Two Garden Gates and Another Elk Recipe

The sun has come out and my shoulders and back are even a touch sunburned.  We spent the weekend outdoors building and mending and attempting to bring this land back from disrepair.  The weather has warmed significantly and so the garden is our first priority.  We have decided only to fence for rabbits and to keep the chickens out as we have never seen even one deer down in the valley.  A fence then requires a gate.  One of the few good things about living on a piece of land that the previous owners used as a home and a dump is all of the things you can scavenge to build with.  I searched the land and found all of these goodies and built two fabulous garden gates.

and…

Of course the view is slightly impaired by the hulking metal monstrosity behind it.  That beautiful “shop” came with the house and is awaiting demolition to be sold as scrap.  It is huge and we do not need a wood mill.  Ironically, most people that have visited our land seem more excited about the shed then the mountains.  People have pleaded with us not to dismantle it but despite all of the wonderful ideas of uses including a dance hall, an indoor basketball court, my stained glass studio, and my personal favorite-using it to store other people’s crap in,  we are going to remove it.  Anyhow, hopefully in future shots you will see nothing but the trees that surround the creek.

Last week I made another meal out of our bounty of wild elk meat and included some wild crafted jelly I made last fall.  The recipe follows

Elk Tenderloin Steaks with Elderberry Pan Sauce

• 2 lbs Elk Tenderloin, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices
• 3 Cloves Garlic
• Salt and Pepper

Sauce

• 1/2 cup Sliced Mushrooms
• 1 tbsp Capers
• 2 tsp Mustard
• 1tsp Finely Chopped Rosemary
• 2 tbsp Elderbery Jelly
• 2 tbsp Butter
• Juices reserved from resting steaks

Heat a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat.  After the steaks are sliced, tenderize them a bit with a mallet to make them a bit larger.  Crush garlic and rub steaks with garlic and salt and pepper. Pan fry with a little oil about 3 minutes on each side until medium rare.  Set steaks aside and cover, they will continue cooking to medium.

Add more oil to skillet and saute mushrooms until soft.  Add capers, jelly, mustard, rosemary and juices from the steaks or a little water if the sauce is too thick.  Finish sauce by stirring butter into to sauce and serve immediately over steak.

We loved this recipe,  I ended up cooking  the elk this way simply because the tenderloin was in all sorts of weird pieces and this was the only way I could think to save it.  It ended up being incredibly tender and my favorite way to eat tenderloin now.  The wild bite of the sauce was a perfect accompaniment to the wild meat.

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