16
Foodie Friday: Mustard Crusted Rack of Lamb
I love lamb.
Lamb is such a great protein and an excellent source of essential amino acids, zinc, vitamins B12 and B3, and is relatively low in fat once it’s trimmed. Can’t beat that! As a huge fan of lamb, I’m always looking for new recipes to try out. I’ve recently adapted a quick and easy mustard crusted rack of lamb recipe from Emeril Lagasse and made a few small changes to make it my own. Since I’ve prepared it a number of times now, I can vouch that it is absolutely delectable.
Quick tip: Rack of lamb can be expensive to purchase however, if you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, go there first for their excellent New Zealand rack of lamb. I always prefer organic, grass-fed, and local but, if it comes down to buying a $15 rack of good quality lamb versus a $40+ rack of organic local lamb, you can guess where I’ll be spending my money.
(click on pics for a larger view)
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- right out of the oven
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- sliced
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- plated with couscous and roasted Brussels sprouts
Ingredients:
- 1 rack of lamb, trimmed (about 1.5 lbs) – if you have to trim the fat yourself, make sure to use kitchen scissors
- 3/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard (I prefer whole grain Dijon for better texture and flavor)
- 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
- 1/4 cup of seasoned bread crumbs (I prefer organic panko )
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan (Do not use the stuff in a green canister! Grate fresh Parmesan yourself) (continues…)
14
Going To BlogHer ’10? Apply To The RetailMeNot Delegate Program!
I wish I was able to travel to the BlogHer conference this year, but I just can’t make the time. However, if I was going, I would be applying to the RetailMeNot Delegate Program.
You know what RetailMeNot is, right? If you don’t, where have you been?!? It’s THE online resource for coupons and great deals. It’s also a wonderful company that supports women bloggers. Now they want to give 10 women bloggers full-conference passes for the BlogHer ’10 conference in New York City from August 6-7th.
If you want to take part in this exciting opportunity, make sure to apply by the April 18th deadline. They will announce the delegates on April 23rd.
Click HERE for the application form.
Good luck!
12
Mental Monday: To Spank or Not to Spank…Shouldn’t Even Be A Question
When it comes to bringing children into this world, there is an abundance of divisive topics- “natural” births vs. medicated/C-section births, breast-feeding vs. formula-feeding, disposable diapers vs. cloth diapers, pacifiers vs. no-pacifiers, and so forth.
So many of these so-called issues are not really worth my time to argue, simply because I don’t see much harm in opting for one method of doing things over another. My motto is always this; as long as no one is emotionally or physically harmed in the process, whatever works best for your family is the ideal method of doing things. I don’t care whether or not you had a home-birth or had to be induced. I don’t care if you breast-fed or bottle-fed or whether your child wears Huggies or has been trained in Elimination Communication since birth. These types of topics do not concern any of us and we should not judge others for doing something that we ourselves do not include in our parenting repertoire.
However, there is one parenting topic that I believe warrants all the disapproval and judgment that it gets: spanking. (continues…)
09
Foodie Friday: (Really) Authentic Afghanistan Cuisine
If you’re a regular reader of mine, then you probably know that my sister is a civilian lawyer working in Afghanistan. I cherish all the stories and pictures she shares with me about the Afghan culture and way of life. Since my sister moved there nearly one year ago, she has undoubtedly lived a challenging life, a life that is vastly different from what most of us will ever know. But there are perks, too. And one of them is, without question, the local Afghan cuisine.
Just today, my sister sent me a batch of pictures about a recent excursion involving a sheep slaughtering. She spared me the photos of that aspect, but she did send me photos of locals preparing what is probably the most popular dish in Afghanistan – kebabs and kofta kebabs (ground meat). Needless to say, the kebabs were prepared from the freshly slaughtered lamb.
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- Afghan locals preparing lamb kebabs, made immediately following a sheep slaughter.
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- A valley in Afghanistan filled with almond trees in bloom.
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- This is an anti-poppy ad.
Once the kebabs have been grilled and prepared to perfection, they are then wrapped in Naan bread. Naan bread is popular in Afghan cuisine, but also Indian, Persian, and Pakistani cuisine. Haven’t tried Naan bread? It’s not nearly as good as fresh homemade Naan, but stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods carry it. Another Afghan staple is rice and most dishes are prepared with a side of it. The many different variations of Afghan-prepared rice is considered the most important part of any meal and the wealthier you are, the more rice you eat. (continues…)
06
GUEST POST: WordPress Custom Shortcode Tutorial
While Aimee is the brains behind this whole AYMB operation, and the queen of all things content, there is one aspect in which she does not much dabble: site customization and maintenance. That’s all me. It’s why I went to law school. Code Monkey, Esq.
Aimee asked if I would provide an occasional tutorial on some of the technical aspects of AYMB, the Thesis theme/framework on which it runs, and WordPress generally. Of course, I’m happy to oblige. How many turorials will follow, and how advanced/comprehensive/technical in nature they will be, depends in large part on how they are received. So, if you dig these kinds of posts or have any suggestions, please let us know in the comments.
This tutorial focuses on a time-saving shortcut used on virtually every post on this blog. You may have noticed that all Aimee-written posts contain a signature like the one to the right. The source for the signature is a .png image file that we created by scanning Aimee’s handwriting and then sizing/colorizing it in Photoshop. In order to place and align the image, we wrap it in a <div> with the class “signature.” While she used to have to hand code this into every post, she now needs to add only this simple phrase: {signature}. This tutorial explains how.