Good Comfort Food.

alright, i'll try putting up a recipe here. it worked well for me, its my own recipe actually. i came up with this since i can't find the right taste with the other recipes all over the internet.

so here it goes...

Lamb Stew with Root Veg (serves 3-4)

Leg of lamb (bone-in) 600grams

1 large carrot

1 large red onion

2 large potatoes or about 10 new potatoes

3 tomatoes, chopped up. or tomato puree will do as well.

5 cloves of garlic, peeled

2 bay leaves

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

a good amount of oregano(dried) and basil(dried)

1 can of Swanson broth. can be chicken or pork

1 small bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. those small bottles you can find in supermarkets, about 180+ ml

1 casserole or a deep pot.

Preparation

1. Chop up the red onion and the leaves of the rosemary coarsely. You can mix them together.

2. Peel the potatoes. Cut one of them in large chunks, the other in smaller cubes.

If new potatoes are used, just wash them clean and leave the skin on.

3. Peel the carrot, and cut into chunks. should give you around 6-7 pieces.

4. For the meat, remove the sinew and excess fats by trimming with a small and sharp knife. Try not to remove too much meat.

5. Add salt and coarse black pepper to the meat, together with some oregano and basil.

7. Then a dash of sesame oil to the meat. lightly powder the meat with some corn/potato starch.

Cooking

1. Heat up some cooking oil in the deep pot.

2. Brown the meat on both sides, remove and put aside.

3. There should still be some oil in the pot. Add a bit more if needed. To the oil, add the garlic, onion and rosemary.

4. Fry the onion till soft and slightly brown.

5. Add half of the bottle of wine to it. It should be smelling very good.

6. Add in the tomato, potato and the carrot. Stir them in,

7. Put the meat back into the pot, making sure that it is covered with the liquid.

8. Add in the broth, and the remaining red wine. And the bay leaf.

9. Bring it to a boil for about 5min, then let it simmer for 3 to 4 hours on low heat.

10. Continue to stir at intervals to prevent sticking. It will get very starchy and may get burnt at the bottom.

11. To know if the meat is soft and cooked through, use a fork and gently push the meat apart. If it can just fall off, then its done!

12. Serve with toasted bread or rice.

For the drink, i have something for you as well. its very refreshing, and good for a nice slow evening. i dont have a name for this concoction yet. since its my first shot, i shall put it as #1 at the moment.

#1

Grey Goose Vodka, Orange flavoured. This is expensive, you can use other vodkas as well.

1 passionfruit, good sized.

1 large green lime

Snapple Apple

Sprite or 7up to give it the carbonated kick.

lots of ice

for the passionfruit, you might want it seedless. so what you do is

1. cut open the fruit.

2. use a spoon and dig out everything.

3. push all the contents of the fruit through a sieve. make sure you have a bowl or container underneath it.

4. and there you have it, the fresh passionfruit taste without the seeds.

prepare a glass, so you can see how much of each will go in.

1. the juice of half a lime.

2. 1 tablespoonful of the passionfruit, seedless or not.

3. add vodka equal to the amount of the juice and passionfruit combined.

4. add an equal part of snapple.

5. top up with the carbonated sprite and ice.

6. Enjoy!

hope you'll like this recipe. since i have a lot of time now i can keep trying out new stuff. and most likely if i invite you over for dinner, and im cooking, it'll be these stuff unless i have something new.