Review: KOL Foods

At Pesah I usually make a "resolution" around food. A few years ago it was salads, last year it was desserts for Pesah (and not buying a bunch of ready-made Pesah products) and this year it was to head back to our Traditional Food ways. As part of this, I took advantage of the KOL Foods buying club and stocked my freezer with pastured lamb and beef. How was it? Short answer: Amazing.

I used my regular meatball recipe (only substituting whole wheat matza meal for the bread crumbs) and they not only cooked up fabulously, they reheated without drying out. I ended up having to make another batch chol ha'moed because the girls devoured them and they asked to have it for Shabbat. Mind you, this was a recipe that was okay but not spectacular. Mainly I made it for the girls and because it was easy but no one was thrilled with it.

I also made a few lamb dishes. I used 8 pounds of lamb and have none left. What our guests didn't consume, the girls finished at lunches and Aba asked if I had any for meals where I hadn't planned to serve it. Thing 2 has even asked me to make it again and in the past she has declared loudly, "I DON'T LIKE LAMB!"

I used to order from Golden West Glatt and preferred their meat over the markets, but KOL is better. 

They carry two lines of beef. One is American grown and the other is from Uruguay. I bought a mixture of both (depending on what was available for what I wanted) and couldn't tell the difference. (Yes, there is one based on the environmental cost of transporting beef from South America to the US as well as the support of American businesses and farmers. I'm just talking taste and texture.)

The price is higher than the market and there is shipping, too. However in our family we will save by not tossing leftovers that don't reheat well, are dried out or are just plain old because no one wants to finish it. I also have to say that I love having the freezer packed with meat so that all I can skip the kosher market for the most part and focus on supporting the local farmers markets.

Bottom line: I will continue to buy from KOL Foods and recommend it.

If you choose to try out KOL Foods, contact me for a referral link. You and I will get a $5.00 coupon. Win-Win! Also, if you are local to me and want to make a combined order to possibly save on shipping, let me know.

Fermented Chili Sauce for the Win!

When I read the recipe for fermented chili sauce over on Nourished Kitchen I knew I had to try it. The following Sunday we went out to the farmer's market and picked up a pound of habenero chilies, a pound of serano chilies and a pound of yellow jalapenos.

That evening I blended the chilies together and set them out to ferment. I didn't use sugar or a starter. Instead I used extra sea salt and a warm spot on top of my refrigerator. This kept the chili sauce parve.

Tonight I was finally able to decant the bubbling mix and sampled a bit. All I can say is YUM! I can't wait to have breakfast tomorrow of eggs with chili sauce! 

I kept the pulp to use as a replacement for harissa.