Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Lamb Heart Chili

In the interest of both budget and nutrition, I make a huge effort to feed my family organ meats regularly. Luckily since moving to Ireland, worrying about finding "grass-fed" meat and dairy is not really an issue. Phew. However, I still go out of my way to find meat that is free-range and organic. This is something I am even more serious about when it comes to organ meats.

On Saturday, I was at my local Natural Food Market trying to get as much nutrition as possible for my limited food budget. Along with some ground beef and chicken carcasses (for bone broth), I also picked up very reasonable lambs liver and lamb hearts.

I know my kids will eat the liver pan-fried (just don't tell them it's liver please) but I knew I would have to do something to disguise the hearts. I have made the PaleoMom's pumpkin chili before and really liked the flavor. So, I decided to do something similar, using ingredients I had on hand. I can't say this was a huge hit with my kids (they thought it was "too spicy") but I really loved it and they ate it at least. Sometimes they need to try something a few times before they come around, but even if they don't, this is a recipe I would make again just because I like it so much. I also suppose I could tone down the spice and see what they think. Anyway, it was fab and a great way to incorporate organ meats into your diet.

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Lamb Heart Chili

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
3 small onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 lamb hearts, chopped small (I remove the very obvious ventricles)
2 tbsp dripping or tallow or oil
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp mild curry powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cocoa powder
1 jar of tomato passata
1 tsp salt


Heat oven to 350F or 180C.
1. Roast the butternut and sweet potato pieces in the oven for 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, sautee the onions, garlic and heart pieces in 2 tsp dripping til onions are translucent and heart pieces are nicely brown.
3. Add the chili powder, curry powder, cinnamon and nutmeg to the sautee pan, toss everything around to combine and then transfer these a crock pot.
4. Remove half the squash/potato pieces from the oven after 25 minutes and transfer to crockpot.
5. Keep cooking the rest of the  squash/ potato for 20 more minutes, til soft.
6. Add bay leaves, tomato passata and salt to slow cooker.
7. When the squash/potato pieces are done and soft, use a stick blender or food processor to puree.
8. Add puree to the crock pot.
9. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3. (This will depend a bit on your crock pot. The one I had in the US seemed to cook at much lower temps than the one I have here in Ireland. This one always has stuff bubbling! Not sure I like that.)

So, that's a very simple organ meat dish, that I find quite delicious. We ate it over rice, but you could easily have it with cauliflower rice or on its own. I am also thinking it might be a nice savory filling for my einkorn crepes. It might also be nice with beans added to the mix (if you eat beans).

Einkorn Crepes

Today was a lazy Sunday morning and I wanted a quick and easy breakfast that also felt like a weekend treat. Last week, the kids tried pancakes (the way they are made here in Ireland) for the first time. In Ireland, pancakes are what would be called crepes in the US. Here they are just called pancakes and they are usually sprinkled with lemon juice and sugar. I remember how much my brother loved these as a kid. The kind of pancakes we eat in the US, thick and floury, are called American pancakes. There is also another style of pancake here, that they eat up North (Northern Ireland, to you non-Irish) which are a bit like American pancakes, but they are sweet and I have usually had them cold with butter and jam spread on them. They remind me of visiting my granny when I was little.

Anyway, today I decided to try my hand at pancakes or crepes. Because I try to minimize the amount of white flour my family eats, I usually go for alternatives to wheat flour. But lately I have been excited about trying Einkorn or Khorasan (ancient wheat varieties) whenever wheat flour is called for. Today's crepes were made with Einkorn and I think they tasted WAY better than regular crepes. My kids devoured them. They were super easy and I will definitely be making these again!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients: (makes about 12 crepes)

2 cups einkorn (or regular) flour

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

butter or oil for the pan

Directions:
If you have time, sift the flour. Whisk in the eggs. Add the milk, water and salt and whisk til combined. Heat oil or butter in frying pan. Ladle or pour batter into hot pan (enough to thinly coat the bottom of the pan). Cook til edges are nicely golden and it seems solid enough to flip. Flip the pancake, cook a little bit more and then slide onto a plate. Super quick and easy!

