It is the time of year when many of the sheep raised in our area are butchered. The baby lambs of spring have now grown to a size suitable for eating.
Trent, our sheep farming neighbour, recently dropped off a freshly cut and wrapped lamb. A reader has asked for recipes using lamb. The following are recipes we enjoy.
Lamb and lentil casserole
Legumes, meat and vegetables are all here in one dish with well matched flavours.
1 cup lentils, washed 250 mL
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11/2 pounds lamb, cubed 750 g
(stew meat or a roast
cut into cubes)
3 tablespoons cooking 45 mL
oil
1 cup fresh mushrooms 250 mL
or a 10-ounce can 284 g
1/2 cup chopped onions 125 mL
1 clove garlic, diced
1 teaspoon rosemary, 5 mL
dried
1/4 teaspoon cardamom 1mL
2 cups tomatoes, fresh, 500 mL
canned or frozen
1 cup water 250 mL
1 tablespoon lemon juice 15 mL
1 pound vegetables, 500 g
your choice of spinach,
green beans, peas, zucchini or other, fresh, frozen or canned
Cook lentils in three or four cups of water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain off the water.
Brown lamb cubes in oil in a large Dutch oven or frypan. When browned, move to the side and sauté onion, mushrooms and garlic in the drippings. Add lentils, tomatoes, seasonings and water to the lamb mixture. Cover and simmer until lamb is tender. For stew meat approximately 11/2 hours, for more tender cuts about 45 minutes. Add more water if the mixture becomes dry.
Add vegetable and continue to simmer for a few more minutes or until the vegetable is cooked and hot.
This recipe can also be baked in a covered casserole dish in the oven at 190 C (375 F), until the meat is tender (45 to 90 minutes, depending on the meat used).
Yield: six servings.
Source: The Amazing Legume, by Alice Jenner, published by the Saskatchewan Pulse Crop Growers’ Association, l984. To order The Amazing Legume, send $11.95 plus $3 postage and handling to: Saskatchewan Pulse Crop Development Board, Box 516, Regina, S4P 3A2.
It published a second cookbook in 1994 called
Discover The Pulse Pot-ential. It sells for $12.95 plus $3 shipping and handling.
Worcestershire lamb chops
4 slices side bacon
8 rib or loin lamb chops
3 tablespoons flour 45 mL
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 mL
1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 mL
Topping:
3 tablespoons water 45 mL
1 teaspoon chopped 5 mL
parsley
1 teaspoon 5 mL
Worcestershire sauce
pinch garlic powder
Cook bacon slices in skillet. Drain on paper towel and keep warm. Dredge lamb chops in mixture of flour, salt and pepper. Sauté in bacon fat until golden brown and fully cooked.
Serve each chop topped with two mL (1/2 tsp.) of the Worcestershire topping and 1/2 slice of bacon. I like to return the chops to the frypan, or place in an oven for a few minutes before serving to be sure it is hot.
Source: Adapted from a recipe printed in an Alberta Sheep and Wool Commission brochure.
Christmas party game
The purpose of this game is to get all the squares on your paper signed by the guests at the party. Each person can only sign your page once.
To prepare: Title an 81/2 by 11 inch page of paper “Find Someone Who ….” Then divide the rest of the page into squares. The number of squares could be nine,12, 16, depending on the time you have to play the game and the number of guests.
Each square will describe a certain kind of person at the party, for example, has a birthday in May, presently lives on a farm, has been married more than 40 years, sings in the shower, got a haircut last week or likes to play hockey.
Make up the squares appropriate for the type of party, whether it be a family, workplace or children’s Christmas party. Photocopy enough for each guest to have one.
Give each guest a paper and pencil. The game begins with everyone running around trying to find a guest to fit the description in each square and having them sign the page. The winner will be the first person to get all their squares signed..
Days like this
This is from a fictitious person who says she has AAADD – Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.
“I decide to do the laundry, start down the hall and notice the newspaper on the table. OK, I’m going to do the laundry, but first I’m going to read the newspaper.
“After that, I notice the mail on the table. OK, I’ll just put the newspaper in the recycle stack, but first I’ll look through the pile of mail and see if there are any bills to be paid. Yes, now where is the chequebook? Oops, there’s the empty glass from yesterday on the coffee table. I head for the kitchen, put the glass in the sink and there’s the remote for the TV on the kitchen counter. What’s it doing here? I’ll just put it away … but first I need to water the plants. I head for the door and – Aaaagh! Stepped on the dog. The dog needs to be fed. OK, I’ll put the remote away and water the plants, but first I need to feed the dog.
“End of day: Laundry is not done, newspapers are still on the floor, glass is still in the sink, bills are not paid, chequebook is still lost, and the dog ate the remote control. When I try to figure out how come nothing got done today, I’m baffled because I know I was busy all day.”
