we had and opted for the 2 hour stove version rather than the slow cooker. The dijon gives it a nice tangy flavor.

Recipe: Beef Stroganoff

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Grilled Lamb Kebabs

With Ross's upcoming sheep hunt, I am reminded of how delicious "fresh" lamb really is. In anticipation of the giant Dahl Sheep Ross is going to shoot, we needed to clear out the freezer of last years sheep. Afterall, out with the old, in with the new!

Ross made a Middle Eastern inspired meal of Grilled Lamb Kebabs with a Feta Tzatziki sauce, served in a warm pita.

It was so goood!

Ross needs to kill another sheep STAT. :)

Tzatziki

14 ounces Greek yogurt (Ina recommends Fage Total; I recommend whatever you like best, and yes, I use full fat, always)
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled and seeded
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the yogurt in a medium bowl. Grate the cucumber on a box grater (or in your food processor, if you like to get things done in one hundreth of the time!) and squeeze the grated cucumber with your hand to remove some of the liquid. (Pressing it in mesh sieve with a spoon to extract the extra water or wringing it in cheesecloth also work well.) Add it to the yogurt along with the lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and stir. Serve with grilled pita wedges.

3 years ago: California Dream'in!

2 years ago: Remember When?

1 year ago: Farewell Josh Chebul

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Winter Jackets

Ross and I took a little trip to REI to start looking at the "goods" we're going to need for Alaska. We are definitely going to need some super warm winter jackets. I had a really good time trying on jackets :) Here's a couple of my favorites...

On another note, Ross made two AWESOME cajun dishes from the Brennan's cookbook: 1. jambalaya risotto with duck and sausage and 2. shrimp creole.  It was so good. I kinda felt like I was sitting at the restaurant. It's nice to know that we can still enjoy Brennan's food even when we move to Anchorage.

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OOMPA!

I am now the wife of a hunter, but I used to be the girlfriend of a hunter. I knew NOTHING about hunting before I met Ross. When you're dating there are a whole bunch of things you don't say. For example, "Umm this sausage you made isn't my favorite." However, once you a) get more comfortable in your relationship and/or b) get hitched, you start to have more honest opinions. For example, "Ross this venison spaghetti is way too gamey for me to eat. I think I'll just have cereal." Some favorites (like spaghetti) just don't translate, but I've been surprised at how many do-- my favorite is probably venison fajitas. It's taken some time, but I really love venison now. I actually prefer venison over beef. (crazy, I know).  There was one major setback along the way. Shall we say, inherent risk? "(CRACK!)... Honey I think I just bit into a shotgun pellet in the gumbo, must have been from the goose... I also think my tooth is cracked. Ah, I'm never eating gumbo again!!" I got my tooth fixed and I started eating gumbo again almost immediately. It's so good.

My friend Sarah had some venison backstrap that had been in the freezer for awhile and needed to be used. Ross pulled a few cookbooks out and I picked Venison Gyros. I made fresh pita bread (which I've never done), but I didn't like the Tzatziki sauce much. We omitted the dill from the sauce (neither Ross nor I like it much) and without it, the sauce was just rather bland. The venison only had to marinade for 15 min, so I was surprised how much flavor it had. We had a Mint Melon Salad on the side, made with a simple syrup, lemon, amaretto, fresh mint, cantaloupe, and watermelon. This salad is a keeper, especially good when watermelon is in season!

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