Snow, Bowling, Hip, Lamb.

Last night, before I got into bed, I looked out of the window - it was quite windy and it had been snowing. I saw several snow devils (like dust devils but snow) whirling and dancing through the trees in the park. It was so pretty to watch. A couple of houses are still using their outside Christmas lights which made the effect even more enjoyable.

There's only one in this picture and it's daylight, but to show you what I mean.

Thursday we went bowling as usual and I had a go, managed OK. Even threw a couple of strikes which suprised me. In the end, I missed out on the last three frames. My scores were pretty lousy, but at least I played. We went home to kill some time before the doctor's and then headed out again. When we got there I was horrified, it wasn't even 5 and the place seemed full. One man offered me a chair, another offered me his lap. I told him I would be too heavy, he assured me women were never heavy? Cheeky. However, there were 2 seats so a couple of guys shifted along and Matt and I sat down. We actually only waited 45 minutes which wasn't as bad as I had thought. The upshot is the arthritic condition of my hip was aggravated by my fall before Christmas and I am being referred to an orthopaedic surgeon. I requested the doctor who had done my previous hip replacement in 2005 and had also done both Matt's hips and his knee. Tomorrow I will give them a call and see if I can get a jump on an appointment. In Canada you cannot go straight to a specialist, you have to be referred by your MD. The Doctor said it was OK to exercise or bowl but not to aggravate it any further. She talked about strengthening exercises. Said I would have been given them before, if I was, or Matt was, we don't remember and don't have them anyway.

Home to my invented lamb stew which I had been cooking in the slow cooker all day. Delicious. Don't know why I didn't think of doing this before. I have often made a hotpot dish which is lamb, onions and potatoes, but never made a stew with these pieces as well as the tough lamb chops we had. It was full of spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin giving it a pseudo Persian effect. I decided to find a lamb shanks recipe to share. This is from the Liquor Board's Food and Drink Magazine.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH MIDDLE EASTERN SPICES SPRING 1999 BY LUCY WAVERMAN Lamb Shanks are very trendy because they are full of great flavour and end up with a tempting, melting texture when they are cooked slowly. The sauce for this dish is rich and thick. Serve with mashed potatoes, couscous or noodles. 2 tsp (10 mL) ground cumin 2 tsp (10 mL) ground ginger 2 tsp (10 mL) ground coniander 2 tsp (10 mL) paprika 1/2 tsp (2 mL) cinnamon 1/2 tsp (2 mL) cayenne 6 lamb shanks 3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper 1 onion, coarsely chopped 1/2 cup (125 mL) coarsely chopped carrots 1/2 cup (125 mL) coarsely chopped celery 1 bottle (341 mL) beer, preferably ale 2 cups (500 mL) beef stock, homemade or canned low-salt 1 tsp (5 mL) dried thyme 1 bay leaf 8 whole garlic cloves, peeled Vegetable Garnish: 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil 3 zucchini, cut in 3/4-inch (2-cm) dice 1 red pepper, cut in 3/4-inch (2-cm) dice 1 yellow pepper, cut in 3/4-inch (2-cm) dice 1. Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Combine cumin, ginger, coriander, paprika, cinnamon and cayenne. Toss lamb shanks with 2 tsp (10 mL) spice mixture, reserve remainder. 2. Heat 2 tbsp (25 mL) oil in skillet or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Brown lamb shanks in batches on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve. Wipe out pan and add remaining oil. 3. Add onion, carrot and celery. Sauté until onion is browned slightly, about 5 minutes. Add reserved spice mixture and sauté for 3 seconds. Add beer, stock, thyme and bay leaf and bring to boil. Return meat to pan. 4. Bake for 1 hour, add garlic, cloves and bake one hour longer or until meat is tender and nearly falling off the bone. 5. Remove meat. Skim fat, then remove vegetables with a slotted spoon. Discard bay leaf. Purée vegetables in a food processor or blender. Stir back into stock and reduce until sauce lightly coats a spoon, about 10 minutes. 6. To make vegetable garnish, add oil into skillet on medium-high heat. Add vegetables and sauté until vegetables are crisp tender, about 5-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 7. Stir vegetable garnish and lamb back into sauce. Simmer together for 15 minutes or until lamb and vegetables are reheated. Serve with potatoes, couscous, or noodles. Serves 6

Have a great day