Warm Spring Lamb Salad

Canola oil
1 1/4 pound lamb loin, trimmed of excess fat
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound asparagus tips, blanched in salted water and shocked in cold water
1/2 pound fava beans, cleaned and blanched in salted water and shocked in cold water

For the Lemon Dressing:

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice or 1/4 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Honey, if needed

1 head radicchio, torn into bite-sized pieces

4 ounces dried goat cheese
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
Store-bought salted pita chips

 

Heat a large sauté pan over high heat with a few tablespoons oil. Season lamb with salt and pepper. Cook lamb pieces until charred on outside and cooked to medium doneness, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pan. Add the asparagus and fava beans to the pan and sauté until just heated through, season with salt and pepper.

For the dressing, whisk together the juices, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in oil until emulsified. Taste for seasoning and add honey and more salt and pepper if needed.

Toss the asparagus, fava, radicchio, and mint together in a bowl with some of the lemon dressing. Transfer to a platter, top with the lamb slices, goat cheese, pita chips and more of the dressing

Mexican Rabbit

1 pound boneless rabbit strips
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
Salt, to taste
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
3 green onions, chopped
2 med tomatoes, chopped

 Sprinkle the rabbit on both sides with taco seasoning; sauté. Cut rabbit into cubes and place in a greased 8x8" baking dish; season with salt to taste. Add the enchilada sauce and toss to coat . Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350º for 10-20 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Scatter the green onions and chopped tomatoes over the top.
Serve on taco chips with condiments such as taco sauce, sour cream.

The last of my yarns

I just had 7 skeins left here at home that were not destroyed in the market fire.  I was able to reproduce the light blue and celery green skeins, and then exhausted the dyepot, making a rich teal blue.  I'll have these with me at the Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster this weekend.

My opal doe

Opal junior French Angora doe from Montours Blue Skies and Somerhill Fargo litter.  Its been a LONG time since I had an opal, and I can't believe she is the pick of the litter, too!   I just love the nostrils on opals.  :^) 
Now to come up with the perfect name............

Satin Angora litters

These are Cimmaron and Moulin Rouge babies.  3 reds and 2 chocolate agoutis, they are like flames! 
Just getting those cute, pouty faces, and starting to run to the cage door when they see me. 

Silverado and Saraid's babies, just getting big enough to climb in and out of the nestbox. 
Chestnut, chocolate, and chocolate agouti, they all seem to be does.  All will carry chinchilla. 

Encore?

Did I say we'd had the last baby of the year.  Woops - guess not.   Justimere had this adorable little ewe lamb on Wednesday last week.  I "thought" she might have a tiny udder when we checked 2 weeks ago.  She is an excellent mother, and has plenty of milk.

Grilled Lamb Chops

2 large garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Pinch cayenne pepper

Coarse sea salt

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 lamb chops, about 3/4-inch thick

 

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, cayenne, and salt. Pulse until combined. Pour in olive oil and pulse into a paste. Rub the paste on both sides of the lamb chops and let them marinate for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator and allow the chops to come to room temperature; it will take about 20 minutes.

Heat a grill pan over high heat until almost smoking, add the chops and sear for about 2 minutes. Flip the chops over and cook for another 3 minutes for medium-rare and 3 1/2 minutes for medium.

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Rabbit

1# rabbit strips, cut into even pieces
Bacon slices
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
chili powder
brown sugar

Season all the rabbit with the spices, then wrap a bacon slice around each piece, roll in brown sugar and place into an oiled oven proof dish.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until rabbit is cooked through and bacon is nice and brown and crispy.

2 yearling registered BFL ewes for sale

Somerhill Fairlie

Somerhill Justimere

More information including bloodlines and price on my Sheep for Sale page - click link above.

Pakistani Lamb Biryani

1 cup canola oil
3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. garam masala
1 tsp. crushed red chile flakes
1⁄2 tsp. turmeric
18 black peppercorns
9 pods green cardamom
3 pods black cardamom
2  2" cinnamon sticks
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 tomatoes, cored and minced
5 serrano chiles, stemmed and minced
1  1 1⁄2" piece ginger, peeled and minced
2 lbs. trimmed lamb shoulder, cut into 2–3" pieces
Kosher salt, to taste
1⁄2 cup plain yogurt
3⁄4 cup roughly chopped mint leaves
1⁄4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
40 threads saffron, crushed (heaping 1⁄2 tsp.)
2 1⁄2 cups white basmati rice, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes, drained
1⁄2 tsp. cumin seeds
4 whole cloves
2 dried bay leaves

 Heat 1⁄4 cup oil in a 5-qt. skillet over high heat. Add onions; cook, stirring occasionally, until dark brown, 20–25 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; set aside.
Heat remaining oil in a 5-qt. pot over high heat. Add garam masala, chile flakes, turmeric, 10 peppercorns, 5 green cardamom pods, 2 black cardamom pods, and 1 cinnamon stick; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add garlic, tomatoes, chiles, and ginger; cook, stirring, 2–3 minutes. Add lamb, season with salt, and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Cover, reduce heat to medium; cook until lamb is tender, about 1 hour. Add fried onions,   yogurt, 1⁄2  cup mint, and 2 tbsp. cilantro; cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes more. Set aside.

 Put saffron into a bowl and cover with 1⁄2 cup hot water; set aside. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a 5-qt. saucepan. Add remaining peppercorns, green and black cardamom, and cinnamon, along with the rice, cumin, cloves, and bay leaves, and season with salt. Cook rice until al dente, 5–10 minutes; drain rice and set aside.

 Transfer half the lamb curry to a 5-qt. pot. Top lamb with half the rice. Pour half the saffron mixture onto rice; mix into rice with your fingers. Top with remaining lamb curry and remaining rice; drizzle with remaining saffron; mix. Steam, covered, on low heat until rice is tender, about 10 minutes. Garnish with remaining mint and cilantro.