Counting down, but a girl's still gotta eat!

Well! We may well have started on the last leg of our journey but I'm sorry we have to draw the line somewhere!  Lovely Man decreed that thou shalt eat up all the things in the store cupboard.  However, it seems that whilst I have cupboards positively brimming with all manner of tins and bottles there was still nothing of any real substance to eat!  So tonight friends I have sinned!  Forgive me but I could not endure another night of baked beans, tinned tomatoes and pilchards! So I took four wee little pieces of Neck of Lamb and pan fried them just to seal the sides.  Then I took half a pack of flaky pastry, rolled it thinly and sprinkled with chopped sage.  Next I lay the lamb on the pastry and wrapped up like a sausage roll.  Baked for 20 mins in the oven and served with veggies and gravy!  MMMmmmmm

Of course had I anything of any use, like redcurrant jelly and port, in the damn cupboard we could have had a lovely Jus instead of Bisto!  But hey ho!

Everyone's talking about Lamb Shanks!

Now I don't know whether it's the cold climate that prevails at the moment but the topic of conversation in our staffroom seems to be comfort food!  More precisely casseroles and slow cookers.  So before I throw myself into the usual Saturday morning chaos that is teenagers, D.I.Y.er's, shopping and cooking I thought I'd share our favorite Slow cooked Lamb Shanks in Red Wine recipe.  I love this not only for it's tenderness and rich gravy, but because it can be quickly prepared early on and then left to it's own devices until you want to eat it!

Before you go to bed take 1  red onion, chopped.  1 large garlic clove, crushed.  Mix with 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tspn each  ground paprika, rosemary and thyme.  Take 2 Lamb Shanks and stab them all over (very therapeutic if you've had a bad day!) then put them in the bowl with oil/vinegar mix. Massage well, cover with cling film, put in the fridge and go to bed!

On waking flick on the slow cooker to heat up.  Sear the lamb shanks in a hot pan on all sides and put in the slow cooker.  Saute the rest of the marinade for a minute then add a good size glass of red wine.  Next add a pint of lamb stock made with 1 stock cube and boiling water.  Pour this over the shanks, add more water if necessary to cover them. Put the lid on and leave for six hours or longer.

Now go enjoy your day knowing that later on when you're hungry you only have to throw some veg in a pan for 15-20 minutes.  If, like me, you like a thicker gravy remove the lamb from the pot and put in a warm oven, pour the gravy into a pan and thicken with a little cornflour.  Be sure to bring to the boil for two minutes to ensure the cornflour is cooked off.  Serve up pouring gravy all over !