Random Stew (Betsy Codier)

1 1/2 lb (ish) of stew meat

2 c bouillon

1/2 c red wine

Vegets of preference (carrots, potatoes, onions, etc…)

bay, salt, pepper, worcestershire sauce, etc…  to taste

Bring to a simmer, and allow to simmer until meat and vegets are done enough to eat.  Thicken if neccesary. (Simmering will take at least an hour, depending on size of various bits.)

Lamb Ragout (McCall’s Great American Recipe Cards)

This one was an interesting experiment – ended up being quite tasty, although I think their spicing might need to be added to even a bit more than I did.  However, it came out to a rather pleasing “basic” taste.  Picked a box of recipe cards up at a garage sale, and this is one of the recipes to come out of that box.  No idea what timeframe they come from, although the plastic was old enough to have yellowed and fractured.

2 1/2 lb boneless shoulder of lamb, cut in 1 inch cubes

1/4 c all-purpose flour (I would call this amount “as needed”)

1/3 c butter (Ended up needing quite a bit more than called for)

2 tsps salt (or to taste)

1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste)

3/4 tsp dried rosemary leaves (or to taste)

2 c chicken broth (I was out of chicken, so I used mushroom broth instead)

6 oz tomato paste

1 1/2 tsps sugar

4 medium white turnips, pared and quartered

8 small white onions, peeled (I assumed they were speaking of pearl onions, which I couldn’t find, so I used shallots instead.  Guesstimated a similar amount as being 4 shallots, peeled and halved or quartered, depending on the size of the shallot)

3 medium carrots, pared and cut in 1 inch pieces

1 clove garlic, crushed (I used five.)

1 c green pepper strips (We used red.)

2 leeks, cut into cubes (Cubing is sort of a weird concept with leeks.  I cleaned them up, cut them into quarter inch rounds, and then quartered the rounds.)

9 oz artichoke hearts (The recipe called for a package of frozen artichoke hearts, which I couldn’t find at any of the stores we frequent for groceries, so I pulled out our gigantic jar of spiced artichoke hearts in oil, and used nine oz of that.  Worked quite well, and the spiced oil imparted a nice addition to the flavour of the sauce.)

2 tomatos, peeled and cut into eighths

Clean, prepare, and cut all the vegetables in advance.  Takes longer to deal with the turnips and the like than you have waiting for the simmer on the lamb and sauce.

Put the flour in a gallon sized plastic ziploc.  You can add a bit of salt and pepper to this mixture to add a bit of additional flavour.  Put lamb cubes in bag, and shake to coat.  You can also put the flour on a plate or in a bowl, and coat them using that, but I find the bag method to be more efficient.  In 3-9 tablespoons hot butter in 6 quart Dutch oven, brown lamb all over.  Stir in salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, chicken broth, and tomato paste.

Bring to boiling, reduce heat (to almost nothing), and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.

In medium skillet, slowly melt remaining butter with sugar.  Add turnip, onions,m carrot, and garlic.  Best to do this in stages, glazing about a third of the vegets at a time, and setting them aside until all are done.  Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are glazed and golden – should be approximately 10 minutes a set.  Preheat oven to 350.

Stir glazed vegetables, green pepper, and leeks into lamb mixture.  Bake, cover, 40 minutes.

Add artichokes.  Bake 20 minutes.  Add tomato.  Bake 10 minutes longer.

Herbal Butter Cookies (Not Just Desserts)

Our first making of these involved chocolate mint fresh from the garden.   Lovely and tasty.

(can use any of the mints or lemon herbs, as well as rosemary, or some of the funkier basils)

(Keep a bit in a tin, or 2 months in freezer)

12 T butter

2/3 c sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

2-3 T minced fresh herbs

pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter and sugar.  Mix egg and vanilla and then beat in.  Gradually mix in flour, then herbs, then salt.  Divide in two, wrap in plastic wrap, chill 1 hour or freeze 20 minutes.  Cut into 1/4 inch rounds.  Bake 10 minutes.

Diagonal Shawl (Lion Fixed by me)

<p style=”text-align: center;”><a title=”Diane’s Wrap” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/craftspider/4269157423/”><img src=”http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4269157423_56ee0ba5a9_t.jpg” alt=”Diane’s Wrap” /></a><a title=”Diane’s Wrap 2″ href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/craftspider/4269156905/”><img src=”http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2725/4269156905_74b28152a5_t.jpg” alt=”Diane’s Wrap 2″ /></a></p>
Chain 213

Row 1:  sc in 2nd chain from hook, and in each chain across.  212 sc.

