Faithful Friends

“How could you have possibly done that?” A visitor asked us that question upon hearing about some of the adventures taken by my wife over the last 30 years!
by Charlie Leck

What, in heaven or on earth, is more cherished than faithful friends? There is nothing like someone you can count on through thick and thin.

We just had house guests who stood in significant awe of my wife and some of her accomplishments in the horse world -- especially what she managed to do in the coaching and four-in-hand world.* They wondered how she could ever have pulled off some of the adventures on which she went or how she could have managed to do some of these things in such a short time period.

I just needed to tell these visitors about Elise and Lisa. They’re pictured here on a trip with us nearly 30 years ago. Without them none of the fantastic journeys we took could have happened. We would have missed out on a lot of fun and we would not have these incredible memories today.

As I pack to leave for France, I’m thinking of them and how grateful Anne and I are to what they so faithfully and loyally did for us over the years. No one could have better pals than these two.

I’ll resume blogging (mostly about politics) on September 12.

*For those of you who are curious, Wikipedia has this entry about Fairman Rogers, the author of The Manual of Coaching, and a brief description of coaching and four-in-hand driving.

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If you read my blog regularly, why not become a follower? All you have to do is click in the upper right hand corner and establish a simple means of communication. Then you'll be informed every time a new blog is posted here. If all that's confusing, here's Google's explanation of how to do it! If you don’t want to post comments on the blog, but would like to communicate with me about it, send me an email if you’d like.

Kudos for the Photographer

Yesterday's year-end blog brought requests for a photograph of the photographer!
by Charlie Leck

More of you seemed to enjoy yesterday's photo blog, along with its description of the Royal Windsor Horse Show, than I ever would have believed. I'm pleased you found it interesting.

From a number of you -- especially from those of you who've never met her -- I received email requests to see the photographer herself. Well, to my surprise, as I was scanning away on these slides, I did come across one of her at Windsor. Someone (and I expect Bill Domoe, pictured below) must have turned one of her cameras on her and took the picture in the heading. Not bad looking at all, ey? That was 31 years ago and she looks as beautiful even today.

A couple of you actually asked for more photos from Windsor, so, if you're really interested, a few more follow. Remember, these photos are all from 1980. If you're really dying to see all of them (and there are a couple hundred), I'd be happy to mail you a DVD disk with all the images.

I think that's quite enough to fulfill the wishes expressed to me in your emails. Again, a very happy new year to you all!

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Why not become a follower?
If you read my blog regularly, why not become a follower? All you have to do is click in the upper right hand corner and establish a simple means of communication. Then you'll be informed every time a new blog is posted here. If all that's confusing, here's Google's explanation of how to do it! If you don’t want to post comments on the blog, but would like to communicate with me about it, send me an email if you’d like.

Lamb Shanks in Tomato Sauce

A wonderful lamb shank recipe that I highly recommend!
by Charlie Leck

I don't believe I've ever given you a recipe before. I know I've written a lot about lamb dishes, but I've never given you a blow by blow account about fixing one of them. Well, two nights ago we dined on lamb shanks and they were so superb that I thought I just had to share the recipe with you. The photograph (above) was taken right at the dining room table as I presented the dish.

So, here's how I fix themed -- top to bottom. The recipe is for 6 shanks for 5 or 6 people.

Here's the ingredients you'll need.

Lamb Shanks - 6 high quality lamb shanks
(preferably from Sheep Hollow) of about 1 lb each

Olive oil -- 4 or 5 Tablespoons
Garlic -- 4 cloves minced
Onions -- 3 to 4 cups chopped
Tomatoes -- 6 cups chopped (if canned, drain)
White Wine -- 1 cup dry white wine Marsala Wine -- half cup of dry Marsala

Broth -- 1 and a half cup of vegetable broth (I like the 'Better than Broth' series)

Dried All-Spice -- half teaspoon
Dried Rosemary -- 1 teaspoon
Parsley -- 1 Tablespoon of fresh leaves
Rosemary -- 1 Tablespoon of fresh leaves
Salt (Kosher)
Pepper

Now, with those ingredients at hand and prepared, here's what you do!

• Pat the lamb shanks dry and season with pepper and salt


• Brown them (probably 2 or 3 at a time in a heavy kettle (Browning is crucial and do not hurry your browning. Turn so every side gets thoroughly browned.)


• As shanks are browned, move them into a roasting pan large enough to accept them in a single layer.


• When the shanks are all in the roasting pan, add all the chopped onions and cook until soft (about 3 minutes).


• Add minced garlic (cook for about 4 minutes)


• Stir in tomatoes, dried spices, broth, wines, and add some salt and pepper to taste.


• Keep stirring as sauces comes to a boil.


• Spread the sauce over the shanks in the roasting pan.


• Cover roasting pan tightly with lid or foil.


• Cook in 350 degree oven for 90 minutes (or a bit more if shanks were very large).


• Move the shanks to a serving platter.


• Return sauce to a clean kettle and bring to a boil -- stir 2 tablespoon of fresh parsley leaves and fresh rosemary leaves into the sauce. Continue to stir, reducing sauce to 4 or 5 cups.


• Pour sauce over the shanks.


• Sprinkle fresh, chopped parsley leaves decoratively over the shanks and sauce.

Here's a trick that I have found to "never fail." Don't serve on the day of preparation. Instead of putting the shanks and sauce on a serving platter, put the meal in a dish that will fit into the refrigerator. Cover tightly! Refrigerate for 1 or 2 days. Then, just before dinner, put in the oven in a roasting pan until thoroughly heated. The shanks will be incredibly more tender and moister than if immediately served.

I served the shanks with a huge Idaho russet baked potato that was enough for 3 people, creamed cucumbers and a nice, crusty french bread. We sipped on a very good, dry, red wine from Australia.

I don't want to pretend for a second that this is an original recipe. I found it somewhere quite a few years ago and failed to note from where it came. I've added my own wrinkles to it, however.

More lamb recipes, both our own and links to many other good sources, can be found on the web site of our farm.