Venison, zucchini, & potatoes

The centerpiece of last night's dinner was a delicious piece of farm-raised venison purchased at the Brickworks on Saturday. And who knew when I purchased the meat I was being trendy? (Probably some of you food-lovers out there, but not me.) Check out this article in the National Post on farm-raised venison in Ontario. The recipes at the end of the article sound delicious - but we went a simpler route.

When it's raw, venison looks a bit more like an organ meat than typical beef steaks, I believe because it has less fat running through it. This, of course, is good news for the nutrition-conscious: it's lower in fat than beef (and has other benefits, too, I'm sure). It was also an interesting purple-red color - again a departure from beef, and more akin to the color of beef liver.

Undeterred, I did as the venison farmer suggested and got out my grill pan, heated it on medium-high, and sprinkled it with fresh-ground pepper and kosher salt. A couple minutes on each side produced a lovely, rare piece of meat with flavorful searing where the grill ridges hit the steak. Yes, it is possible to grill meat indoors.

On the side: sauteed zucchini from the CSA share, and a boiled red and Yukon gold potato with butter and dill from our balcony garden. I had meant to use the garlic scapes with the zucchini, but just plain forgot; the couple I have will be used this week with any additional ones we accumulate.

All in all, this was a successful week of using up the produce. There are soup and calzones in the freezer, and everything else (other than the scapes, some green beans, and cabbage - all still usable) were eaten. I'm feeling very full of vegetables!