Plenty of Peppers - Stuffed

It must be October in Northern California. We have had a string of days where the temperature was well above 90 degrees. So much for fall baking! A week or so ago when it was cooler I made stuffed peppers for dinner and just realized that I never posted the recipe or photos.

The red peppers were beautiful...large, meaty and very fresh. I bought them at the farm stand that was also selling the last of the strawberries, plus lots of melon, tomatoes, beans and squash. The yellow pepper came from a friend's CSA box. It was thinner skinned but delicious, too. The lamb is so local that its from sheep who kept our grass down early this spring, another gift from our great-hearted neighbors.

The filling started with sauteed onion, carrot and celery. To that I added both cooked brown rice and fresh corn, cut from the cob, plus some salty feta cheese. A robust flavor was added by using browned ground lamb, fresh rosemary, minced garlic, and dried thyme. I moistened the mixture with a little chicken broth I had in the fridge. It made a wonderful filling for the peppers, bringing out the peppers sweetness and warm flavors. I put the filling that wouldn't fit in the peppers into a greased baking dish and cooked it along with the peppers. It made an outstanding lunch for Sweetie the next day.

He could really use a satisfying lunch because this was just about the time that we had discovered the results of a small, long-term leak in one of our pipes. It has taken almost two weeks to do the repair, but on Friday I should be able to paint the new drywall. After that we can install the last of the new flooring and take a break from construction for a while.

Maybe we'll get cool weather to turn the leaves autumn colors. That's a wonderful time to take a ride in the country and check out all the gold and red and burgundy leaves. Of course what we really want is rain. Wishing for a very rainy winter, but I do hope you get to enjoy fall color if you live where there is some.

Lamb Stuffed Peppers
Serves 4

4 medium to large bell peppers (I like red and yellow and orange, but green is OK, too)
1 tablespoon olive or grapeseed oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1-2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small carrot, sliced into thin coins
1 pound ground lamb, browned and drained
1 1/2 cups cooked and cooled brown rice
1 ear corn, steamed 5 minutes, then cooled; corn cut from cob
1/4 cup feta cheese, in small crumble
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
S & P
1/4 - 1/2 cup chicken broth
about 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

Wash the peppers and remove the stem end and the core, plus all the seeds. Cut in half. (I like to cut from the stem to the bottom, but some people like to cut through the middle and set the stem end as a bottom. Make sure that the halves are not tippy. Cut off a bit of the outside of the pepper if needed. Set peppers aside.

In a skillet, saute the onion, celery and carrot in the grapeseed oil. Cook, over medium-high heat, stirring often, until onion is transluscent, about 5 minutes. Turn mixture into a large bowl and add the cooked lamb, cooked rice, corn, feta, chopped rosemary, chopped garlic, and dried thyme. If desired, add salt and pepper to taste. Add enough chicken broth to moisten the mixture.

Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment, or a silicon baking mat. Arrange the pepper halves on the pan. Stuff each half with the lamb mixture, mounding in the center. Sprinkle with a touch of cayenne pepper. If there is left over stuffing mixture, place in a greased small baking dish to bake along with the peppers.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 20 minutes. Peppers will be softened and stuffing mixture will be hot and a little browned.

Serve at once. Refrigerate any leftovers, or baked leftover stuffing mixture.

Gluten Free Baked Lamb Meatballs

It's been great being back in the kitchen cooking. I had no idea that finding new homes for all my cooking and baking equipment and supplies would be so challenging. It isn't that there isn't room, nor that I hadn't planned where to put most of it, the problem is that I find that where I thought things should go is not truly where they fit best when actually using the kitchen. That means rethinking a lot of my original plan.

I look pretty crazy sometimes as I open and close drawer after drawer and door after door of the cabinets, looking for a whisk or grater, a citrus juicer or colander. Some things have been moved four or five times since the project started and my memory just isn't what it used to be.

Still, I wouldn't go back to the old kitchen and I love all of the work space. I even used the little table this week while I was preparing pounds of home grown, just picked cherry tomatoes for roasting. Sitting instead of standing to remove all of those little tomato tops before I prepared them for roasting was a treat. After the tomatoes were roasted I decided that as long as the oven was hot, I could make meatballs for dinner.

I had thawed some frozen ground lamb from the freezer and somewhere recently I read a recipe where they used almond meal instead of bread crumbs for making meatballs, so I decided to see what I could come up with using items already in the pantry and fridge. I'm not eating gluten free myself, in general, but it's always nice to have a dish to make that is when I might have guests who need to eat gluten free. This dish is not vegan or vegetarian however, but it is dairy free. Because Sweetie is not a big fan of mint, it is a mint free dish, too. Mostly I would make these again because they were awesomely yummy.

There was just over a pound of ground lamb. The fridge had a wonderful caramelized red onion and fig conserve, some Dijon mustard, an egg yolk left over from another recipe, eggs, fresh basil, and the almond meal. The pantry had salt and pepper. That was all I needed. Because the onion and fig conserve was ready to go and very full flavored, the meatballs went together very quickly.

