There have been several lentil threads over the last couple of months, I think there is a resurgance interest! I am linking one of them with some great recipes. Here are a couple of other recipes I have made that are very good: Curried Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Stew with Garbanzo Beans INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, thinly sliced 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 5 teaspoons curry powder 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 3 14-ounce cans vegetable broth 1 large bunch or 2 small bunches Swiss chard, tough stalks removed, coarsely chopped (about 12 cups) 1 pound red lentils (about 2 1/4 cups) 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained Plain yogurt PREPARATION Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until golden, about 13 minutes. Mix in curry and cayenne. Add broth and chard. Increase heat; bring to boil. Add lentils and garbanzos; reduce heat to medium. Cover; simmer until lentils are tender, stirring twice, about 10 minutes. Divide stew among bowls. Top with yogurt. Serves 6. *******************************************8 The Best Lentil Salad Ingredients: 2 ¼ cups (1 lb.) Du Puy lentils 1 medium red onion, diced 1 cup dried currants (you could also use raisins or other dried fruit) 1/3 cup capers Vinaigrette: 1/3 cup cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1 Tbsp. maple syrup 1 Tbsp. strong mustard 2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. pepper 1 tsp. ground cumin 1/2 tsp. turmeric 1/2 tsp. ground coriander ½ tsp ground cardamom 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper ¼ tsp. ground cloves 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon Optional add-ins: Arugula Walnuts Goat cheese Fresh herbs: flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, basil Sprouts Crispy seasonal veggies Directions: 1. Rinse lentils well, drain. Place in a pot and cover with a 3-4 inches of water, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Check lentils for doneness after 15 minutes, but they should take about 20 minutes in total. You will know they are cooked if they still retain a slight tooth ��" al dente! Overcooking the lentils is the death of this dish. Be careful! 2. While the lentils are simmering, make the dressing by placing all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake vigorously to combine. 3. Finely dice red onion - the salad is best if all the ingredients are about the same size. If using raisins, chop them roughly to make them a bit smaller, and do the same with the capers if they are large. 4. When the lentils are cooked, remove from heat, drain and place under cold running water to stop the cooking process. Once cooled slightly but still a little warm, place lentils in a large serving bowl and toss with dressing. Add other onion, capers, and currants. If using other add-ins such as herbs, greens, or cheese, wait until just before serving. Otherwise, this salad can hang out in the fridge for a couple days. Here is a link that might be useful: another lentil thread

Ann T, I remembered that you put a whole baby goat in the freezer more than once, and I was hoping you'd chime in. As for goat, I agree with ci_lantro, it's much like venison, and I'd use it accordingly. I do have a nice recipe for venison potstickers from Chef Eric Villegas, a local Michigan boy who used to have a show on PBS called "Fork in the Road". Now he owns "Michigan Venison" and sells on-line. Venison Potstickers A delicious Asian flare for our whitetail venison. Potsticker Filling: 1lb. ground venison 4 c. water 1-1/2 c. shredded or finely sliced cabbage ½ c. finely chopped green onion 1-1/2 Tbs. freshly grated ginger 2 Tbs. oyster sauce 2 Tbs. salt (for softening cabbage) 1 tsp. soy sauce 1 tsp. fish sauce (aka patis) Other Ingredients: 50 wonton wrappers bowl of ½ c. water (used as glue for sealing potstickers) ½ c. canola oil Instructions Combine cabbage, 4 c. water, and salt in medium bowl and let sit for 15-20 minutes, tossing every 5 minutes to make sure all cabbage is softened. In larger bowl, combine all other filling ingredients. Drain and rinse cabbage, and add to meat mixture. Mix in thoroughly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to hold raw dumplings. Assembling Potstickers: Place about 2 teaspoons of filling in center of wonton wrapper. Dip finger into water bowl, then line two adjacent sides of wrapper with water from finger. Fold the two dry sides of wrapper on top of the two water-lined sides and pinch closed (NOTE: make sure potsticker edge is completely sealed, otherwise the juices may run during cooking and your potstickers may dry out). At this point, your potsticker should look like a pudgy triangle. Fold each corner of the triangle in toward the center of the potsticker, using a little dab of water to ‘glue’ the corners down. Place assembled potsticker on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cooking Potstickers: Pour about ¼ c. canola oil into the bottom of large sauce pan and bring to medium high heat. When pan is nice and hot and evenly coated, line the bottom of the pan with one layer of potstickers. We were able to fit about ½ of the batch into our pan at a time. Fry potstickers over high heat until the bottoms look golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Once bottoms of dumplings look nice and crispy, add enough water to submerge the bottom half of the potstickers. Cover pan with lid tilted so that steam can escape. Continue to cook until all water evaporated from pan and you hear the dumplings start to sizzle again, which can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve with either tongs or a spatula. If you are going to cook the whole batch in one go, place potstickers on foil-lined try (photo below), wipe out the bottom of pan with paper towel to get the crusty bits out, then add remaining ¼ c. of canola oil and start process again. Saving Potstickers: If you’re not going to eat all of the potstickers in one sitting, put the tray of raw dumplings in the freezer overnight. Make sure potstickers are not touching, otherwise they will freeze together. Once they are completely frozen, place them in a large zip-lock bag (or portion into smaller bags) and keep in freezer for up to a month. Dipping Sauce for Venison Potstickers ¼ cup light soy sauce ¾ tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar 1 teaspoon sugar 1 minced garlic clove, or more ½ teaspoon sesame oil ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) 1 teaspoon green onion ( thinly sliced) Instructions Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Use as dipping sauce. Maybe ground goat is cheaper than osso bucco or chops? Annie

Your damp hands contain mold spoors.....wash your hands...dry them well and don't touch anything that may have mold spoors before touching the cheese. Cheese makers wash their cheeses...rinse the wheels. Perhaps you are not getting the wrapping down tightly on the surface of the cheese. Cheese is moist.....just is. When thinking of dampness encourages mold, you are thinking of shower curtains and locker rooms...Always damp...just part of what they are...the only way to keep them mold free is to keep mold spoors away, or keep them air tight....just like cheese.

Our peaches have to be almost a pound each! HUGE! Last year was our first year with the peach tree. The former owners didn't prune or cull, so we had so many peaches (record rain year after 4 year drought) the branches were breaking. We had the tree properly pruned this year and culled a lot of the baby peaches and this years crop is less peaches, but bigger and sweeter!