The Perfect Pair
Tonight's entire dinner I owe to a little help from my friend:)
Yesterday I bought some ground lamb, starving for a little something tastier than beef or chicken. And I had just finally gone to the health food store near by to get groceries. Surprisingly, the health food store is where you go for game meat in this neighborhood.
Well, the only thing that came to mind to do with ground lamb was either chili or shepherd's pie, neither of which sounded very appealing in this God forsaken heat! So I grabbed one of Mikel's cookbooks that he'd had before he even met me, and found a recipe for ground lamb patties on salad. It sounded delicious, and fairly quick, so I started gathering ingredients.
To my shock and delight we had almost all the Greek-inspired spices, and they were all in Mikel's spice drawer in the apartment before he met me. Cumin, paprika, mint tea (that I sprinkled on the meat), and amazingly, Montreal Steak Seasoning! As I think about it, maybe Mikel wanted to make this very meal once, and found he was without the proper seasoning. Knowing his insistence on getting everything right, it wouldn't surprise me at all:)
For the salad I used a little of what I had on hand, and some lemon juice that was his favorite thing so we always had it in the house. The patties turned out delicious; my dogs were especially appreciative. And the salad was wonderful and flavorful.
The perfect accompaniment was boxed Sangria in a tall glass with various pieces of frozen fruit. He used to pop a frozen strawberry or two in his mouth for dessert all the time. We bought this particular mixed bag at the market across from out apartment; we moved with it when we came to Grand Rapids, and now I'm so glad! It's the secret to perfect Sangria in America. Of course having the cocktail in one of my pretty lace glasses with a straw from a box he already had helped too!
As a topper to this magnificent little meal "we" made, I had a cup of hot chocolate--my way of remembering the cold weather and staying cool in this swelter--in a white glass mug Mikel must have had as a little boy. It has a red sketch-like image of Davy Crockett:) My heart glows; what a night! Thanks, honey.
Yesterday I bought some ground lamb, starving for a little something tastier than beef or chicken. And I had just finally gone to the health food store near by to get groceries. Surprisingly, the health food store is where you go for game meat in this neighborhood.
Well, the only thing that came to mind to do with ground lamb was either chili or shepherd's pie, neither of which sounded very appealing in this God forsaken heat! So I grabbed one of Mikel's cookbooks that he'd had before he even met me, and found a recipe for ground lamb patties on salad. It sounded delicious, and fairly quick, so I started gathering ingredients.
To my shock and delight we had almost all the Greek-inspired spices, and they were all in Mikel's spice drawer in the apartment before he met me. Cumin, paprika, mint tea (that I sprinkled on the meat), and amazingly, Montreal Steak Seasoning! As I think about it, maybe Mikel wanted to make this very meal once, and found he was without the proper seasoning. Knowing his insistence on getting everything right, it wouldn't surprise me at all:)
For the salad I used a little of what I had on hand, and some lemon juice that was his favorite thing so we always had it in the house. The patties turned out delicious; my dogs were especially appreciative. And the salad was wonderful and flavorful.
The perfect accompaniment was boxed Sangria in a tall glass with various pieces of frozen fruit. He used to pop a frozen strawberry or two in his mouth for dessert all the time. We bought this particular mixed bag at the market across from out apartment; we moved with it when we came to Grand Rapids, and now I'm so glad! It's the secret to perfect Sangria in America. Of course having the cocktail in one of my pretty lace glasses with a straw from a box he already had helped too!
As a topper to this magnificent little meal "we" made, I had a cup of hot chocolate--my way of remembering the cold weather and staying cool in this swelter--in a white glass mug Mikel must have had as a little boy. It has a red sketch-like image of Davy Crockett:) My heart glows; what a night! Thanks, honey.
Comments