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Catherine's Kitchen

Catherine Manning

Well, another month has flown by too fast and I'm not surprised that Bliss is bugging me about the column as I only realized it was the 18th this morning when I went to write a cheque! Time is no sooner here than it's gone and not much to show for it. Suppose it's me as well though, so maybe it's time I retire and spend more time trying to write or remember things!

The rains have finally started and I spent yesterday stocking up on everything I needed for the market on Saturday morning so this morning when it was still raining, even though I had things to do at home, I was restless and decided I was getting out of the house. This is always a dangerous sign as that means I'm bored and looking to spend money and so I did, but it was usefully spent and I ended only going to one shopping center. The only reason I went to that one was because my cell phone had gone into some strange language and got locked for some reason (!) and since I couldn't find the manual, I thought I should pay a visit to the store where I bought it six months ago. I probably did something to it without using my glasses, as every now and then I'll get a wrong number at 4am and can't see what I'm doing and I really haven't bothered to investigate it, as to me all I want is to have an emergency phone. They're too darned expensive here to bother to use them all the time.

This I did, but it took the young lady in the store sitting at her computer, at least five minutes to acknowledge me and when she did after I banged on the counter, she said she didn't have a manual for that particular phone and didn't know how to correct the problem. She did make a few phone calls to no avail, so I got pretty sarcastic and left. After that I went to a furniture and appliance store and was wandering around when one of the sales girls offered help, so I gave her my cell and told her to fix it and she did, as she had one like it, so after that I told her to go to the cell phone store and teach the girl there how to do it! She thought it was funny but I was happy that it was sorted out as my house phone has been giving problems as well because of the rain, so everything is messed up including me getting on the Internet.

After that I wandered into a clothing store and didn't feel guilty about buying five blouses, as my daughter always complains about me not spending money on clothes and then the supermarket "called" as usual. I'm back home now and in the kitchen again, back to the grind as I have to do some freezer food for an older lady who is not well and even though she gets dinner three times a week from a top restaurant, part of which sits on her land, she wants some "normal" food, like Lamb Stew, Egg Custard, Bread & Butter Pudding etc. so I'm working on that for her. I like to make Lamb Stew ahead and let it sit in the fridge overnight as then the fat can be removed.
 

LAMB STEW 3-4 lbs. lamb stew cut into cubes, boneless or with bones. Bunch of fresh thyme, marjoram, rosemary and bay leaves. Salt, pepper & lemon pepper to taste. 2 large potatoes peeled and sliced 3 cups chicken stock or water 1 tsp. Worcester sauce 2 large onions chopped coarsely 4-6 large garlic cloves sliced. 4 large potatoes scrubbed and quartered. 4 large carrots cleaned and sliced. Heavy cream (optional) Dutch oven. Oven 325F. Slow cooker may be used. Fry lamb in very hot frying pan (no added oil) till browned and place in Dutch oven. Add onions and garlic to frying pan and sauté, add to lamb and throw in the fresh herbs. Season with salt, pepper and lemon pepper. Mix in sliced potatoes, stock, Worcester sauce and add quartered potatoes. Cover tightly and bake one hour. Remove from heat and add carrots and cook further till meat is tender. Adjust seasoning and I like to add a touch of mint sauce as well. After this process and because lamb is fatty, I remove the meat etc. from the gravy and refrigerate both to allow the fat to rise to the top of the gravy overnight and then I remove the fat and join the two again and re-heat. The sliced potatoes break up and thicken the sauce and the quartered potatoes stay whole and it's better left to mellow overnight as well. Cream can be added before serving if being used and gently heated. BAKED EGG CUSTARD 4 cups milk 4 eggs beaten Cinnamon stick Piece of lime peel Sugar to taste Vanilla Scald milk with lime peel and cinnamon stick. Beat eggs and add a little of the scalded milk to the egg mixture, stirring all the time. Gradually add the egg mixture to the remaining milk in the saucepan stirring all the time to prevent curdling. Cook for I minute and remove from heat. Add sugar to taste and vanilla and strain into ovenproof dish (casserole), removing the lime skin and cinnamon stick. Place dish in pan of water and bake in a low oven till set (250F). When custard is beginning to set, sprinkle with brown sugar to top. Custard is set when a knife inserted comes out clean. Don't allow to bubble as the custard will be watery. Tip: A clear Pyrex dish will allow you to see when the custard starts to get little bubbles, so take it out quickly and it should be set and have a nice crust without being watery. Got to go

Bon Appetit
Cath