Introducing new rosemary chicken liver pâté

I have added a new flavour of chicken liver pâté to my existing range: Rosemary! Made with certified organic  dried rosemary sourced from OVVIO- The Organic Lifestyle Store in Paddington. The livers are from pastured chickens and all other ingredients are either certified organic or if not certified then in substance organically grown. Other flavours of pâté available (made on a rotating weekly basis) are:

• Sage and thyme
• Caramelized onion and rehydrated figs (for a sweeter palate)
• Caramelized onion and medjool (for a sweeter palate)

What’s so good about pâté? Gram for gram liver from pastured animals is the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. It is loaded with fat soluble vitamins A and D, essentially fatty acids, highly absorbable iron, B12, protein, zinc and the richest source of folate. Organ meats were part of all traditional diets and were the most highly prized parts of the animal for our hunter-gatherer ancestors.  They are an especially important source of fuel and nourishment for athletes, children, those who are iron-deficient, those wishing to fall pregnant, as well as pregnant and lactating women. To read how one mother overcame dangerously low iron levels during her pregnancy with daily consumption of livers (as opposed to iron tablets that her doctor was pushing), read one of my earlier posts here.

How often should we eat it? Organ meats should ideally be consumed at least once a week, if not more frequently. In France, where I holidayed earlier this year, I found myself eating organ meats EVERY DAY because it is still very much part of traditional French cuisine and found on all menus. Since holidaying in France I try to eat some kind of organ meat daily or every second day.

How to buy it? If you don’t have the time, energy or inclination to make pâté on a regular basis (or if the idea of handling livers freaks you out!) then consider being added to my pâté email distribution list. Just inbox me your email address and I’ll add you to the list. You will be notified by email when I make a fresh batch of pâté and can choose whether or not to buy a container.

How much does it cost? My pate retails for $18/240g tub and can be frozen - handy for a rainy day, emergency or unexpected guests. Collect from my home in Bronte at a mutually convenient time.

How long does pâté keep? Pâté keeps 5-7 days in the fridge once the butter encasing is broken. It lasts a good month or so in the freezer.

How do I eat it? I suggest eating with vegetable sticks or spread on sourdough bread. A great take away lunch, entrée or meal in its own right.

Lettuce Deliver taking over Abundant Organics

Abundant Organics- my online organic retailer of raw dairy, bones, livers, chicken feet, meat, produce and loads more- has recently closed for financial reasons. They have come to an agreement with Lettuce Deliver (based in Homebush) to support customers. All standing orders for raw dairy (ie Cleopatra's milk and cream) can now be filled by Lettuce Deliver. Like Abundant Organics, Lettuce Deliver is a one stop shop supplier of organic food and products. I have been liaising with Lettuce Deliver over the past couple of days and took my first delivery of raw dairy, beef bones, chook carcasses and produce today. I was impressed with the quality of the fresh produce, their service and how receptive they were to my requests for new products. They require customers to purchase a minimum of $30 of produce. They deliver to Bronte 4 times a week with a $6.60 delivery fee. Check out delivery days for your suburb and ordering cut-off times on their website (click on the Lettuce Deliver hyperlink above).

Lettuce Deliver currently stock Cleavers brand of organic meat but shortly will be switching over to Cherry Tree Organic pastured meat from Victoria. Although it is not currently advertised on their site, Lettuce Deliver tell me that they can consistently offer Cherry Tree organic beef bones and chook carcasses (for making stock)  so if you are interested in this please let them know. I also impressed on them the importance of supplying chicken livers (for making pate) and chicken feet (the only way to make chicken stock gelatinous) and they are currently confirming whether or not they can supply these too from Cherry Tree Organics. Fingers crossed. You don't ask, you don't get. That's been my motto in life and it's served me very well to date :-) (always asking sweetly of course!)

While I do also like to physcially go and check out fresh produce in a store (such as Just Organics on Oxford St or BU Organics on Ebley St), I find it convenient to have my 10 litres of raw milk delivered to my home on a weekly basis to save me lugging it from the shops to home (especially in small car with kids in tow!). So I use a combination of retail stores and on-line delivery.

I used to use Lettuce Deliver about 8 years ago then switched to Abundant Orgnaics (for reasons that escape me). Funny how I've now come full circle back to Lettuce Deliver. That's life.

If you try out Lettuce Deliver let me know what you think of them.