What I ate tonight & recipe

The menu:

1. Lamb and vegetable stew
2. Garlic Naan (Indian flat bread)
   
3. hot coffee with Irish cream

Lamb is one of those great meats which is still farmed in the traditional manner, while popular meats like beef, chicken, or pork are usually factory farmed. Lamb is a tender meat that adds a great flavor to a wide array dishes. Some of my favorite lamb recipes are stew and stir fry with Chinese vegetables. It has a taste all of its own and offers a great alternative to beef, but can be cooked in similar ways.

To make lamb stew:

Melt a pat of butter in a large preheated pot. While the butter is melting, lightly coat the lamb with flour. Put the meat in the pot and give it a good sear on all sides (this may take 5 to 10 minutes, but make sure not to cook it through). Next, add 2 cups of organic beef stock or enough to cover the lamb, 4 cloves of minced garlic, some salt, and pepper. Cover and cook for one hour.

After the stew has cooked for an hour, open the pot and stir contents. Add any vegetables and continue cooking, covered, for 20 minutes. I used corn, edamame, red peppers, green beans, and a large diced onion. Carrots, potatoes, leeks, broccoli, and peas would also work well. Vegetables have different cooking times, so it is important to keep this in mind. Potatoes and carrots take the longest to cook, while broccoli and peas only need a few minutes. If you are using quick cooking vegetables such as broccoli, put them in during the last 5 minutes of cooking time. Frozen peas can simply be stirred in after the stew is done.

Now for the finishing touches. Remove the lid and season to taste. I mixed in a packet of concentrated beef broth for an even more intense flavor. The stew can be reduced slightly by cooking with the lid off over high heat. If reducing, closely monitor the lamb so it doesn't overcook. To thicken: mix 2 spoons of flour with 1/4 cup water in a separate bowl before stirring into the stew. It is very important to mix the water and flour together first or you will end up with clumps of flour throughout. Ladle stew into soup bowls and serve.

This recipe is easy to make and tastes great! Luckily, it is also a very forgiving meal, so it will cook up nicely- even if you don't follow the recipe to a tee.

The key to making a great stew is to brown the meat before cooking it in liquid, as this greatly intensifies the flavor. For a tasty vegetarian stew, melt butter in the bottom of the pan and then stir in a few tablespoons of flour. Once the flour browns you can add liquid and vegetables. These steps will take any soup from mediocre to amazing!