Row 2:  Ch 1, turn, 6 sc, dc, 5 sc, dc, repeat (5 sc, dc) until last stitch, then sc

Row 3:  Ch 1, turn, sc across

Row 4:  Ch 1, turn, sc in first 5, fpdc 2 rows down around a dc, sk 1 sc, sc in next 5 sc, FPDC 2 rows down, sk i sc, repeat (sc in 5 sc, FPDC, sk 1 sc) until last 2 stitches, 2 sc

Row 5:  Ch 1, turn, sc across

Row 6:  Ch 1, turn, sc in 1st 4, FPDC 2 rows down, sk 1 sc, sc in next 5 sc, FPDC 2 rows down, sk 1 sc, repeat (sc in 5 stitches, FPDC, sk 1 sc) until last 3, 3 sc

Row 7:  Ch 1, turn, sc across

Row 8:  Ch 1, turn, sc in 1st 3, FPDC, sk 1 sc, sc in next 5, FPDC, sk 1 sc, repeat (sc in 5, FPDC, sk 1 sc) until last 4, 4 sc

Row 9:  Ch 1, turn, sc across

Row 10:  Ch 1, turn, sc in 1st 2, FPDC, sk 1 sc, sc in next 5, FPDC, sk 1 sc, repeat (sc in 5, FPDC, sk 1 sc) until last 5, 5 sc

Row 11:  Ch 1, turn, sc across

Row 12:  Ch 1, turn, sc in 1st stitch, FPDC, 5 sc, sk 1 sc, repeat (sc in 5 sc, FPDC, sk 1 sc) until last stitch, 1 sc

Row 13:  Ch 1, turn, sc across

Row 14:  Ch 1, turn, sc in first 6, FPDC, sk 1 sc, repeat (5 sc, FPDC, sk 1 sc) to end

Pattern:

Row 15:  Ch 1, turn, sc across

Row 16:  Repeat Row 4

Row 17:  Ch 1, turn, sc across

Row 18:  Repeat Row 6

Row 19:  Ch 1, turn, sc across

Row 20:  Repeat Row 8

Row 21:  Ch 1, turn, sc across

Row 22:  Repeat Row 10

Row 23:  Ch 1, turn, sc across

Row 24:  Repeat Row 12

Row 25:  Ch 1, turn, sc across

Row 26:  Repeat Row 14

End Pattern

Repeat Rows 15-26 until you like the size of it.

Edging 1:  With right side facing, ch 1, sc evenly around the edges, 3 sc in each corner, join with slip stitch to first sc.

Edging 2: Ch 1, do not turn, rsc around.  Fasten off and weave in your ends.

Mushrooms with Cumin and Asafetida (Madhur Jaffrey)

Subtler flavour than many things from this particular book, but just as blissful.  Served these last night with a spinach rice underneath, and the sour potatoes on the side.

1 1/2 lbs fresh mushrooms (I used baby portabella)

2 T vegetable oil (I’ve taken to using sesame rather than olive oil for her recipes)

A generous pinch of ground asafetida or approximately a 1/8 inch lump

1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds

2 whole dried red peppers

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1 c tomato sauce

1 tsp salt

Clean mushrooms.  Chop off the woody end bits.

Heat oil in 3 quart pot over medium heat, and put in the asafetida.  It will sizzle and expand within 5 seconds.  Now add the cumin seeds, and as soon as they darken (5 to 10 seconds), the red peppers.  Stir once and add the turmeric and the mushrooms.  Stir mushrooms for 1/2 minute, and add the tomato sauce, 2 1/2 c of water and the salt.  Cover, lower heat, and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes.

They can be served immediately, but letting them sit for a couple hours in the juices and then reheating makes for a much better flavour.

Troll’s Scarf of Randomness +2 (Mine)

Troll Scarf Flat

Troll Scarf Modeled

Cast on 28
proceed in Knit stitch for 5 inches or so

Alternate these two rows six times:
1 – Knit
2 – Knit 5, Purl 18, Knit 5

Knit 5 rows

Alternate those two rows six times again

Knit 10 rows

Alternate a knit row and a purl row until you’ve done 10 of each

Alternate these two rows 10 times:
1: k5, p5, k5, p5, k5, p3
2: k3, p5, k5, p5, k5, p5

Knit 10 rows

Purl 10 rows

Knit 10 rows

Continue in knit until you’ve doubled the length of the scarf. Then do the above backwards. Fringe. And find a house troll.