Elk you say?

Well, me and the husb have not been eating meat for the past few months. I did promise way back if we ever found someone selling pastured, antibiotic/hormone free meat where we could meet and talk with the farmer and the animal was not killed in a commercial slaughter house we could buy some. Well, the husb's prayers were answered. He got himself some spicy elk sausage the other day at the Brickwork's Farmer's Market in Toronto. The animal is killed in a local, Mennonite abattoir and the meat is also processed/flavoured there as well...

Here is a snippet from the farm's website about what they do:

"At Glen Ewen Springs, we strive as a family owned farm to provide a safe and natural setting for our Red Deer & Canadian Elk to live. We pride ourselves on providing a naturally raised animal and using no hormones, steroids, pesticides, herbicides or growth enhancers. Our feeding program includes seasonal pasture, alfalfa forage, natural grains and minerals. Our venison products are also antibiotic free."

So, while I am not big on the idea of eating any meat at all the husb was happy to have some animal protein back in his life for at least that one day. No need for the recipe as it is a straight forward pasta. If you ever get your hands on some elk sausage try and be more creative than I was with this dish! I did add some amazing organic King oyster mushrooms, also from the Brickwork's Farmer's Market, which were divine.

Rudolph is a Reindeer, right? Just checking.

Not better than takeout: Sweet Potato Pie

I followed the instructions. I swear it. Unfortunately, my sweet potato pie (masquerading here as an apple pie) did not turn out as well as I hoped. My butter was too cold and my sweet potatoes were too hard (after 60+ minutes of boiling)and so the whole process went down hill from there*. I ended up almost whipping the filling by the time I had everything mixed in so while it tastes light and airy it certainly does not have a traditional SPP texture. Also, I had an extra pie crust that was very soft by the time I went to use it, so I decided not to waste it and made the lattice. That's the apple pie part.

No recipe or preparation required here folks as this one is not a winner.

*Only 2 sweet potatoes were injured in the making of this pie.