Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Dentist, Cleaning Silver and Bowling

Not what I call and exciting day. Some of it I have spent with my mouth wide open being poked an prodded by a dentist and then a lot of it I spent cleaning silver. I wash and used the cleaner, Matt dries and polishes. We both have to sit down periodically because of pain in the back. It's the standing in one spot that does it. Growing old sucks, but then I don't think much of the alternative either.

Tomorrow we go bowling although there is no longer a summer league. The winter league starts in September but we like to continue bowling twice a week. Good for us doncher know!

I hope this blog is OK. Something weird has been happening to the formatting. but when I see the preview it looks fine.

Tomorrow is shopping day and I will be going with Matt at 7 a.m. (horrors) to make sure I have everything I require for my guests who are coming on Saturday for lunch.

Having cleaned out our freezer on Monday, I came across some stewing lamb, new it was there, but decided I had better do something with it before it became unusable. This recipe talks of red cabbage, I pickled mine some time ago. This is a classic dish from England although I must admit I haven't made it in years.

Lancashire hotpot with braised red cabbage
BBC Food


Serve with braised salsify.

Ingredients

For the lamb stock
For the lamb
For the braised red cabbage

Preparation method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
  2. First make the stock. Remove the meat from the middle neck of lamb and set aside. Chop the bones and put them in a roasting tray. Roast until lightly browned.
  3. Meanwhile, cook the carrot, onion and garlic in a little olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed stockpot until lightly browned. Add the herbs and salt, then stir in the tomato purée and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the roasted bones and cover with the water. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for one hour, skimming off any fat or scum regularly. Pass the liquid through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Return to the heat and reduce until you have 1 litre/1¾ pints of stock.
  4. Turn the oven down to 150C/300F/Gas 2.
  5. To make the hot pot, cut the lamb into 2cm/1in thick slices. Dust them with flour. Heat the oil in a pan and quickly fry until lightly coloured on both sides. Remove and set aside.
  6. In the same oil, quickly fry the onion, carrots and garlic until lightly browned.
  7. Layer the lamb, onion and carrots in a heavy casserole dish, filling it to 1cm/½in from the top. Season each layer with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and the herbs, spooning liberal amounts of stock between each layer.
  8. Arrange the potatoes neatly all over the top of the dish. Dot a few small knobs of butter on the potatoes, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook in the oven for 1½ hours. Remove the lid and cook for a further 45 minutes.
  9. Meanwhile, make the red cabbage. Mix together all of the ingredients. Put into a roasting tray and cover with foil. Place in the oven and cook for about 1½ hours, stirring regularly, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
  10. Serve the hot pot from the casserole onto warm plates with the cabbage.

Have a great day




 

21 comments:

  1. I just finished cleaning my freezer out, no lie. Post looks good on my tablet. I still haven't tried lamb yet, but would like to.

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    1. Snap Ivy. Glad it looks OK.

      Lamb is probably an acquired taste Ivy, we Brits have been eating it forever, along with Australians and New Zealanders as well as most of the Mediterranean countries. However, when I first came to Canada I was surprised how many people did not like lamb. To me a roast leg of lamb is one of the great foods of the world.

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    2. I've been a veggiehead most of my life. Meats are still knew to me. They sell big honkin' lamb legs here. But we live in an area where people eat everything from critters to bear, and all the farmlife in between.

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    3. After living in the UK, lamb is very expensive here although I gather it is getting pretty expensive there. Is Tim a meat eater?

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  2. I've never tried Lancashire Hotpot - it looks lovely - the weather has just turned ... again ... time to start thinking about winter dishes - that will be perfect.

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    1. You should Fil. It does, IMHOP, need the red cabbage though. Hubby doesn't agree, but it is quite a fatty meal and the cabbage cuts that. In the UK you can buy pickled red cabbage. Here I have to make my own which is pretty easy. Use a recipe from Mrs. Beeton

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  3. Your post has turned out as it should on my laptop.
    I don't envy you the freezer defrosting or the silver cleaning. I think - hope? - I can postpone mine for a bit longer.

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    1. Good, I had all kinds of problems Helen.

      Having guests for lunch couldn't postpone the silver and I think I forgot to do the freezer last year. At least it's an upright so much easier than a chest freezer which I hated cleaning.

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  4. 7:00? I have three high-schoolers this year.
    Once school starts, everyone will be out the door before 6:45. LOL

    That recipe takes a lot of work, but it looks yummy. :)

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    1. Well, we were out of the door by 6:45 too Melissa. However, I am retarded, oops retired, and don't normally go out at that time of day. I do get up but go more or less straight to the computer.

      It is a delicious meal when cooked.

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  5. I'm trying to use up stuff that's been in the freezer too so we can restock. It seems to be mostly frozen veggies at this point. I really dislike going to the dentist. It makes my skin crawl, esp. when they use the polisher. I always have to ask them to use the manual pick vs. the new electric kind that vibrates. The sensation on my teeth and the noise sends me into orbit.

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    1. I mostly don't use frozen veggies other than peas. I know exactly what you mean about the machines the dentists use JoJo.

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  6. Standing in one spot for a long time can tax even young backs. I don't have a single recipe for lamb.
    Susan Says

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    1. Really Susan. I wouldn't have thought so.

      Strictly speaking, Shepherd's Pie should be made with lamb.

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  7. I wish I was coming to your place for lunch on Saturday. Sigh.

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    1. And you don't even know what I'm serving Pinky. You would be very welcome by the way.

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  8. Sounds yummy! I dislike going to the dentist, but it is a necessary evil. Glad you two are hanging in there!

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    1. Not for me, a very unnecessary evil Lisa. Yeah, we are good.

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  9. Yeah. There's something about dental trips that just put a stop to your day and take a lot of your attention. For some people, a lot of their energy get sapped away, since this is something that they struggle with. But still, these teeth inspections bring a lot of good. They help us find potential sources of pain before they actually develop into dental problems. Thanks for sharing this, Jo! It's a welcome intervention.

    Benny Murray @ Dental Care Of South Jersey

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    1. True enough, but I don't have to enjoy it Benny.

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