cook one day, dine the next

It's tough to have friends over for dinner on a weeknight, even if it is casual. Tougher still is doing so on a Monday. I coach on Monday nights, so that eats up an hour and a half or so out of the dinner hour. Advance preparation is clearly in order.

Sunday was ideal for that. I rubbed a few lamb shanks with oil, cumin, salt, pepper, and cinnamon, then browned them in a pan. They then went into a big roasting pan while I sauteed some spices (peppercorns, whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, and bit of coriander, a few bay leaves) with some sliced onion and celery. Some chicken broth went into the pan, then when it was hot, poured with the rest of the mixture over the lamb. I popped on the cover and put it in a slow oven for a good couple of hours or more.

Up next: eggplant and green pea curry. I learned this recipe years ago at the restaurant. Saute some whole mustard seeds, sesame seeds, and cumin seeds. Add some turmeric, cayenne, and salt plus chopped onions. Cook for a bit to remove the rawness from the spices, then add chopped eggplant. Let that soften some, then mix in frozen (yes!) green peas and bit of water. Let this come to a nice stewiness until the eggplant is soft.

Note: I closed off all the doors in the house and opened a window to get some of the fragrance out.

While the curry was cooking, I sliced some red onion and tossed it into a small saucepan with sliced dried apricot, candy ginger nibs, sherry vinegar, and brown sugar. This I cooked into a chutney of sorts.

I let the items cool when done, then refrigerated them.

Flash forward one day, and post-practice, Brian came over to chat about Vancouver and gossip about our swim team mates. I was gently reheating the lamb during swimming, plating it a little while after he got there. Conrad and Brian helped themselves to the chutney and a very simple green salad while I dished up the lamb atop the curry and drizzled it with a seasoned mixture of yogurt and coconut milk.



Nice little dinner, in fact. Cheese, grapes, and chocolate for dessert. The cook one day, dine the next strategy paid off in a relaxed time enjoying Brian's company.

And even as I type, I have pork in the oven for after swimming tonight!