The Cook’s Kitchen

While I watch and wait and wait while my wife “shops the sales” of the fall season, looking for that great deal, digging through the piles of the great stuff she has to have at a price she can’t pass by, I got to thinking … how is it that I’m so different? Turns out, I’m not.  I own and operate my own Organic Chef’s Barter Basement! My place has it all and at great price. When was the last time you bartered? It is my favorite method of trade. Someone has the stuff you want and you have stuff they want and you simply trade.  Where I come from, the grocery stores are the same, with the same products and pretty much the same prices, different looks and now most with a mix of organic and conventional products at hand.  Why not be smarter and cook smarter?

Make the time to visit local farmers markets and/or farm stands in your area.  I am not talking about the road side stands where the vendors drive to the produce depot in the wee hours of the morning and purchase industrial produce and then sell them on the side of the road.  These guys are easy to spot, you just come straight out and ask them where the produce came from or a simple “did you grow this yourself?” works.  If all else fails, just look at their hands. If they touch the earth, the earth touches them.   I’m a meat guy, and Wild Boar, Gator, Fowl, Venison, Rabbit and anything else I can find to trade is in my freezer.  I have beef, my wife makes great jam, and everyone does something that someone else needs. 

Farmers need marketing help, web site help, chores done and most will just give to you for free.  The hunters and trappers I have come to know have more inventory than they can eat.  Trappers are usually hired by builders that are displacing animals and the guys I know are really cruelty free types.  Most place all the live animals they can in homes but the fact is that sometimes the meat ends up in the freezer.   Treat your barter buddy fairly and get to know them.  If I wouldn’t have them over to my home for dinner, I wouldn’t trust them to provide me with food.  Remember this is an equally beneficial marriage. Below you will find a recipe for Wild Boar Tamales I recently cooked up with the Chef’s while visiting the Colony resort on Long Boat Key, Florida. “IT’S WILDLY DELICIOUS,” but you can use any wild game in place of the Boar.

We used ¼ of a Wild Boar:

Trim the Boar and save the fat for rendering.
Cube all the lean and stew for approximately 4 hours
Add to taste: Garlic, Cumin, Fennel, Salt and Pepper
Stir occasionally, taste often.
Allow to cool slightly and shred (We used a food processor)

For the dough I used Organic Masa corn flour and to it added chopped Green Olives without seeds or pimentos and chopped Cilantro, use plenty of both to make a dough.  Skim fat off the top of the pot and use it as the binder for the dough.  The dough should be soft not at all like bread dough, almost at the point of crumbling. On a moistened corn husk place a layer of dough covering about 2/3 of the corn husk Banana leaves can also be used be careful not to use too much dough. Banana leaves are quite a bit larger than corn husks. Place the dough directly in the center. Fill with a tablespoon of the meat mixture and roll the dough over the meat mixture using the husk in a side to side motion. Bring the edges together and fold over the ends. Tie them with butcher’s twine and steam for about 20-25 minutes. Tamales can be made in advance and reheated the next day, put into a  lunch box and even grilled they are  always a winner don’t forget the Aji.

For the Aji:
2 Bunches Organic Cilantro
One Yellow Organic Onion
Three Each Organic Peppers:
Yellow
Green
Red
Two Bottles of your favorite hot sauce, we used Texas Pete here.

Finely dice the cilantro. Dice all peppers and onions. Combine ingredients and LET SIT for a couple of hours. The chefs love this simple and delicious old family recipe.