Old Mill of Guilford and Goat!

Ok, I have a whole host of pictures that I have finally loaded (thanks mom, for the digital camera).

These first pictures are actually from one my favorite places, The Old Mill of Guilford. If I were serious about being a total locavore, which I am not, my job would have been made a whole lot easier by this place. Yes, it is actually a working mill, and yes, it is stone ground. They make every type of flour that you could imagine, running the gamut from regular white all-purpose to wheat germ to buckwheat to corn meal, and they even make mixes. Andrew and I would heartily recommend the pancake mix, as well as the blueberry muffin and the oatmeal cookie mixes. If you are having people over and you want to act like you've actually cooked whatever it is, the mixes are rustic enough to actually pass for "from scratch."

About two months ago, I drove out to pick Andrew up from the airport. Because the old mill is about a mile away, I went over to take pictures. Unfortunately, it seemed like a high school had also chosen to have senior pictures made there on this day, so I was a little bit limited by my angles. While I was there, I bought pancake mix and grits. The lady at the registered recommended boiling blueberries or peaches for a fruit sauce, and though I haven't done this yet, it may be something I try this weekend.

Ok, next things next:

Goat! About a month ago, I accidentally bought frozen ground goat from the Cane Creek Farm. (Who, by the way, have the best sausage in the triad area). I had no idea what to do with the goat, but couldn't stand for it to go to waste, either by spoiling before I had a chance to use it or in a bad recipe.

So, after a bit of research, I returned to a recipe for Indian Ground Beef and Potatoes from The Joy of Cooking. Now, I am no expert on Indian food or Indian culture, however, I do know that beef isn't exactly a traditional Indian meal. So, I decided that this might be the best way to use my ground goat.

It was actually very good. I served it with brown basmati rice and raita (cucumber and yogurt salad). I have attached the recipe, which is easy, and which, I promise, doesn't taste like whatever you might expect goat to taste like.

Ingredients:

3 Tbs Vegetable Oil

6 green onions, chopped

1 lb ground goat

1/2 cup canned diced tomato (no salt added)

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp minced ginger

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp coriander

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp red pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 lb potatoes, peeled and cubed

1. Heat vegetable oil in heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add green onions.

2. Once green onions begin to brown, add spices.

3. Stir for about a minute, and then add goat, tomatoes, and salt. Break the ground goat with the back of your spoon, and let brown, stirring occasionally.

4. Once meat is browned and the liquid evaporated (about 15 minutes), add potatoes and one cup of water. Turn the heat down slightly, and let sit until the potatoes are soft and the water evaporated, for about 15-20 minutes.

Serve over brown basmati rice.

Immediately soak the pan in water, or you will have a turmeric stained mess (bright yellow - pretty, but a mess)

Raita:

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

2/3 cup yogurt

2 tbsp mint, minced

Add all the ingredients and stir, modifying salt based on taste and yogurt saltiness. (Some yogurts, particularly those with live cultures, are already salty tasting)

Serve immediately, and definitely no more than a few hours after the fact.

Alright, how's that for making up for lost time?

To Eat at Subway or to Not Eat at Subway: My Chain Restaurant Guilt

The summer after I graduated from high school, I worked at the now-defunct Mediterranean Cafe in Columbus, GA. I sort of *really* hated it - the working, I mean, not the food. I still loved to sit down after work with either a Margherita pizza or a plate of the pasta with blush sauce. I even enjoyed the gyros, though neither I nor anyone who worked there could quite agree on the pronunciation.

That summer, another thing had happened: the Olive Garden had arrived in Columbus! The Olive Garden, with their Never-Ending Salad and their overpriced cocktails put a chokehold on our little business, and I don't think it really ever recovered.

I don't know why.

I hate The Olive Garden. I hate their breadsticks, I hate how the entree clearly came from something freeze dried, I hate their happy family commercials, I hate it. Their salads are ok, but that is it.

What I hate the most about the Olive Garden is that they bastardized a tradition that actually started as the epitome of home-cooked and original. As I learned from The Food of a Younger Land, Italian immigrants to more rural areas in the US actually would rent out their dining room, food and all, to visitors for an evening. Can't get more slow food than that!

This leads to my conundrum: I sometimes eat Subway for lunch. I eat subway for lunch because it is low calorie, and cheap, and I am both health and money conscious. Did the bread that I am eating travel way too many miles to get to me? Probably. Did the vegetables on my sub probably come from another country? I'm sure. Did the turkey that I am ingesting probably come from a cage where it was abused? Of course. Does Subway need my help to stay afloat as much as the Jibaro restaurant next door (which serves exponentially better food)? Absolutely not.

The plan: no more chains. This shouldn't be that hard. Well ok, I had to almost physically restrain myself from pulling into chick-fil-a today. But really, it shouldn't be that hard.

We'll see.

Meanwhile: 2 Italian restaurants in Greensboro that are far better both in atmosphere and cuisine than the terrible and horrible Olive Garden.

Riva's

This restaurant actually scores the triple crown of being delicious AND wonderful AND also, they use local farms. All of their salad dressings are house made, and they serve cannoli (a rarity in the triad). My family and I went here a few months ago, and no one was disappointed with their meal, not even my little brother, who is easily disappointed. It is located in downtown greensboro.

In fact, I think I might be going there this weekend, come to think of it.

Biancas

Talk about bang for the buck - Bianca's definitely, definitely serves up enough food for what you've paid.

All for the whopping price of 8-15 bucks, depending on your entree, you get:

an appetizer.

salad

pasta (if your entree is not a pasta entree. I always get the eggplant rollatini)

dessert

Also, each time you go, they give you a coupon for a carafe of wine. So, it is quite possible to have a big meal for two for under thirty bucks, with wine!

There is always a lot of it, and it's always good. Be sure to make a reservation. We made that mistake once on a Saturday night and got a scary look from the manager, but we got seated, anyway.