Daisy Chains and Picnics

It was a lovely 18 degree day for Mother's Day. I had already bought my own present which was being kept in Cerys' room until the day (yep, I have to buy my own pressies!). I found this gorgeous perfume set in a charity shop and bought it for the kids to give me. Not to mention, cook my own Mother's Day tea. We did lamb and ribs low and slow on the BBQ, they were both on for over 6 hours. Both cuts of meat were falling off the bone, absolutely delicious. Scott and I finished off the evening watching Stephen King's Thinner.

I made these for Scott's birthday tea, Darren was well chuffed as he hasn't had slow cooked lamb shanks for a while now!! They were ultra tender, falling off the bone and the rich red wine sauce complimented the lamb shanks perfectly. Ingredients 4 lamb shanks 2 tbsp olive oil 150 g shallots, peeled, halved 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 large carrot, finely diced 70 g green beans, roughly sliced 2 1/4 cups red wine 2 x 400 g tin diced tomatoes 2 cups chicken stock 2 tsp dried thyme 2 dried bay leaves Method 1.  Preheat oven to 170°C. 2.  Pat lamb shanks dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. 3.  Heat oil in a large heavy based casserole dish over a high heat. Sear lamb shanks two at a time until browned all over, about 4-5 minutes. 4.  Remove shanks to a plate. Reduce heat to medium low. Add more oil if needed. Add shallots and garlic. Cook for approx 2 minutes. 5.  Add carrot and green beans, continue cooking for 4-5 minutes until slightly softened. 6....

This recipe was in the January issue of the Coles magazine. It looked delicious so naturally I had to try it. It was nice enough but we did find it a little to acidic tasting, almost had a vinegary flavour to it, but that is just a matter of personal taste. Ingredients 1 tbsp drained green peppercorns 1/3 cup lime juice 2 tbsp fish sauce 2 tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp sesame oil 5 cm-piece ginger,                    cut into matchsticks 1 long red chilli, finely chopped 12 lamb cutlets 2 Lebanese cucumbers, thinly sliced 350 g mixed tomatoes, halved 1 red onion, thinly sliced 1 cup coriander leaves 1 cup mint leaves 1/2 cup cashews, toasted,                 coarsely chopped Method 1.  Combine the peppercorns, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, oil, ginger and chilli in a large glass dish. Reserve half the dressing in a small bowl. Add the lamb to the ...

These burgers will be a bit softer than beef burgers because the texture of lamb mince is not as firm as beef, plus there are wet ingredients added so make sure your grill is well oiled to save sticking, don't move them around too much or they may start to break apart. Ingredients 500 g lamb mince 1/2 onion, finely chopped 1/4 cup breadcrumbs 2 1/2 tbsp thick mint sauce 1 egg, slightly beaten 1 large mushroom, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper Method 1.  In a large bowl, combine above ingredients. Mix gently with hands until well combined. 2.  Shape into 4 equal-sized burgers and place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, make a small indentation in the centre of each burger, this helps the burgers to cook more evenly. 3.  Heat barbecue grill to a medium-high heat. Carefully, using paper towels and bbq tongs, oil the grill well. 4.  Place burgers onto...

I was intending making shepherd's pie for dinner as I had taken lamb mince out of the freezer but I didn't really fancy it, I preferred the thought of a jacket potato, so decided to make a savoury lamb and mint mince as a topping, I also made minted peas as a side dish which went really well with the lamb mince. I love slow cooked meals especially on chilly days so that's how I did the mince. Unfortunately my slow cooker packed in a few weeks ago and I haven't got around to buying a new one so the mince was done in the oven before the jacket potatoes. Mince can be prepared in the morning and refrigerated when cool then reheated once the jacket potatoes are ready, make sure the mince is piping hot throughout before serving or if you have one, the mince can be cooked in a slow cooker freeing the oven up for the potatoes. Ingredients 4 large baking potatoes 1 onion, finely chopped 1 carrot, finely diced 125 g peas 1 garlic clove, crushe...

As it was St. Patrick's Day and there was a can of Guinness left over from Christmas, I decided to make something with the Guinness. I love slow cooked lamb shanks but have never tried them cooked with Guinness so this was decided for tonight's tea, as I was only cooking these for 2 people, I only used 2 shanks, readjust ingredients for more people. Ingredients 2 lamb shanks 1 tbsp flour (seasoned with salt & pepper) 1 onion, finely chopped 2 med carrots, diced 200 g pumpkin, diced (I used kent pumpkin) 1 garlic clove, finely sliced 1/4 tsp dried thyme 1 small bay leaf 1 cup beef stock 1 cup Guinness Method 1. Lightly coat the lamb shanks with the seasoned flour, reserving the left over flour for later use. 2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over a med-high heat. Add the lamb and cook until browned all over, turning often. Transfer to slow cooker. 3. Reduce heat to medium and add carrots, onion and pumpkin. Cook for 5-6 minu...