1/2 Lamb. Roasted. In a box.

I start work as a Volunteer In Service To America (AmeriCorps VISTA) tomorrow. I don't have an apartment to move in to until August 1, and am luckily house sitting for strangers for the next two weeks. In the meantime we have been staying with Nic's mother and step-father, they live pretty much in the middle of nowhere in eastern Montana (about 7 miles down a dirt road on about 700 acres). Valley Creek Ranch has a growing Icelandic sheep operation (see sheep photo in previous post). The breed has tasty meat as well as excellent wool. This post will focus on the former attribute of the sheep.
I probably don't have as much to say about meat as Nic does. His constant companion (besides me) is a book entitled The River Cottage MEAT Book- although everything besides MEAT is written in a smaller and less contrasting font so that if you didn't take a close look you would think the book was titled simply, MEAT. While I haven't read much of it myself, I have been shown images of everything from a photo-essay of a cow being slaughtered to a gelatinous meat dish to a tub full of salted trotters, tail and snout. There are other images (and recipes) of better cuts of meat like chops and roasts as well as essays about the ethical treatment of animals, the virtues of cheap cuts of meat as well as large sections devoted to pork, beef and other game. Needless to say, the book has had an influence on how and what kind of meat we consume.

Which brings me to our 1/2 lamb roast that we had earlier this week. Some of the sheep on the ranch have become renegades- jumping through barbed wire fences and hiding in the neighboring cliffs. One of the recaptured lambs was taken to the local meat locker and made an example of what happens to naughty sheep.

We had one half of the lamb for supper. Since a half of a lamb is still a large amount of meat (13 pounds) Becky and Mike invited some friends over. Nic used a recipe adapted from the River Cottage MEAT Book- stuffing garlic, anchovies and rosemary into knife slits all over the lamb. The lamb was then rubbed with the oil from the anchovies. Anchovies have enough salt to make additional salt unnecessary while giving an added dimension to lamb without being fishy.


The lamb was then placed in 'La Caja China'- which is Spanish for 'The Chinese Box'... Think on that for a moment. La Caja is a large aluminum box in which the prepared meat is placed. A lid is placed on the box and then covered with hot briquets- making La Caja a different but delicious concept.
After roasting for about 2 hours, the meat was done- a beautiful golden outside and juicy interior.

The meal was served with coleslaw, grilled potatoes and bread. Even with 8 hungry guests, leftovers ensued, as well as a nap.

Observations about Montana.

Montana has wheat fields.

Montana has moose (though this photo was taken in Wyoming in the Bighorn Mountains).

Montana has Icelandic sheep (still somewhat goat-like and don't herd).


Montana has strange and beautiful wildflowers (photo also taken in Wyoming- this statement is more of an assumption).


Montana has many (lots of) mountain ranges.

I have learned several of these ranges in my drives from Park City to Bozeman: The Crazy Mountains, The Beartooth mountains, The Absoarka Mountains. It is strange to me that the Rocky Mountains are so huge and vast that smaller ranges have their own names. In Oregon, The Coast Range, and The Cascades are the name of the mountains that run from The Independent State of Jefferson past the Columbia River.

Montana also has crazy weather.

It's a good thing that the sky here is so huge and that you can see these behemoth storms coming your way. They violently drop rain (or hail) a tablespoon at a time and then move on in a matter of minutes- much unlike the blanket of gray and day-long drizzle in Oregon.

I believe that geography and weather in Montana are generally much more dramatic.

I believe that Montana is beautiful.

So ends my initial Montana observations.

A quick self-update for those who are curious: An apartment has been found- a darling basement apartment (amazingly well-lit). However, we cannot move in until August first. I was sworn in as a federal employee (volunteer) yesterday by the Lutinenant Govenor of Montana. Guess who starts her job on Monday? Good thing Craigslist works in Montana too (even though there is only one site for all of Montana to post things), and I will be housesitting for strangers until August. Things are working out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

Finally- Socks!

The socks that should have taken a month... took 6.
Nic's mother is quite the fiber enthusiast, she spins, weaves, knits and felts. I had not been in Montana for a week this time around when she got me started on a lace shawl (pics to come once I have made a little more progress).

Last summer when I visited she talked me into me to quit knitting scarves and try following a pattern. Since then I have attempted a pair of socks, at last deciding I didn't like the yarn I was knitting with, and decided that if it's not wool, I should probably not be using it.

Anyway, these socks have been a long time coming. I have yet been able to have more than one knitting project at one time- a good thing because it prevents me from making yarn purchases that I don't otherwise have a plan for. It is a bad thing because, as this sock debacle is an illustration of- I can get tired of knitting one project and put it down for 4 months.

Let's hope that I can knit some mittens by the time winter arrives, otherwise, it won't make much sense to have a finished pair next summer. Now that I remember how great it feels to finish things, I hope I can turn out several more knitted goods by the end of the year.

Fava Bean Puree.

I have been excited about fava beans for, oh, 3 months. I kept hoping to see them at the Farmer's market, and almost gave up hope of getting some local beans.

