Locally grown food can enliven your diet

By LISA LOSASSO

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

Over the past several years more and more people have been realizing the importance of living and eating naturally. It is evident in the number of natural food stores that are popping up and the ever-growing organic food sections in local grocery stores.

For Shawn and Susan Goodman, owners of Goodman Sheep Farm, North Jackson, eating organic was a natural progression from raising and selling natural and organic livestock.

The Goodman far has had several identities. Purchased by Susan’s great-grandfather in 1928, it was first a dairy operation and then produced beef. In 2002, the Goodmans started raising grass-fed lamb for sale.

Goodman said she prefers food with minimal processing because artificial coloring and flavoring is not closely regulated, so consumers do not get all of the information that they need about what they are putting into their bodies.

“If you buy all natural, it is coming from no more than one day away,” she said. “So, it’s a good way to buy local.”

The cost of eating organic food, as most consumers know, is almost 1.5 times the cost of regular processed food. But, according to Susan, if you buy processed food, there are ingredients that make your body want more. If you want more, you buy more, and you spend more. If you eat organic and natural foods, your body doesn’t need as much, so you will consume less, and that helps to offset the cost.

“The more people start eating organic, the more the prices will come down,” Goodman said.

During the first year of changing to totally organic eating, Goodman said, she lost about 10 pounds. “I kept eating, and I kept losing,” she said.

She explained that natural and organic foods contain more Omega 3s and Vitamins B, C and E. “A lot of artificial ingredients in other foods prevent the absorption of vitamins and minerals,” she said.

Locally, consumers can purchase organic and natural food at Giant Eagle, which also carries natural, not organic, meats. Another source is Living Naturally, which has stores in Boardman and Niles. Although the foods are currently dried, canned and frozen, they will soon carry organic vegetables. Another organic food store in Niles is called Cindy’s.

According to Goodman, a lot of area livestock farms sell only by the half or whole. Although the Goodmans only sell lamb by the half and whole, they will sell beef by the quarter. The beef is natural, but not yet certified organic.

“The butcher I work with can help in choosing the right cuts for the way you cook,” she said. “The cuts really depend on how you’re going to cook it.”

Many people, she said, have a difficult time deciding how much beef or lamb to purchase. “I can break it down by cubic feet so they know about how much room it will take up in the freezer,” she said.

“Being certified organic is a seven-year process through the USDA because the land has to be certified organic if animals are grazing on it,” said Goodman. “It all goes back to good soil.”

Other local resources can be found at localharvest.org.

“You have to eat seasonally if you eat organic,” said Goodman, whose favorite winter meals are steak and potatoes, lamb and vegetables, chicken and vegetable soup, Minestrone soup and potato soup.

For more information contact Susan Goodman at nhi@cboss.com.

STOVETOP GRANOLA

1 tablespoon olive oil

1⁄3 cup butter

1⁄3 cup packed brown sugar

1⁄3 cup dried strawberries

2 cups rolled oats

2 tablespoons honey

1⁄2 cup chopped almonds

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oats then cook and stir until starting to brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and spread out on a cookie sheet to cool.

Melt butter in the same pan over medium heat. Stir in the honey and brown sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Return the oats to the pan. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes or so. Pour out onto the cookie sheet and spread to cool.

Once cool, transfer to an airtight container and stir in the almonds and dried strawberries. Any additional nuts and dried fruit can be stirred in at this time also.

Mixture will keep for at least a week in air tight container.

Yields: 4 servings

Recipe courtesy of Susan Goodman.

YOGURT SMOOTHIE

For a yogurt on-the-go or in addition to your breakfast.

1 cup vanilla yogurt

2 to 4 fresh or frozen strawberries

1⁄4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Mix all ingredients together in blender. Pour in glass and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Susan Goodman.

LAMB CHOPS

3 to 4 pounds of lamb (chops or shoulder) rinsed and patted dry

1 to 2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

1⁄4 cup extra-virgin alive oil, plus more for pan

1⁄4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1⁄2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary needles

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

For grilling: Use a paring knife to make small slits in the meat. Tuck garlic slivers into slits.

In small bowl, stir together oil, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Pour marinade over lamb, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate, basting occasionally with the marinade, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Preheat grill.

Place lamb in grill. Use an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat, not touching the bone. Thermometer should read 145-degrees when the lamb is medium-rare.

Remove lamb from grill and serve immediately.

For roasting: Use paring knife to make small slits in the meat. Tuck garlic slivers into slits.

In a small bowl, stir together oil, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Pour marinade over lamb, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate, basting occasionally with the marinade, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove lamb from refrigerator. Coat a roasting pan with oil.

Transfer lamb to oven safe pan, reserving leftover marinade. Roast lamb, basting every 20 to 30 minutes, first with the reserved marinade, and then with the juices that accumulate in the pan. The lamb will need to cook for about 20 minutes per pound (11⁄2 hours for a 3-pound leg of lamb). Use an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat, not touching the bone, should read 145-degrees when the lamb is medium-rare.

Remove pan from oven. Carve lamb to your liking. Drizzle with reserved pan juices just before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Susan Goodman.

PIE CRUST

2 cups flour

2⁄3 cup shortening

3⁄4 teaspoon salt

4 to 6 tablespoons water (cold)

Sift flour with salt. Work in shortening (coarsely for flaky crust; finely for a tender, mealy crust). Add water a little at a time, using only enough to hold dry ingredients together. Divide dough into two parts. Roll out on floured board to desired size.

Recipe published in “Recipes Old and New: Women’s Association, The Presbyterian Church, Poland.”

HONEY APPLE PIE

5 cups sliced tart apples

1 teaspoon flour mixed with 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

2 tablespoons butter

2⁄3 cup honey

Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry and fill with sliced apples. Sprinkle with flour and cinnamon mixture, lemon juice and grated lemon rind. Dot the surface with butter and cover with lattice work of pastry. Bake in hot oven at 450-degrees, for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350-degrees and bake another 30 minutes, or until apples are tender. Remove from oven and pour honey through the openings in the top crust. Let the pie stand at least 1⁄2 hour and serve with confectioner’s sugar.

Recipe courtesy of Kitty McComb and published in “Recipes Old and New: Women’s Association, The Presbyterian Church, Poland.”

STEAK AND POTATO SUPPER

11⁄2 to 2 pounds round steak, cut in serving pieces

1⁄3 cup flour

4 tablespoons oil

6 small potatoes, pared or 4 large, cut in half

1 small onion, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1⁄8 teaspoon pepper

2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce

Dredge steak in flour. Brown well on both sides in hot oil. Place meat in 2-quart casserole. Pour off excess fat. Scrape up brown drippings left in pan and add to meat. Arrange potatoes with meat. Sprinkle parsley, salt and pepper over all and add tomato sauce. Cover and bake in moderate oven at 350 degrees. Bake for 1 and a half to 2 hours. Makes 4-6 servings.

Recipe Courtesy of Mrs. Rosemarie Yuhas and published in “Holy Trinity Mother’s Club Cookbook.”