Forgive Me

I have not been absent because I have been lazy. I have been working on the book...and the uni admin and the Swedish.

But most importantly, the book.

Here is what I cooked tonight. I am very surprised. Fridge Cleaning is fun. Everything is organic. I love how full time work means big fun happy times

Lamb Shanky Somethingness

I am only eating this with barley because I really don’t feel like potatoes, or cleaning another pot. It’s a starch, give me a break. Also, you may be able to tell that I am attempting to empty the fridge, but it doesn’t taste like it.

2 lamb shanks

Flour to dust

1 onion, finely diced

2 medium carrots, finely diced

3-4 stalks of celery, finely diced

3 cloves of real garlic, finely diced

1 bunch of parsley stalks, finely chopped

150 g field mushrooms, halved and finely sliced

Fresh rosemary, a few sprigs

3 bay leaves

1 stick cinnamon

Zest of a lemon

½ cup barley

Vegetable stock (homemade)

Can of tomatoes

1 glass red wine (drink the rest in the interim periods of actual cooking)

Dust the lamb in flour and brown on a high heat in a heavy based pan.

Remove the shanks and using the same pan, add more oil and sauté off the mushrooms, season. Add the onion, carrots, garlic and celery and cook off on a low heat till translucent. Season again.

Wash the barley (yeah, my Asian-ness coming out) and stir through the pan. Return the shanks to the pan and add herbs and lemon zest. Pour in glass of wine and wait for the alcohol to cook off a bit. Add the tomatoes and the stock to cover. If it is all too high for your lid to fit, make one out of 2 pieces of foil, folded together at the middle and crimp over the edges with a kitchen towel.

Cook on low, at a simmer, for an hour or so, check to see if you need to add more liquids. If you want a soupier thing to eat with crusty bread, then you can flake off the meat and cook for a further 30-50 minutes, generally till it is tender. If you actually want to eat it off the shank, then don’t. Keep cooking it till it is tender, this will take longer.

By now, you should be well tanked, especially since you haven’t eaten all day (if you’re like me) and having consumed not only the rest of the bottle of wine, but a few beers as well. This is generally the indicator that is it time to adjust the seasonings. Serve with freshly chopped parsley.

Something tells me that as a soupy thing...which is what I will do tomorrow, sour cream would work.