I’m no travel extraordinaire, but I’ve been around. There
are little food utopias scattered across the world including all these “up and
coming cities and neighborhoods” that are finally realizing how not just
beneficial but BEAUTIFUL farming is and in a broader sense how satisfying and
inspirational a grow/nurture/consume relationship is. To know exactly where
your food is coming from and maybe even brush the hand of the farmer who put
that seed in the ground is comforting and humbling. To garden or farm yourself
turns you into this proud super human. You learn not just the gifts but the
difficulties that nature hands you and the balance of each which creates this mass
of gratitude and appreciation. You get to nurture your body with the fruit of
your wisdom and hard work.
Being born and raised on MPO, I’ve always known this
feeling and have never for one second taken that for granted (in all
seriousness). I feel like the luckiest girl when I think of the journey the
apple has made. I put the tree in the ground as a 10 year old when I had my
first sip (thermos) of coffee and ran around the orchard fifty times screaming
like a monster child. Now I sit down, a woman, with a glass of wine, the most
perfect apple I could find, some camembert, and a knife; with Billy Holiday on
the record player and think how close I feel to the whole practice and idea. My
mom tells embarrassing stories about my diapers as a baby because of my fruit
and vegetable consumption. In every photo of me as a baby you can spot berry
stains on my chin and cheeks and dirt on my knees and hands. I broke up with a
boy once because he didn’t like fruit. It is my life; I’m not ashamed to admit
it.
So this grow/nurture/consumer relationship with produce has
always been in me. Something new I’ve come to really really appreciate is that
same relationship with meat. I feel so incredibly lucky that local, grass-fed,
free-range, organic meat is so readily available around here not only from
markets or grocers, but at most restaurants. I can confidently and comfortably
go into my favorite restaurants and know that the pork, chicken, lamb, beef,
duck, whatever came from somebody I most likely know, close by. It’s
incredible! (If you haven't eaten at Elephant, you're missing out).
I realize this is a touchy subject with people and I really
hope to not to offend anybody.
I’d say the majority of my friends are vegetarian or
extremely selective with meat consumption. My brother had been a vegetarian
since he was pretty little up until recently. He decided he would only eat what
he has killed himself. He started with squirrels, chickens, turkeys, deer, and
even a snapping turtle. We’re now raising two pigs named Tony and Carmella who
will eventually be turned into meat. I see these pigs on a daily basis and I’ll
tell you, they are living the life. The TV show Portlandia cleverly makes fun
of this whole idea, but it’s 100% valid and important.
Dana Gentile of Darlin’ Doe Farm in Germantown has been a
friend of ours for a while now. She raises goats for meat and sells locally (at
our farm market on Saturdays). I had never bought meat from her until this
year, don’t ask me why. Inspired by a friend, I decided I wanted to make meat
balls with the ground goat. I am not lying when I say this was one of the top
ten foods I’ve had in my life. I wasn’t alone on this. I HAD to share and
encourage you to buy some goat. I did a little Q&A with her to inform you a
bit in case it’s new for you too.
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| Leisl inhaling the goat stew- Photo by Dana |
 | |
| The setup a the market- Photo by Dana |
When
was the first time you ate goat? How was it prepared ?
The
first time I ate goat was at Applewood, a restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
It was goat stew and I knew from the first bite I was hooked on this lean,
delicious red meat. I also new I wanted
to raise my own meat.
What
made you decide to raise goats for meat?
I
was a vegetarian for eight years and was unable to get enough protein that my
body wanted/needed. When I started to
eat meat again I made sure it was the best quality and humanly raised. That was
very important to me and still is. I
always wanted to farm as a kid and never thought is could be a reality because
I did not grow up on a farm and the only farmers in my background are in
Italy. Since I could not uproot myself
across the ocean and learn from my relatives, I decided to come up to the
Hudson Valley to learn and deepen my roots here in New York State.
What
nutritional benefits does goat meat have compared to other meats?
Goat
meat is higher in protein and iron than beef, pork, lamb and chicken and lower
in fat, calories and cholesterol than chicken or turkey. </p><p>What foods/spices go best
with goat? What’s your favorite way to prepare it?
Goat
meat is versatile and is eaten by 80% of the world. Every culture has different
ways of cooking and spices used. My
favorite is a simple roast with garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and rosemary.
Another favorite cooking a leg,
Schwarma, with garlic, salt,
cardamon, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne pepper.
What
is their diet like?
Darlin'
Doe Farm goats browse pastures and forage in the woodlands of Germantown,
NY. Their favorite plants are poison
ivy, sumac, pear tree leaves, and mugwort.
They get fruit and vegetable treats that we grow on the farm such as
kale, collards, pears, and asparagus, and of course they get some montgomery
place apples. The goats get a cup of
local whole grain feed in the morning to start the day and unlimited hay. We believe in a natural and holistic approach
to raising healthy livestock and have an herbal worming program to balance
parasites.
What
does a day in their lives look like on
Darlin Doe Farm?
We
rise at 6am and I give a cup of local whole grain feed to each goat. I open the barn to a fenced in pasture that
moves around the farm every 3-4 days.
The goats get a lot of attention and love. They like to do tricks and
jump on things. I do as much as I can to
make these goats as happy as possible.
We go on hikes through the woods whenever possible.
This recipe was adapted from The Meatball Shop Cookbook
using Real Live Amazing Food Co. Farmer’s cheese.
4 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 t salt
1 T fresh thyme leaves
1 t sweet paprika
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup REAL LIVE AMAZING FOOD CO. BASIL & HERB FARMER’S CHEESE (or goat cheese)
2 pounds ground goat meat
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 large eggs
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, 1 teaspoon salt and the thyme. Lower heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and nicely browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool completely.
Combine cooled onion mixture with remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.
Roll the mixture into round, golf ball-sized meatballs (2 2-1/2” thick) making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.
Roast for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165 degrees.
Allow meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.
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