Mahboubeh, Persian Tulips, and Lamb and Rhubarb Stew

I am re-posting this story here today. It was originally published on May 14, 2011. It is rhubarb season here at the farm and at this time of year, I try to make this recipe for Persian Lamb and Rhubarb Stew. The recipe comes with a pre-amble which it seems I used to have more time to do. 

The rhubarb in my garden is at its peak right now and I am going to make this for dinner this weekend. 

Originally published May 14, 2011

When I was in high school, my family hosted an exchange student for a year from Iran named Mahboubeh M-M. It was 1976 when Iran still was ruled by The Shah and before the Iranian Revolution and Hostage Crisis and the start of ABC's Nightline. It was one of those life-changing experiences for both Mahboubeh and my entire family. She couldn't speak a word of English, was a practicing Muslim, and she had never looked a man in the eyes. I can only imagine how scary it was for her to arrive in the U.S. We shared a room where she immediately figured out which wall was the East side of the room. She put on her hijab, lay down on her prayer mat and prayed what my 17 year old brain thought was all day long. The year with Mahboubeh was an awakening for me. Although I can easily admit that I wasn't always happy with my "new sister" reigning in on my senior year in high school, I now look back on it as to the year my life began to grow past my small town upbringing. The world is a large place full of different religions, morals, foods, and cultures and although we don't always get along with everyone, it is vital to remember that people all over the world are basically the same. They love their families and friends, are proud and fierce over the safety, health and love of their children, and have hometown pride.

The year with Mahboubeh awakened my family to Persian food. I grew up eating pretty bland typical 1970's fare. Food was always important to us even if it wasn't "gourmet." One of us was always baking some kind of sweet thing. German food was about as exotic as we got due to my German Grandmother Frieda's influence. Food was the way Mahboubeh was able to bond with us and become part of the family. She had never cooked before but had obviously watched her mom. She missed the spices and meals she had always eaten and my mom gave her the opportunity to learn to cook and share her country's food with our family. In town there was a Doctor Minoui who was Iranian. His wife took Mahboubeh under her wing, sharing Persian recipes. Soon Mahboubeh was cooking stews, sweets and our very favorite Persian dish - a potato-crusted rice called Tadik. Mom began buying saffron and the exotic spices wafted through our house every weekend. Mahboubeh's cooking adventures were the secret to her learning English and becoming part of our family. By Christmas, she could speak English quite well and we all settled into a typical family routine. Dad was in love with her cooking but I don't think she was ever brave enough to look him in the eye.

Mahboubeh returned to Iran after her year in Dover but not for long. She returned to the States, went to university in Houston, married a fellow Iranian, and had three children. She is a pharmacist and still comes to visit us for family rites of passage. Her daughter Shandiz has come to New England for extended vacations and is great friends with my older nieces and nephews. 

1976, The Year of the Mahboubeh, had an everlasting effect on all of us. It was the year I became more aware of foreign lands, foods and exotic motifs and textiles. My mom has passed on many of the gifts Mahboubeh's family sent to us including woolen shawls and metal serving trays. I treasure all of them and frequently use them as props in my photos.  

As I travel through my life, I frequently think back on that important year when my life opened up to all things Persian. In my gardening life, I discovered a love of tulips only to later find out that they grow as wildflowers in Iran. Although I can't grow them here at the farm like Jane can (the deer and sheep think they are lollipops), I do have a few little bulbs that somehow persevere every year despite complete neglect. They are called Flaming Parrot Tulips and this year I beat the critters, plucked them from the garden and have been enjoying them in a vase all week long. My kind of show - frilly, colorful, and over the top!

And now onto the recipe of the week. Always looking for interesting ways to cook lamb, I stumbled upon an odd recipe in a small paperback book called Persian Lamb and Rhubarb Stew. This week with the arrival of the yearly rhubarb harvest, I decided to give it a go. I ended up changing it up completely. With the help of my friend Kay, I turned it into the recipe below. Although it seems a mighty odd combination, upon googling "lamb rhubarb" you will find that it is a classic combination. 

My advice is to let the stew sit for a couple of days because it sure does improve with age. And make sure you use golden raisins - otherwise the stew will look like there are lamb pellets in it! (Most likely only a sheep farmer would think of this!) Enjoy!

Persian Lamb and Rhubarb Stew

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 to 2 pounds lamb shoulder – bone-in
    (lamb stew meat can be used although the bones will add more flavor)
1 Tbsp tomato paste or a small can (14 oz.) Italian tomatoes
1 pound rhubarb – cut into 1 inch pieces with stringy bits removed if the skins are very thick
1/2 cup raisins (preferably golden)
2 Tbsp sugar
¼ cup minced mint or parsley or a mix of the two – whatever is easier – for garnish

In a dutch oven, brown the onion and garlic until onions are translucent in 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add the coriander, cumin, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and cook until spices begin to smell lovely. If it begins to stick, add a little bit of water to create a bit of a sauce. Set aside onion mixture.

Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to pan. Brown the lamb on all sides. Remove lamb from pan. Clean excess fat out of pan. Return the onions, spice mixture and lamb to the dutch oven. Add the tomato paste (or tomatoes), salt and pepper and add water (or lamb stock) to the pot so that it is half the way up the lamb shoulder.

Bring to a boil on top of stove. Cover with a tight fitting lid and place in a 250 degree oven and cook for 3 hours, turning the shoulder roast half way through. Alternately, cook in a slow cooker for 5 hours on low.

At the end of the three hours, remove the meat from the pot and pull the bones out of it. If the meat is not falling off the bones, return to the oven for another hour. (Save the bones for lamb stock. Store them in the freezer if you don’t have time to make the stock just yet.) With your hands, shred the meat which should be falling apart into chunks. Add the sliced rhubarb, the chunks of cooked meat, the golden raisins and the sugar back to the pot. Bring to a boil on the top of the stove and immediately return to the oven and cook another hour.

Remove from oven and taste for spices. Add more if you want a more intense flavor. If the flavor is too sour, add a touch more sugar. If the stew is too saucy, simmer with the lid off to reduce the stock. 

This stew really does improve if it sits in the fridge for a couple of days. Serve over basmati rice, couscous, or rice pilaf garnished with the parsley and mint. A green salad would be nice with it.

 

Caterpillars, Butterflies, and Moths + Pottery

For some reason this summer I have been paying more attention to the bugs that inhabit my garden and our farm. I've never been a bug person but I suppose all the attention that is being paid to pollinators has interested me in them. I do not remember ever learning about Monarch Butterflies or their life cycle when I was a kid. I do not think they taught that lesson back in the dark ages. When Julia was in elementary school, one of the teachers was really into butterflies and I remember them watching the caterpillars turn into butterflies. It was totally NOT on Julia's radar but I thought it was cool. 

I have some milkweed plants that grow along the south facing window of the house and every year I leave them there for the caterpillars. I happened to be around this year long enough to notice them. Here are some Monarch caterpillars doing their thing. I checked on them every day but could not find where they attached their chrysalises. 

One day on my late in the day check, I discovered these strange wooly-ish caterpillars. I googled them and discovered they were called Milkweed Tussock Moths. The next day, the Monarch caterpillars were gone and the milkweed was covered with these funky little caterpillars. Here is what the caterpillars become when they are moths. 

Late in the season this year, I have been trying to photograph the butterflies. It is really hard to get a good photo. It turns out butterflies are afraid of humans getting too close. 

I don't know what this one is?????

If someone can help me please - one of you bug people - I am wondering what the name of the butterfly is that isn't a Monarch. I have a lot of them in my garden now. One side of the wings is orange and black and white and the other side is kind of a funny brown pattern. I think it may be a Painted Lady. 

I have always added caterpillars to many of my pottery pieces. I'm not sure how people feel about bugs on their pottery but for me, it adds a little life to the scene. I think if someone is a gardener, they will appreciate the caterpillar (or worm as I sometimes refer to them as). Here is a new large cachepot that is going to go into the kiln when I can finish enough to fill it up. 

Have a good weekend everyone.

Good Morning from the Garden - Early September 2019

The garden is quite glorious at this time of year. We had a nice rain one evening and when I woke up early the next day, it was if the garden and landscape was all aglitter with sparkling rain drops. The clouds were sitting just above the valleys. I grabbed my camera and took these photos for you. It has taken me a couple weeks to process them but here they are. Enjoy. 

If you look closely at this photo, you will see the sheep coming through the fenceline at the bottom of the hill. They graze all night long and then move up towards their favorite spot behind my pottery shed to rest for the day. 

Late August Update + First Sunflowers!

Hard to believe the end of the traditional summer is almost here. In our area, the public schools start Wednesday and the school buses will be back on the road. I get a bittersweet feeling about that time of year - and I need to go out and buy me some pencils and notebooks even though I have many floating around the house and studio. 

Julia and I were away last week visiting Mom. When we got back, my garden had exploded into the late summer madness that always ensues. The zucchini and summer squash are pretty much over. I've got a late crop of green beans that are just perfect. The taller flowers are starting to get heavy and fall over. The Sungold tomatoes are taking over my garden world. 

I really love this time of garden abundance - it is all just so crazy and hodgepodge and luxurious. I love being in it wandering through, trying to squeeze my way through the rows and the weeds and trying not to knock over and squish plants and veggies. I would say it is my favorite thing to do late in the day just before the sun sets. 

As with every year in my garden, the sunflowers have grown taller than the weeds and they are starting to bud up. No matter how many times I plant the little seeds and then wait for the bloom, I can't get over the miracle of it all. 

Yesterday, the first sunflower plants started blooming. Since I grow a large variety of different sunflowers, I hope there will be continuous bloom through the end of September. I will try to share photos here and over on Instagram. You can follow me here.

Hope you are enjoying the waning days of summer. I've got peaches on my peach tree and for the first time, I have harvested some and given away plenty. I'm hoping to make a peach crisp  - that is if I can stop decorating pottery.