Look at that lovely pancake!

Today we put a little maple syrup and blueberries on our pancakes. (These pancakes seem to need a lot less syrup than American style ones.) If I had a lemon, I would have gone with the traditional lemon and sugar. I will also be experimenting with an easy, homemade, heathier nutella type spread as well as using these for savory wraps. Stay tuned!

DIY lego tablet stand

Yep, you read that correctly. My husband and son just built a stand for our tablet out of Lego!

Seeing as we don't have a tv in our house (yet) we watch a lot of shows on a tablet. I also use the tablet when I am working on a portrait. 

 So, my industrious (and frugal) husband joined forces with my son and they built us a tablet stand out of LEGO pieces!

I LOVE this! It works perfectly and I just think it is so cool:

Weekend trip to Newcastle

Strolling down Grey St. famous for its stunning Georgian architecture

Last month I took a solo trip to Newcastle, England. Three days, all to myself! I have not been alone since before my children were born. My oldest is now 8. That's a long time! Why Newcastle for my first solo trip? Well, I was in a particularly grumpy place about art and portraiture. I get that way sometimes, feeling completely misaligned with the world. I had missed seeing the BP portrait award exhibition while it was on display in London and it happened to be on display in Sunderland (near Newcastle). It was a show I really wanted to see. There was also a show by portrait artist Jonathan Yeo opening in Newcastle, just before the BP portrait award was about to close. So I decided I should go to this part of the world, while these two shows overlapped and hopefully bolster my mood and motivation.

I made sure there was food in the fridge, clothes were washed and left out, and everyone knew their movements for the three days that I would be away. I decided to fly into Edinburgh and take the train down to Newcastle, so that I could get a quick glimpse of another city that I would really like to visit. Once I hit Newcastle, I spent two glorious days walking around town, looking at art, people watching, enjoying the architecture and eating in cafes. At this time of year, in this particular latitude/longitude it was getting dark close to 4pm, so I would retire early to my hotel each night (a hotel room, all to myself!!!!) drink some wine and read.

The day I arrived I took the train to Sunderland, to see the BP portrait award. I was not disappointed. It was full of beautiful, skill- ful and inspiring portraits. Then I went back to Newcastle and checked out the Jonathan Yeo exhibit at the Laing Gallery. Again, I was happy, nourished and inspired. While at the Laing, I also saw a lovely and noteworthy installation called "Gone With the Wind" by Claire Morgan. Unfortunately, I was not allowed take a picture though, boo!

On day 2, I went to an amazing place called The Biscuit Factory. As the name suggests, the building is a repurposed biscuit factory. It is now an amazing venue that showcases high end craft and decorative arts. I was in heaven. So many beautiful things within reach (figuratively and literally) that I could potentially take home and decorate my days with. After the Biscuit Factory, I moved on to Seven Stories, the national center for children's books. Lots of illustration art inspiration to behold. The locale was also amazing and I took a lovely walk behind the building along a little river, where a fantastic "chitty-chitty-bang-bang" style boat was moored.

The little river behind Seven Stories, perfect for a post-lunch stroll.

The boat docked under the Seven Stories cafe window! Love.

After lunch I walked through Newcastle and along the river to the Baltic Center for Contemporary Art, again housed in a repurposed building. This time an old flour mill. I filled myself up with ideas and beauty and then headed back to my hotel.

A stroll along the river en route to the Baltic.

The Baltic Center for Contemporary Art

The view from the viewing deck at the Baltic

The view in the other direction. Newcastle is a beautiful city for sure!

 The next morning, I left Newcastle for Edinburgh. I spent the afternoon roaming the amazing streets and doing a little shopping before my flight home (and I ate haggis for lunch and dinner!) It was a glorious 3 days. I feel recharged and am so excited to hopefully start taking regular solo trips to nourish my self and sensibilities.