I scooped them on to a foil lined baking sheet and baked them in a 400 degree F oven for about 18 minutes. I was going for 20 minutes, but they seemed to be done at 18 and I hate overcooked lamb.

A key thing to remember if you decide to make these is to handle the mixture lightly. That keeps 'em tender and juicy. The other thing to know is that they may flatten just a bit, so don't expect tight, round meatballs. Instead look forward to light, juicy, delicious meatballs with some crispy bits where they sat on the pan. The lamb flavor shines and is enhanced by the slightly sweet onions and figs. The mustard and basil are background flavors and I didn't really taste the egg or almond meal at all. You can serve them with some more of the conserve or a bit of tomato sauce, or some yogurt...all three would be good. I served them with a neighbor's gift of fresh from the garden broccoli, which I roasted with garlic, and corn on the cob, and that was wonderful, too.

Elle's Gluten Free Baked No Mint Lamb Meatballs

1 pound ground lamb
1 egg yolk
1 medium or large egg
1/4 cup caramelized red onion and fig conserve (any kind of onion-fig jam or conserve will work)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup almond meal (ground blanched almonds)
2 - 3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste (I used 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper)

In a mixing bowl, using a fork, lightly stir together the above ingredients. Scoop balls about the size of a walnut on to a foil lined baking sheet, leaving about an inch to two inches between balls. (You can make the meatballs any size you like, but the smaller size bakes more quickly than larger ones.)

Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 12-20 minutes. Check after 12 minutes to see how done they are - they should be browned around the edges and spring back a bit when prodded - turn the pan 180 degrees and continue baking until done.

Serve at once and enjoy! Serves 3-4.

Not So Irish Stew

A few weeks ago we purchase some local lamb, both stew pieces and ground. My original idea was to make traditional Irish stew, but somewhere along the way it morphed into lamb with red wine, rosemary and garlic. I started out with the traditional onions, celery, carrots mix and with the lamb shaken with seasoned flour and browned, a few at a time. Sorry to say I also have lost the amounts I used, so this isn't as much a recipe as a recounting.

Along about the time that I was supposed to braise the browned lamb and veggies with broth I decided I like my lamb marinade for grilling so much that I would add those ingredients, too. Red wine, fresh rosemary, a few cloves of crushed garlic, a couple of bay leaves, a shake of dried orange peel and some freshly ground pepper was added to the chicken broth. A nice long simmer later the meat was tender, almost falling off the bone.The next step could be skipped but it does add to the flavor. I removed the meat and simmered the liquid until it was reduced by about 1/3. Then I removed the bay leaves, added back the meat and I added some red skinned waxy potatoes that I had cut into bite size pieces and cooked until tender in a separate pot. I didn't want red potatoes from the red wine.

I served the stew in bowls because it was on the soupy side. A sprinkle of freshly chopped flat leaf parsley was the final garnish.

This was excellent stew folks! You could really taste the lamb...a good thing if you love lamb...but the potatoes still had their own flavor and the veggies were soft and added a touch of tradition. The red wine and garlic and rosemary provide robust flavor but are not dominant. Great with good bread to sop up the savory liquid. Just have a plate for the bones if yours, like ours, is bone-in stew meat.

Finally have some time to start thinking about Christmas. I did do a couple of online bits of shopping on Cyber Monday, but now have the fun of finding local items, mostly, for family and friends. The crafts scene especially has just blossomed so there are lots and lots of quality hand crafted items this year to choose from. Hard to choose...

Lovely Spring Lamb Marinade

We have been enjoying some great dinners but most of the food is the same as dishes that have been posted here before. The marinated lamb today was excellent and was served with fresh steamed corn on the cob and a big vegetable salad with field greens. On checking my recipe list I found that I haven't given you my lamb marinade (or if I have I can't find the post...so excuse me for being a forgetful biddy if it turns out this is a repeat). Sweetie loves this marinade! I've been making it pretty much like this for years and years and the flavor combination of the red wine, garlic, rosemary and mustard is a winner.

Yesterday we went to Matanzas Creek Winery, hoping to see their lavender fields in bloom. Looks like we are about two weeks too soon...lots of buds but few were blooming. They have acres and acres of blooms later this month and a big-deal Lavender and Wine weekend at the very end of June. Guess I could have put some lavender from my shrub into the marinade but didn't think of it...maybe next time.

Lamb in Red Wine Marinade


6 oz. dry red wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon-type mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
about 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (OK if still on the stem)
1 lamb roast (we like a leg of lamb with the bone removed but this will work for lamb steaks and lamb rib roast, too)

Place all the marinade ingredients except for the rosemary in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Lay a gallon size zipper lock plastic bag in a large baking pan, carefully un-zip and place the rosemary and them lamb in the bag. Add the marinade. Close plastic bag. Let marinate at room temperature for an hour, then turn the bag over and let the other side marinate for an hour. If there is time, continue to marinate in the refrigerator, turning occasionally. Have never marinated the lamb for longer than 8 hours, but more might be OK.

Remove lamb from the marinade and discard the marinade. Grill the lamb on a prepared grill to the degree of pinkness you desire. Serve at once.