Eighth of an Acre Bounty

This week was a flurry of inactivity for the most part. So I have no real excuse for the lack of pictures for the highlighted meal. Gary’s Dad has been in town visiting and we had friends over for dinner on Tuesday night to welcome him. The perfect time to pull out the camera, right? I am just not so good at reaching for the camera when it comes to people – but give me a hummingbird in mid flight and I am there.

Garlic Sage Sausage, Sauerkraut, Sweetmeat Squash, Braised Leeks and Greens.

I tried my hand at making sausage for the first time! For my birthday my parents bought me the grinder and sausage stuffer attachments to the Kitchen AId that Gary got me (let’s hear it for collusion!). I had a goodly portion of a pork shoulder in the freezer left over from a get together earlier in the summer and decided to give it a shot. After grinding the pork I mixed in a good bit of sage from the garden, garlic from the farmers market, salt and pepper. Then I left it to mingle in the fridge overnight. The next day I fried up a bit for a taste, adjusted the spices and then headed out in search of sausage casing.

I found the casing at a local butcher in Columbia City, Bob’s Quality Meats. With a tub of salted lamb intestine tucked safely away I made my way home to begin the sausage process. I will spare you the details of flying sausage and the intestinal learning curve. Ultimately it all worked out and we were the proud owners of a half-shoulder worth of sausages.

For our dinner I cooked the sausages in about an inch of water until they were cooked through, then browned in the pan. I harvested 5 leeks from the garden and braised (both the greens and the whites) in a good splash of homemade chicken stock. The sausage was served over a bed of braised leeks, Sweetmeat Squash mash on the side and a big bowl of sauerkraut. The sauerkraut was my first attempt at lactic fermentation, and came from a large head of cabbage we picked up at Carpinito Brothers farm in Kent. Gotta say that this sauerkraut is miles above any canned or bagged variety I have had in the past. A simple greens salad rounded it out and we were all happily burping garlic for the rest of the night.

Local Ingredients: Sweetmeat Squash – Columbia City Farmers Market (I can’t remember the vendor). Leeks – our backyard. Chicken Stock – homemade. Sage – our backyard. Garlic – West Seattle Farmers Mkt. Cabbage – Kent, 7 miles. Greens – West Seattle Farmers Mkt.  Sausage Casings – Bob’s Quality Meats.

Non Local Ingredients: I cannot remember where the pork came from, but I would bet that it is unfortunately not local. . A bit of olive oil. Salt. Pepper.

Other local foods for the week included braised shortribs with clove and cinnamon and Roasted Chicken with smashed Rose Finn Fingerlings and parsley. Winter is treating us well.