Then, the other day a friend took me out to dinner and I ordered gnocchi with kale pesto and fava beans- which is as delicious as it sounds (if it doesn't sound delicious to you, we obviously have differing taste), and only reinforced my desire for some beans of my own.

This Saturday at the farmers market was a successful day for fava beans. I saw a sign that said 'Fava Beans- $2 a pound, $1.25 a pound if you buy 20 or more pounds'- which I thought was a little excessive. I bought about 1.5 pounds of beans.

What I really wanted to do was make some fava bean raviolis, but attempted a simpler fava bean puree- which was pretty much just what I needed at the moment- fresh yet hearty and comforting.

Fava bean puree- thrown together by yours truly

about 1.5 pounds fava beans
cream
lemon zest
lemon juice
salt
pepper
garlic
parmasean

Fava beans make you work for the good stuff inside. You've got to shell them, boil them and shell them again. It's really quite satisfying work- though I can't speak for doing this for 20 pounds

Anyway, after you've got them shelled, pop the little buggers in a pot of boiling water- I think mine were in there for about 5 minutes, maybe 7, 5-7.

Drain and submerge beans in an ice bath- the waxy skins will shrink around the bean. Squeeze the beans out into a food processor.

Add a couple splashes of cream, one diced clove of garlic, the zest of one lemon and 1 tbs lemon juice. pulse until a puree is created, adding more cream as needed. Add salt, pepper and parm to taste. Pulse once more to incorporate.

Serve with a crusty bread.

What I've been up to.

Packing.

Making some postcards.

Packing some more.

It's safe to say I've been absent. I've been stuck in 'get stuff done'/'cram in as much friend time as possible' mode. This leaves other priorities- cooking, blogging, sometimes sleeping- left to suffer.

I'm deep in my last week in Portland. Oh Portland! It's been what, 7 years now? If I stayed until September it would begin my eighth. I've lived in 3 of your 4 (5?) quadrants, enjoyed all of your seasons, ate a lot of your delicious food and played in your streets.

...now I'm getting all nostalgic.

There are many things I'll miss about Portland, here are a few:

Bridges

Coffee

Bikes

Gardens
Trees

Farmers Markets

Beer

Food

I'm sure I'll add on more as I realize the differences between Oregon and Montana - rainfall being one of them (though I'm not sure if that's something I'll miss).

Mostly, I'm excited about a new adventure. Almost everyone I've told about my move to Montana has the initial reaction of- 'You DO know it's cold there?!'

Yes, and I thank you for your concern. I am mostly prepared for sub-zero temperatures. I will most certainly report back on my First Montana Winter in the months to follow.

As far as employment goes, I have accepted an AmeriCorps VISTA position with the Gallatin County Health Department, assisting them with early childhood initiatives to increase the rates of breastfeeding and immunizations. So that should be interesting.

Stay tuned for what's to come!

Different Wagons (lots of parentheses).

In the past year I have decided I liked sewing and knitting. Within these two crafts, I would solidly classify myself in the 'beginner' category, but would probably like to think of myself as an 'advanced beginner,' as I have committed a good amount of time and resources into improving my skills in both genres.

I think it is a common occurrence to like two things equally (both have unique merits and challenges), but be able to give equal attention to those two things. I find it very difficult to pick up a knitting project when I have yet to finish a sewing project, and vice versa. I have been neglecting a pair of socks I started way back in January due to a run of sewing projects.

It's not that I've run out of sewing projects, quite the contrary, but I've got some big knitting plans (in size and scope), and I just need to finish this sock before I will allow myself to begin. I'd like to have two (or more) projects going at once, but I am bad at building up my yarn stash (stashing is a thing that knitters do, so I'm told). I like to purchase with a purpose... maybe I'm just really good a self control (really?). It might also have something to do with wanting to knit a sweater next... making my next yarn purchase a bit of a spendy one.

However, Since I am moving early next month (!!!), and am also planning on being somewhat homeless for a spell (read: camping a lot), I think now is a good time to trade sewing (a hobby that requires electricity, space, a table) for knitting (you can do it anywhere!).

But first I have to finish these damn socks!

Because my last post had no photos.

I've decided to share a few photos that don't really have a place elsewhere in the blog. I'm taking a break from domestic pastimes and sharing things that I like.


These are some of my all-time favorite people, Audrey, Fran and Kathleen. I didn't get a chance to write about my trip to Tucson in early April- probably because there was so much to tell I couldn't sum up the amount of fun that we had in the confines of a blog post... Nope, still can't.


This is a photo of the Snake River, on the other side of Shoshone Falls, near Twin Falls, Idaho. I had the privilege of visiting Twin Falls early this month on my first official business trip.

This is Nic with a salt-stained hat. This boy works hard on his 30-mile round trip bicycle commute, and it sure does show in the salt residue of his commuting gear.

This is a Morton Salt Girl mug (my preferred morning coffee mug) next to my sexy Pugeot pepper grinder (who knew, bikes, cars and pepper mills!). I coveted this pepper grinder for a long time. It is gorgeous.