new territory (recipe: lamb and vegetable stew)

I haven't been cooking much that is interesting, and even when I do, I can't get a picture of it since it's already dark by 4:45 pm. Even in this case, I caught photos of the raw ingredients but nothing of the final product. I'll come back for that, as I'm sure I'll be making it again soon.

 I made this stew twice a week for several weeks last year. I just love the flavors, and the smell of it, and how rich and warming it is. I had the recipe down so pat I figured I could mix it up with meat, for the first time, without any problems. So I used lamb stew meat, purchased from the farmers market.

Even before I went vegetarian, I wouldn't consider eating lamb. Something about my grandmother's famous roasted leg of lamb (with mint jelly, naturally) just seemed so bizarre. But it's hard for me to say, now, why some types of meat are stranger or more objectionable than others. Lamb are fluffy and adorable, so it's less ethical to eat them than a chicken? Well, my chickens are fluffy and adorable, too.

There's got to be a better rubric for measuring animal foods. For now it's primarily important to me that this meat comes from my community.

I feel a bit of panic every time I cook meat. I have a few cookbooks on hold at the library (and suggestions are very welcome!), but remember that I'd never cooked meat myself before this dietary change? I always think I'm doing something wrong.

But this stew was very easy -- I just swapped out the mushrooms for stew meat in our half of the meal (since the kids didn't want to eat meat that night). I love the huge chunks of celery, carrot, and potato in this stew, and I don't think anything is missing from having it with mushrooms alone.

In the comments to this post I explained that one of the ways I compensate for the relatively high price of local, pastured meat is by stretching it with tons of vegetables. The lamb stew meat I bought from the Owens in Hopland was $6 a pound, not too terribly expensive, but with tons of vegetables and a rich broth, I stretched it into two meals.

We have some excellent organic and biodynamic wineries nearby, and friends from elsewhere sometimes ask if we spend a lot of time at tastings. I guess the corollary is that friends here ask if we snowboarded or skied all the time when we lived in Utah. We didn't do that, either. And I'll take visiting friends and family to tastings but it's more like a touristy thing to the people who live here.

However, gifts of wine are ubiquitous. Jeremy came home with 10 bottles on the last day of school. He has a student from the Frey family, who produced the first organic and biodynamic vineyards in the U.S., so I was pretty happy to see a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon in his basket. I admit to not being too fond of red wine, but I love to cook with it, and yes, I do believe you should cook with quality wine -- don't just save it for drinking. It makes a difference.

This wine was so mild that I actually did enjoy a glass while cooking. "...sometimes I even add it to the food!" Wine aside, I think this dish is best enjoyed with a glass of apple kefir (recipe coming soon), in front of a fire if possible.

Lamb (or Mushroom) and Vegetable Stew

1 lb. pastured lamb stew meat

OR

1 lb. cremini mushrooms, halved

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 carrots, roll-cut

3 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 lb. baby red potatoes, quartered

2 c. Cabernet Sauvignon (or another red wine)

2 c. vegetable broth (or bone broth)

3 T. tomato paste

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs each of thyme and rosemary

Heat 2 T. olive oil in a heavy soup pot, over medium. Add the lamb and brown on each side. Remove the lamb to a plate.

Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Cook until the onion is translucent. Add the carrots, celery, and potatoes, and return the lamb to the pot. Add the wine, broth, tomato paste, and herbs. Bring to a boil,

then reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour. Season to taste with unrefined salt and pepper.

For the mushroom version, heat 2 T. olive oil in a heavy soup pot, over medium. Add the onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent. Add the mushrooms and a splash of the wine. Cook until the mushrooms begin to sweat. Add the carrots, celery, and potatoes to the pot. Add the rest of the wine, broth, tomato paste, and herbs. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Season to taste with unrefined salt and pepper.

Enjoy!