Cherry Almond Quinoa with Navel Orange Vinaigrette

I like the versatility of quinoa. This nutty grain has nourished natives of the Andes mountains for over 6,000 years, but has only recently become widely known in popular health cuisine. It is excellent as a breakfast porridge, blended with shredded coconut, nut butter, dried fruit, sweet spices and yogurt.

Here we have a sweet and savory version, speckled with tart dried cherries, toasted almonds, clementine slices and tossed with a tangy navel orange vinaigrette. I highly recommend adding a healthy dose of creamy goat cheese to finish it off. Pairs well with pastured pork, grass-fed steak, goose or turkey. Bon appétit!

Cherry Almond Quinoa: (serves 6)

*1 cup quinoa, rinsed thoroughly

*2 cups chicken stock or water

*1 cup unsweetened dried cherries

*1 celery stalk, sliced diagonally very thin

*2/3 cup almonds, toasted and chopped

*1-2 clementines, peeled, seeds removed, segmented

*goat cheese (optional)

Navel Orange Vinaigrette:

*juice from one navel orange

*1/8 cup white vinegar

*1/4 cup mild extra virgin olive oil

*1 garlic clove

*1 teaspoon honey

*pinch sea salt

In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and stock/water to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until all liquid is absorbed (about 15-20 minutes).

Remove from heat. Fluff quinoa with a fork. Set aside.

Meanwhile blend all ingredients for vinaigrette together in a blender. Vinaigrette will be slightly thin. Set aside.

Transfer quinoa to a medium mixing bowl. Add dried cherries (cherries should be added while quinoa is still warm to help soften), celery, and toasted almonds. Mix. Begin pouring in the vinaigrette, gently mixing to incorporate.

Finally, add the clementine segments and goat cheese (optional) and gently toss. Season with additional sea salt and pepper if desired.

Serve warm or cold.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Cherries

I ate them straight up, but couldn't resist pairing the remaining cherries with this evening's lamb. Although the flavor of East Fork Farm's lamb stands strong on it's own, adding some ripe seasonal fruit proved wise.

When I prepare a meal like this, I am reminded of the days when I refrained from eating animals. I was boycotting a broken industrial meat system. A system with very little reverence for the complexity of life in every aspect. This was long ago, but even then I understood the unlikelyhood of gaining nourishment from an animal that wasn't nourished.

One evening in college, a friend of mine extended an invitation to join him and some friends for venison stew. He had taken the deer's life, and carefully prepared a meal from it, which he was offering to me. This struck me as an example of generosity in it's purest form. That meal was the fist bite of meat in 8 years. And it made me feel like a million bucks! The best realization was that I could resume eating meat while still maintaining my boycott. To this day I continue to refuse a broken system.

Every nourishing bite of local, carefully tended, grass fed flesh says "no" to one system and "yes" to another. Meat is not just meat. Protein is not just protein. There is a difference in quality and a difference in how it feeds us. There are stories behind meals. I like to think about the life story behind this evening's lamb. It lived well, gracefully passing the baton to me!

Braised Lamb Shanks with Cherries:

*2 local pastured lamb foreshanks

*1 tablespoon butter

*1 small onion, chopped

*water

*sea salt and pepper

*1 cup pitted cherries

*1/4 cup red wine

Add butter to a heavy pot and place over medium high heat. Rinse lamb shanks and pat dry with paper towels. Sear all sides of shanks in pot until well browned. Set aside. Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Return shanks to the pot and add enough water to cover. Season with salt and pepper. Bring liquid to a boil, then reduce heat to a very low simmer. Cover and cook for at least 3 hours or longer. Allow to cool while starting on the cherry sauce.

In a small saucepan, bring wine and cherries to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until reduced into a thick sauce (about 15 minutes), breaking up the cherries with a potato masher or similar tool while cooking down.

Spoon over lamb. Serve with a heap of fresh garden greens.