Winter Sky

Spanish Rabbit with Tomatoes

1 whole rabbit

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 onions, sliced
1 can (16 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 sprig tarragon
1 sprig thyme
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
1 sprig parsley
extra virgin olive oil

Cut rabbit in six pieces Chop onions, garlic and celery.
Pour enough olive oil into the bottom of large, heavy frying pan and heat on medium high. When hot enough, place rabbit in pan and brown the pieces on all sides. Remove and set aside.
Using the same pan, sauté the garlic, onion and crushed tomatoes for about 5 minutes. (If ingredients begin to stick, add more olive oil if necessary.) Add the bay leaf, tarragon, thyme and chopped celery.
Return the rabbit to the frying pan. Add the white wine and stir. Turn the heat up to bring to a boil and reduce the liquid by a half or two-thirds. Then, add the water and stir.
Reduce heat. Cover the pan and simmer gently until cooked – approx 1.5 hour. While the meat is simmering, chop parsley.
Adjust salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve hot in bowls over rice.

Lamb Roast with Spinach Stuffing

1  leg of lamb, boned, butterflied
¼ c  olive oil
¾ c  chopped onion
½ c  chopped celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
¼ c chopped parsley
3 T thinly sliced fresh basil
1 tsp crushed dried rosemary
¼ tsp crushed dried marjoram
¼ tsp black pepper
6 c  plain croutons
½ c  water
¼ c  grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

 Preheat oven to 325°F.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium; add onion, celery, and garlic. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring. Set aside.
Meanwhile, mix together spinach, eggs, parsley, basil, rosemary, marjoram, and pepper in a large bowl. Add onion mixture; mix well. Add croutons, water, and cheese; mix gently. Set aside.
Pound lamb to an even thickness; spread stuffing over the top. Roll up meat, jellyroll style; tie. Place lamb seam side down on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake 2 hours. Remove from oven; allow to rest 15 minutes. Carve and serve with fresh mint.

Somerhill Moulin Rouge

This is Moulin Rouge, a junior Satin Angora doe born 9-1-11.  She is Maximo and Safari's daughter.  I absolutely LOVE her!   She has some of the finest, densest wool I've seen on an SA with the most wonderful handle.  She has the type head I like - wide and blocky with short, thick ears held folded closed.  And she is a beautiful, rich clean shade of red.   She is very quiet and reserved.

Tic Tac Toe

My new little cream buck, SHF Tic Tac Toe. 
He is Hi-Jinx and Ti Kita's son.

Creole Rabbit Sausage

1 rabbit, deboned and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
6 slices bacon
1/2 cup pecan pieces, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 T Creole seasoning

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Grind the mixture in a meat grinder fitted with a 1/4 inch die or coarsely grind in a food processor fitted with a metal blade.
Form a teaspoon of the mixture into a small ball and pan-fry for a minute on each side to test the seasoning.  Form the mixture into 3-inch patties, 1/4-inch thick. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot, pan-fry the patties for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Satin Angora kit update

Today an update on Macgiver and Maybelline's litter of six chocolate agoutis. There are 3 girls and 3 boys in this litter, too. The boys are Sanjay, Sanders, & Saburou. (suh-BOO-roo) I am thinking I'd like to keep Sanjay around and show him for a while. The girls are Saffron, Savannah, and Saraid (suh-RAY) Not sure yet which of the girls I'll keep to show.

French Angora kits update

I've named all the FA kits from Hi-Jinx and Ti Kita's litter.  They are all Ti names with an attempt to play on the Hi-Jinx as well:
REW doe - Tiara
cream doe - Tidbit
lilac tort doe  - Tiddlywinks
REW buck - Tiebreaker
cream buck - Tic Tac Toe
blue tort buck - Tick Tock
The are growing by leaps and bounds!   All weigh over 4# at 9 weeks, and even though I've separated them into does and bucks, the cages are getting crowded again!   Hope I can get at least 2 of them to their new home in a few days.  2 others will have to wait until early next month when I deliver them to the PaRBA show in Lebanon, PA.  It might be fun to enter Tiddlywinks and Tic Tac Toe in the show even though they are too young to compete with 5-6 month old juniors. 
Ti Kita is registered now, so I just need to send in her legs to get her grand champion certificate. 

Last day for the Dickens characters in downtown Cambridge

This guy just appeared on the street recently. 
I want to find out his story.

He has so much detail that I suspect this
is modeled after a real Cambridge citizen.

Chilly Winter's Eve Lamb Shank Supper

4 lamb shanks Salt and coarse pepper to taste
1 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal 1/4-inch thick
1 large onion, chopped
1 fennel, quartered lengthwise and sliced 1/4-inch thick (do not use solid center)
2 bottles (12 ounces each) light to medium beer  (can substitute 24oz chicken broth)
1 can (15 ounces) chopped petite tomatoes and juice
1 c  fat-free chicken broth
10 sprigs fresh thyme
3 bay leaves

Generously season shanks with salt and pepper. In large skillet, heat oil over high heat. Brown shanks on all sides until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from pan and place in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Pour out liquid from pan.
In same skillet, combine garlic, carrots, onion and fennel; sauté for 6 to 8 minutes to lightly brown, stirring occasionally. Mix in beer or broth, tomatoes and juice, chicken broth, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Pour over shanks. Braise in 375°F oven for 2-1/2 hours. Baste shanks with sauce and turn them over every 45 minutes. Serve lamb in large, low-sided soup bowls with broth and vegetables.

I've been thinking about walking on beaches lately. 
This just seemed to fit.