My brother gave me an electric crockpot and my son was begging for some lamb so this turned out to be a great marriage. If you don’t have a crockpot, simmering on the stove would probably work just as well.
Once I got into the recipe I discovered I didn’t have any coriander so I threw in some cinnamon instead. Of course, I must have just gone brain dead because obviously coriander is cilantro and I always have cilantro. In spite of it all, it turned out to be a tasty dish.
Lamb Stew
1 lb lamb shoulder chops, trimmed and cut into smallish chunks
Mix together and toss with the meat:
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp coriander (cilantro)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper (I would put a little more)
¼ tsp salt (don’t really need it if you are using the full strength chicken broth)
Several turn of the pepper mill
1 large onion, chopped (I used a red one)
28-oz diced tomatoes
¾ cup chicken broth (I used half a cube in boiling water)
4 cloves minced garlic
1 can cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
Mash about ¾ cup of the beans
6 oz fresh spinach, chopped
Put the spiced up meat into the crockpot, top with chopped onion.
Heat tomatoes, chicken broth and garlic in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
Pour the tomato mixture over the meat.
Cover and cook 3 hours on high or 5 hours on low, until meat is tender.
Mix in the mashed chickpeas, whole chickpeas, and spinach
Cook an additional 5-10 minutes until headed and spinach has wilted.
Serve over rice.
Leftover note. We had this the next day as a sauce for gnocchi and it was really pretty good.
This is one I make up as I go along. Use whatever you have one hand. This one has kidney beans but you would use black beans. You could use turkey or beef or buffalo. Throw some corn in if you have it on hand. Anything goes.
1 lb turkey
½ onion chopped
½ green pepper chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 large can chopped tomatoes
1 can beans
½ cup tomato paste
1 tbsp Adobo
2 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt – to taste
generous grind of black pepper
1 cup prepared salsa
shredded cheese for garnish
Cook the turkey and onion (add a chopped clove of garlic if you want)
Add the pepper and mushrooms and any other vegetables you want.
Add the tomatoes and spices and beans. Let it simmer until the vegetables are cooked.
I inherited a cookbook from my grandmother. The cover is gone so I don’t know what it looked like but the date is 1922. The Preface states:
“Organized into a working body, the Mother’s Congress of Mount Ayr, presents Mothers who are studying and working for the betterment of Child Welfare.
In its interests financially, this little book is published and sent out by them.”
Followed by:
“We may live without poetry, music and art.
We may live without conscience and live without heart;
We may live without friends, we may live without books;
But civilized man cannot live without cooks. —- Merideth.”
It starts out with 12 points on how to set a table. Numbers 11 and 12:
11. Place carving set in front of host, or put carving knife and gravy ladle at his right, and fork at his left.
12. Place coffee cups and coffee pot at right of hostess.
The recipes don’t mention oven temperature other than “moderate oven” or “quick oven” and many of them don’t mention how long anything should cook. Here are a few samples.
Norwegian Stew. – Brown in a large kettle 1 c. lard and butter mixed, 25-cent round steak cut in small pieces, flour thoroughly and stir into the browned lard, continue stirring until meat is brown. Then add 1 c. flour stirring constantly, set on back of stove and add 2 qts. Boiling water, salt and pepper and let simmer 2 hrs, ½ hr. before serving add enough potatoes of medium size for the meal, stir occasionally as it will stick to kettle. — J.A.W.
Molasses Cake. 1 cup molasses, ½ c. sugar, ½ c. butter or lard, ½ tsp each cloves, ginger, cinnamon; 1 tsp. soda in 1 c. boiling water, 2 eggs, well beaten; last, flour to stiffen. –Mrs. Holman.
And my grandmother’s contribution:
Green Tomato Relish. – 5 lbs. green tomatoes, 6 large onions, 3 c. brown sugar, 3 c. red peppers, 3 green peppers, 1 tbsp. each of powdered cloves, all spice, celery seed, dry mustard, ½ c. salt, 8 c. vinegar. Peel and slice tomatoes and onions very thin. Remove seeds from peppers and chop very fine. To these add the other ingredients and cook over a moderate fire ½ hr., stirring frequently. Cover with paraffin. – Mrs. Liggett.
Household hints:
Rub the feet every night and morning with bay rum and witch hazel, equal parts, for frost bits.
Turpentine and lard rubbed on throat and chest will often relieve pain from cold.
To carry a mattress without breaking your fingernails (also back) use a broom underneath as a saddle and see how much easier it is.
Use a tbsp. of kerosene to wash windows. It not only cuts the dirt but is distrastful to flies
I’m not sure what “distrastful” is. Maybe a typo. But you get the idea.
The book ends with a poem.
Receipt for a Happy Day
Take a little dash of cold water,
A little leaven of prayer,
A little bit of sunshine gold,
Dissolved in the morning air.
Add to your meal some merriment,
Add thought for kith and kin,
And the, as a prime ingredient
A plenty of work thrown in.
Flavor it all with essence of love,
And a dash of play.
Let the dear old book and a glance above,
Complete the well spent day.
–Mrs. Smith
Whatever your recipe is, I hope you have a happy day!!
