By Marie Fagan Peart | marie@haldimandpress.com
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Katherine Kiers and meeting her husband, Scott Vollick, and their daughters, Serena, 9, and Elizabeth, 7. It’s a very lively household!
Katherine grew up in Dain City, Scott in Canfield, and now their home is Dunnville. Scott is a pipefitter specializing in heavy industrial boilers and generators. His work requires travel throughout Ontario. Katherine is closer to home working for Haldimand County as division support for the Fleet Operations. The girls are involved with Embers and Girl Guides where they enjoy crafting and making new friends.
Katherine’s primary focus is her family and providing good tasting, nutritious meals for everyone. The challenge is that each member has distinct tastes. She has shared two recipes that everyone has enjoyed. Since Scott likes to hunt, they regularly eat venison. The Salisbury steak, served with mashed potatoes and a side vegetable, is a quick and delicious meal. The orzo pasta salad provides flexibility of removing some of the cooked pasta for the family members who enjoy different garnishes than the recipe outlines.
For the past two years, the family has shared a garden with friends who have a farm.
Katherine said it has been wonderful spending time in nature with the girls. They help a little with the weeding but their exposure to the abundance of nature surrounding them on the farm – birds, reptiles, bugs, and butterflies – is priceless. However, according to Katherine, the best part of having a garden is sharing their vegetables with family and friends. Oh, by the way, I came home with celery and eggplants. Enjoy!
INA GARTEN’S HERBED ORZO PASTA SALAD WITH FETA CHEESE
2/3 of a pound orzo pasta or 1 box
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
-2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup cucumber, chopped in small pieces
½ cup red onion, diced
½ cup green onion/scallions, chopped
Handful of dill finely chopped
Handful of finely chopped parsley
1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
Cook orzo according to package instructions. While pasta is cooking, make the vinaigrette. Whisk lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper together.
Drain water from pasta. While pasta is warm, pour vinaigrette over pasta and stir. Add cucumber, onions, scallions, fresh herbs to pasta and mix in.
Fold feta into the salad. May add in grilled shrimp or green olives.
Katherine’s add-ins: cherry tomatoes, chives, red pepper, or any veggie that suits her fancy.
VENISON SALISBURY STEAKS
1½ pounds ground venison (or ground beef)
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground garlic
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Herbs (optional)
Gravy
1 chopped large onion
900ml beef broth
2 tablespoons & ½ cup butter
½ cup flour
Combine ground venison, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and additional herbs/spices of your choice. Mix until ingredients are blended.
Take approximately 1 cup of meat mixture, roll into a meatball, and smash down into a thick ]meat patty. Make as many patties as possible.
Heat cast iron skillet on medium-high and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Brown patties in butter until seared on both sides. Remove meat patties from skillet and set aside.
Add 1/2 cup butter to the skillet with chopped onions. Cook onions until translucent. Add more butter if needed. Add ½ cup flour to the skillet, stir to evenly coat the onions.
Pour beef broth into the skillet and mix. Bring broth to a boil, stir, and let broth bubble for a couple minutes, adding more broth if needed. Reduce heat and return meat patties to the skillet. Let patties simmer for 30 minutes. Serve.
