daily burger, number fourteen.

Organic Lindner Bison burger with blackberry sauce and sauteed onions on red leaf lettuce. Grilled corn, tomatoes, orange.

My kitchen, DTLA, CA., 6:42PM, May 13, 2009.

daily burger, number five.

Lindner Bison 100% grass fed burger with homemade barbeque sauce and carmelized onions, protein style. Grilled corn.

My kitchen, DTLA, CA., 6:41 PM, May 4, 2009.

Now this was a special burger. I've spoken with Kathy Lindner of on a previous farmers' market trip and this time we were ready to invest in some of her meat. She suggested we start with the ground meat, which worked out perfectly for this month's experiment. I purchase natural ground buffalo meat from the supermarket regularly as a beef alternative-- gosh, we even feed our dog buffalo--but this was so far superior. The color was richer, flavor deeper, and I felt confident that I could make the perfect rare-medium rare burger because I knew that the meat was fresh and trustworthy.

All in all, a wonderful experience. Next time, I'm going to try something more exotic... Kathy recommended Ossobucco to ease my way into a cut involving marrow.

farmers' market finds

yesterday, we visited the santa monica farmers' market to check out the fresh-from-the-farm meats. we arrived right before closing time so things were winding down, but i did get the chance to briefly talk to a couple of the meat-vendors.

the first vendor we came across was a farmer for rocky canyon. he had a pretty wide selection of grass-fed beef and humanely raised pork, along with fresh eggs, homemade sausages, juice, sweet potatoes, pomegranates, apples, eggplant, onions, melons, tomatoes, and cucumbers (in season, of course).

my excitement came from kathy lindner of lindner bison. she is incredibly warm and helpful; you could tell she really had a passion for bringing her customers top-notch, tasty products. their story is great-- kathy tried bison meat and loved it so much that her and her husband decided they had to leave their jobs and dedicate their lives to raising bison! their backgrounds helped out of course, him having a lifelong passions for farming and her being a descendant of margaret carlston, the "cattle queen of montana," but now they commute between their southern california home (and farmers' markets!) and the ranch in northern california. how inspiring! i'd like a 20-lb. assortment please, with bison tenderloin, some burgers, meaty soup bones, and jerky... and toss in a few bones for the pooch, please!

here's a picture from their ranch--

also, i learned a new buffalo (or should i say "bison bison") fact from their website:

"Is bison the same as buffalo? It should be. When America's pioneers saw bison for the very first time, they had no name for it. Because it looked similar to a European animal called "buffalo", that's the original term that stuck. For years the word "buffalo" has been used interchangeably with the species name, "bison bison". But when it comes to food labeling, it's another story.As it turns out, labeling laws are so loose in our country, if we were to label our meat "buffalo" we could be selling water buffalo, cape buffalo or North American buffalo. Even if it were North American buffalo, we legally can add up to 49% beef to the ground meat product, still call it buffalo, and not tell you. It's all perfectly legal. Because of this, Lindner Bison from the beginning decided to label our meat by the species name (bison bison). That way, our customers will never have to wonder what they are actually getting from us."

this week's cut:

buffalo! or american bison, if you prefer.

(image source: www.sackschool.ca - possibly a school project?)

what a great little image! not only can american bison be used for tasty and healthy meats, but also for clothing and accessories? something to think about, you fashionistas out there! look for it in the 2010 collections...

i only recently discovered the wonders of buffalo meat. my parents have long been telling stories of the traveler's club international restaurant and tuba museum in okemos, michigan - and they finally were able to take my husband and i there last summer. they have a very impressive and informative menu and as well as having quite a tuba collection and artisan beer selection, are huge buffalo advocates. their menu told me that buffalo meat has many wonderful qualities:

-40% more protein than beef

-lower in fat and calories than beef-- and than chicken, pork, and salmon-- and actually lowers cholesterol

-much less likely to contain all of those pesky hormones and more likely to be free range

and my favorite, and what got me started on eating it--

-buffalo is the only red meat that is non-allergenic!

(stats from www.americangourmet.net)

maybe next week, i will explore the strange world of the beefalo.