Breakfast Sausage

Our breakfast sausage is popular with our farm customers and sells out quickly!  We plan on having a lot more in the fall but in the meantime, we do have plain ground pork.  It can be seasoned lots of ways so is pretty versatile.  Yesterday I decided to experiment with making my own breakfast sausage.  It was quick, easy, and delicious, my favorite kind of recipe.

Farm Breakfast: Pickled daikons, fried egg, homemade breakfast sausage.
All grown and prepared at Sweet Morning Farm!

I did a bit of research online to find a sausage recipe, merged a couple of recipes, substituted some items because we didn't have all the herbs called for, mixed up the sausage, let the mixture sit overnight in the fridge, and we cooked it this morning.  They turned out great. This makes me think that the seasonings can vary a lot and still be good.  So have fun with that.

After mixing in the desired seasonings, put the sausage mixture in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.  Shape into patties and cook.

This is what we used, as best as I can remember.  I was definitely winging it!

1 pound ground pork
1/2 T. salt
1 1/2 t. ground pepper
1 T. dry sage
1 t. anise seed (substituted for fennel seed)
1/2 t. thyme (unlabeled jar!  Pretty sure this was thyme)
1/8 t. clove
1/8 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. paprika

Both recipes called for rosemary and cayenne but we were out of both.  Next time!

Green Tomato Kimchi

From one of our fabulous farm members:

"Here's a great Green Tomato Kimchi recipe I've made many times.  Tastes best after a couple years in the fridge."

Green Tomato Kimchee

Ingredients

Lots green tomatoes, sliced in wedges
3 cups rice wine vinegar
1 cups sugar (or less if you don’t like it so sweet)
10 cloves garlic thinly sliced
¼ cup fresh ginger matchsticks
3 medium onions, halved and cut into 1/8-inch slices
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded daikon
1 cup shredded turnip
2 Tbsp red pepper flakes
½ cup Thai fish sauce

Instructions

Place the tomatoes in a colander set in the sink. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Allow to rest at room temperature until the tomatoes have exuded liquid, about 2 hours. Rinse the tomatoes in water to get rid of the salty taste. Set aside.

In a large, non-reactive saucepan, combine the vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and onions, bring to a simmer, and remove immediately from the heat.

In a large, non-reactive bowl (or a stoneware crock), combine the tomatoes and shredded vegetables. Pour the vinegar mixture over them, add the chile flakes and fish sauce, and toss well. Correct the seasoning with salt. Let the mixture cool to room temperature and cover with plastic wrap. With a paring knife, punch a few holes in the plastic wrap and place the bowl in a cool, dark place. Let the mixture pickle for 24 hours.

Transfer the kimchee to a tall glass jar or jars and seal tightly. You can eat it right away, but it is better if you let it “cure” for a couple of weeks. You can store in the refrigerator almost ndefinitely.