Healthy Eating with Hawk Hill Meats Made with Xara Hawk Hill Hearty Farmer Stew 1 large onion chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped into 1 inch slices. 4 medium carrots, 1 inch chunks 3 medium or 2 large potatoes, sliced into one inch chunks 2 large cloves garlic, chopped not mined 1 cup sliced mushrooms 1 lb trimmed stew beef 2 TBSP tomato paste 1-2 cups low salt chicken broth 1/2 -1  bottle beer - try a rich pale or dark beer for different flavors 1 tsp chopped rosemary 1 tsp chopped parsley 1/2 tsp thyme 2-3 bay leaves. salt and pepper to taste olive oil and butter to fry In a large stove top to oven pot or dutch oven, add olive oil and fry onions, carrots, celery and garlic until onions are translucent and slightly browned and celery is softening.  Remove from pan and add 1 TBSP butter and mushrooms, fry until slightly brown. Remove from pan and add to onion mix.  Brown beef in pan and add back onion mix and mushrooms.  Add chicken broth, tomato paste, herbs and beer.  There should be enough fluid to cover over all the ingredients.  Bring just to a boil, cover and place in a hot oven (350°F) for about 1-2 hours.  Monitor the fluid level to ensure it does not dry out (Add beer or broth as needed). Now head out to the barn and do your chores.  Partially pre-cook the potatoes, drain and add to the stew.  Cook another 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender.  Salt and pepper to taste.  If required thicken with 1 TBSP flour first thinned in 1/4 cup cold water.  The thickener will need to be added at the same time as the potatoes. Eat with a loaf of hot bread....maybe some focaccia you learned to bake at Hawk Hill.   Enjoy Downloadable pdf version of Hawk Hill Hearty Farmer Stew Bag of Bones Soup - a variation on Scotch Broth Bag of lamb bones, thawed 1 TBSP olive oil 1 Carrot cut into large chunks large onion cut into quarters 1 stalk celery cut into chunks 1 large onion chopped fine 2 carrots chopped into small cubes 1 stalk celery chopped fine 1/4-1/3 cup pot barley 1-2 bay leaves 1/2 tsp thyme salt and pepper to taste In a large stove top to oven pot or dutch oven, brush the bottom with olive oil, add bones, the single carrot, quartered onion and large pieces of celery. Cover and roast at 350°F until well browned.  Drain off any excess fat and remove the vegetables (or not if you want a different taste).  Add sufficient water to cover the bones and simmer on stove top for about one hour.  The longer you simmer the more flavor but make sure you add sufficient water to keep the bones covered. Remove the bones, remove and retain any meat and place the stock in the refrigerator overnight.  In the morning remove all the fat that has collected on the top of the stock.  Add back the retained meat, the cubed carrots, onion and celery cubes, pot barley and herbs.  Cook until the pot barley and vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaf and serve. Vary the amount and type of vegetables for a thicker soup.  Try potatoes and or turnip. Downloadable pdf version of Bag of Bones Soup Lin's Quick Curried Vegetable Soup 1 large onion chopped 1 stick celery, chopped 1 Tbsp butter Left over vegetables, brocolli, sweet potatoe, squash, carrots... 1 litre meat stock (I prefer homemade, low sodium chicken broth) 1 jar of PC Yellow Thai Curry cooking sauce This recipe is an invention of my sister Lin, the master of quick and really tasty.  Sauté onions and celery in butter in large saucepan until soft, add meat stock, vegetables and cooking sauce.  Heat thoroughly and simmer for 10 minutes.  Pure the vegetables with a hand held blender and serve.  Yummy and really fast. Downloadable pdf version of Lin’s Quick Curried Vegetable Soup Hawk Hill Chili - a bit more time in preparation but worth it In a large frying pan place 2 TBSP Vegetable oil 2 Medium onions - chopped medium 2 or more cloves garlic - sliced thin Sauté in oil until translucent Add 1- 1.5 lbs lean beef and coarely break up but don’t brown Add 1 cup milk and continue to break up beef until it is evenly cooked and most of the liquid is gone Add: 1 tsp - 1 TBSP chili powder to your taste 1 tsp ground cumin see 1 tsp - 1TBSP mesquite seasoning mix to your taste 1/4 tsp - 1/2 tsp hot pepper to your taste Transfer to a dutch oven Chop two stalks celery Slice 2 cups mushrooms Chop 1 red or other coloured pepper Sauté these vegetables until soft in the original frying pan with enough oil to prevent sticking Add to beef mix Add to beef mix: 1 large can whole tomatoes 2 TBSP tomato paste 1 large can of mixed bean (kidney, pinto, soldier, chick pea) Bring gently to boil and then simmer for at least one hour until it thickens Serve with fresh break, corn bread or rolls. Downloadable pdf version of Hawk Hill Chili Hawk Hill Tagine  - Lamb Shanks with Prunes This recipe is a composite of several recipes to make it uniquely a Hawk Hill recipe.  A key feature is the Ethiopian clarified butter that came from the recipe book Fat by Jennifer McLagan.  This butter really adds to the delicate flavourings in this recipe.  Like all good things, this recipe takes time but it is worth it. 4 lamb shanks 4 Tbsp Ethiopian butter 2 stalks celery, chopped 1 large sweet onion, choppped 2-4 cloves garlic, crushed 4 cups low salt chicken stock 2 sticks cinnamon broken into pieces 2 whole cloves 1 sereno chili, cored and minced 1 cup prunes 2 cups sweet potato, pumkin or squash cut into cubes In a Dutch oven melt 2 Tbsp of the Ethiopian butter, use to brown the shanks, remove to a plate Add 2 more Tbsp of the butter and sauté the onions and celery until soft, transfer to the same plate with the shanks Sauté the garlic with a pinch of sugar until fragrant, a few seconds Add chicken stock and deglaze the pan. Add back the shanks, onions and celery Add all the spices and the prunes and cook over low heat for at least 3 hours or until meat is very tender. Add cubed squash (or pumpkin or sweet potato) and cook until tender Serve with couscous More Recipes coming soon.