Monday 30 January 2012

Curried Lamb Sausages

When our butcher prepares our lamb for the table he makes lamb sausages as well as all the other cuts. Here is my variation on "Bangers and Mash"

500 grams sausages (lamb, Beef or chicken) I am using lamb
3 tablespoons curry paste. I am using homemade paste from this recipe
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1720/curry+paste
Any Indian style curry paste will be suitable. I often use Pataks Korma paste which is mild. So you may need to adjust the amount of paste you use. If, the curry paste you have is very hot I would only use 1.5 tablespoons.
2 medium onions chopped
4 cloves garlic crushed
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can lite coconut milk



















                  Brown the sausages

















Remove and allow to cool
















Chop onions and crush garlic












Add to sausage pan sauté for a few minutes and add curry paste















Slice the sausages and add to onion mixture















Add Tomatoes
Add coconut milk




I served the meal with sweet corn mash. Mashed potatoes blended with fresh sweet corn sliced off the cob. The meal was a hit!!!!

Sunday 29 January 2012

Bring on the rain

While much of northern Australia is experiencing too much of the wet stuff for many areas of southern Australia it is just the opposite. Here at Claremont there has only been 9.5 ml of rain that is less than 1/2 an inch compared to the usual 60 ml or over 2 inches that usually falls in January. The place is looking parched. At last, on the 30th January 15 ml has fallen and it is still raining.



Garden enjoying a much needed soaking.



Grass in the paddocks is parched and dry



Hopefully there is more follow up rain on the way

Friday 27 January 2012

Southern Tablelands Dorper Group Sale

What a success the sale was with huge crowds and almost 100% clearance. We were pooped after a huge day but very happy with most of the results.

Eileen, Lia and Sarah writing down the prices as the auction continues


We did not tally up all the people that attended but estimated around 200. It was very pleasing to see so many cars with sheep trailers in tow.


The sale inspection was officially to start at 11 am. This picture was taken at 09:30 buyers arriving to inspect the sheep

Lyn making sure all the sheep pens are correctly labelled

Eileen, Martin and the auctioneer talking strategy



Sarah checking the sheep are in the correct pens


Eileen documenting the sale in pictures


A speaker discussing Dorper sheep marketing. You can see how crowed the pavilion was by then 

Monday 16 January 2012

Cooking with Lia - "One of my favourite Lamb recipes"




We love lamb, all bar my vegetarian daughter Alison. Growing our own meat is important and economical for us. We ensure that our sheep are well cared for and when it comes time to slaughter it is quick and painless as possible. We arrange for humane slaughter let the carcass hang for a week then get a butcher to cut the carcass into the cuts we like. Dorper meat is really good because of the meat to fat ratio (which means more meat less fat). One of the family’s favourite dishes is Pepper Lamb which I make from the shoulder. It is a casserole type and very simple.

Ingredients



1 kg shoulder lamb cut into cubes

50 ml oil
½ cup flour
2 large onions diced
4 cloves garlic crushed

1 can green peppercorns – If you like your dishes peppery add another can of peppercorns


500 ml milk – for extra creamy use light cooking cream or light cream cheese
For those who don’t like a creamy dish use canned tomatoes. The dish is still really good.
2 chicken stock cubes
Salt
Pepper

Method
Heat olive oil in large fry pan
Saut̩ onions and garlic until clear Рremove from pan
Add cubed lamb and seal on all sides
Add onions and flour
Cook for 2 minutes
Add milk/cream and simmer until thickened
Add chicken stock cubes and season to taste
Add peppercorns with juice from the can
Simmer slowly for about 1.5 hours or until meat is tender.



Thursday 5 January 2012

Projects

Now that the holiday season is over and I am back at work, Kim has numerous projects happening around Claremont including the chicken coup, controlled breeding program, finishing the maternity paddock, finishing the stables. He is going to have lots of work in the next few weeks.

The chicken coup "Cluckinham Palace" Not long before we get the chooks.


The chickens are going to love this home


The maternity/hospital paddock. This paddock is beside the house that we use for sick livestock, poddy lambs etc. Kim has divided the paddock into six holding areas that we can use for preparing sheep for shows or ewes with lams that need to be monitored. Although not completely finished the holding spaces have already proved to be very useful.

A close up of the gates to the  maternity/ hospital paddock


The stable. Not far off completion. The two horses have a tendency to become overweight and founder. The stable will be used to lock them away from too much grass and control what they eat.