Sounds splendid!

My cooking effort this long weekend is focussed on bread.
On Friday I made wholemeal hotcross buns with extra spice (cinnamon,
cloves and pimento/allspice) and extra dried fruit. They were really
good and really filling (low GI, I tell myself - optimistically!).

Today I'm making anadama bread, apparently a traditional Massachusetts
recipe - cornmeal (polenta), molasses (blackstrap) and the usual bread
ingredients. I made it once before out of leftover corn tortilla
dough and my family deemed it to be "bloody good", so I'm making it
again. It will be coming out of the oven in half an hour or so and,
after cooling, going into the freezer for later on (I'm making 5
loaves at a time). I'm not a big fan of molasses, but quite like it
done like this. DH is not a big fan of cornmeal / polenta, but
likewise appreciates it when made into bread or tortillas.

My other mission this weekend has been washing *all* the dog's
bedding. It has been a while and the laundry, where they sleep every
night, was getting a bit fruity. It was a big job, but I'm glad I did
it.

OB cats. Persephone, Spock and Ted have really enjoyed having us at
home for a few days. Persephone follows me around the house and just
kinda hangs out where ever I am.

OB almost-cats. It's a bad idea to go shopping while in a frivolous
mood. Yesterday Dave and I were in a definitely frivolous frame of
mind when we went into the DVD shop. DH bought "Withnail and I" and I
bought volume 1 of "Kimba, the While Lion". They were on sale and
much reduced, so we don't feel too guilty.

Tish

On Sat, 26 Mar 2005 17:46:40 -0600, "jmcquown"
wrote:

I don't actually celebrate Easter but what the heck, spring is here. I have
2 large lamb shanks, thawed. I have 2 nice large leeks. I have white
button mushrooms. I have garlic. I have onion. I have white wine. I have
chicken broth. Here's the method (not really a recipe):

Sprinkle the the lamb shanks with salt & pepper. Brown well in a little oil
in a deep pan that has a tight-fitting lid. Deglaze the pan with a maybe
1/4 c. of white (or very light red) wine. Pour in about three cups of
vegetable or chicken broth or stock. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer
the lamb a couple of hours until it's falling apart tender, adding a little
water if needed. Herbs... hmmm, I just guess at this. Marjoram, perhaps.
When the lamb is tender, remove it from the pot; let it cool a bit and tear
the meat off the bones and add it back to the pot. [Leave some meat on the
bones and wrap the bones well and tuck them in the freezer for making soup -
Scotch broth with barley! - later.]

Add some diced onion, minced garlic, sliced leek (the white part) and sliced
mushrooms to the pot with the lamb and sauce. Simmer about 20-30 minutes or
until the veggies are tender. Thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry if
necessary.

I will serve this with some toasted sourdough bread. Might make some
couscous, not sure yet. Seems like everything I prepare, I wing it based on
last minute thoughts.

Jill