Browning chicken

As I write this I'm eating leftovers for lunch. I made up a recipe, (a combo of a couple of recipes based on what I had in the fridge and how much effort I wanted to put in) once again, and it turned out not half bad. I am keeping in mind, of course, that my stated goal is to actually follow recipes so that I can build skills and make meals that are good, not just acceptable.
But, on the theme of learning new things, this experience fits the bill. I've been watching Julia Child's cooking show, which is, I must add, immensely entertaining. I can't resist imitating her way of speaking; my husband and I can actually imitate her singsong cadence quite faithfully, and randomly love to warble "Bon appetit!" at the tops of our voices. I'm learning so many really useful things from Julia, and she does inspire one to just try things out with her "you can do it" attitude. My husband has now sharpened all of our knives (what a HUGE difference in the quality and speed of cutting) after Julia demonstrated how easy and quick it was.
Anyway, one of those really useful things that I applied to this recipe was the proper way to brown chicken. I've always just assumed that you can flop your piece of meat in a pan and simply wait til it browns... and then am completely dismayed when, in fact, the meat doesn't necessarily brown.
WELL, Julia tells us to make sure to dry each piece of meat on a towel (paper or otherwise) before putting it in the pan. What a difference! My chicken pieces browned very nicely, (though, next time I will brown them a little more, as some of the skin came off when I added the tomato sauce, and getting a large piece of not-so-crispy skin in a sauce is icky).
Thank you Julia Child!

Without further ado, bon appetit!

Chicken with tomato sauce and bacon
Cook about 4 strips of bacon and leave the fat in the pan
Brown chicken pieces in the bacon fat (dry the chicken pieces before you put then in the pan!)
Add a chopped onion and cook til almost soft
Add the bacon back to the pan
Add 2 cups chopped tomato, 2 tbsp of tarragon, 1/4 cup red wine, 1 cup of chicken stock, salt to taste
Simmer for 30-40 min, covered (until chicken is done)
Let it sit off the heat for 30 min.
Serve over rice.

(I liked it better the next day when the flavours had had a chance to marry)

Lamb

My husband and I have ordered a whole lamb to put in the freezer. So excited! We eat a lot of lamb and it's a cost savings to buy in bulk. We're getting the meat from our favourite farm and butcher in the region, Charles Quality Meats. Their meat is free of chemicals and antibiotics and very tasty.
I didn't start liking lamb until my mid twenties and now I'm hooked - probably my favourite meat. I used to turn my nose up at anything even slightly gamey (anything other than your standard chicken breast, roast beef, or pork chop basically), but having tried more lamb dishes, especially the rack of lamb (hello! jump into my belly please!) that my darling husband (who actually is an intuitive cook - I'm a wee bit jealous ;) has prepared for nearly every one of my birthdays over the years, I've grown to love lamb.
I made a ground lamb Indian-style curry the other night that turned out well, but as I wasn't following any recipe, it wasn't quite right in terms of spicing. I'd like to start perfecting that recipe and blog about it here. If you don't think you love lamb, this is actually the perfect recipe to try because ground lamb is the least gamey and the easiest to eat.
Here's what I did:

Ground lamb curry
Brown meat (with a little water so it doesn't stick) in a large pot (about 1-1.5 pounds)
Note: I cooked it from frozen since I am rarely in the frame of mind to actually plan a meal, and it works very well. Just put a cover on the pot and break up the meat into as finely ground pieces as you like as it thaws and cooks. Cook the meat until not pink, and then pour off the excess fat, leaving some for flavour.
Add:
Chopped onion or two
A few garlic cloves diced or squeezed through a garlic press
The following spices to taste: ground cumin, coriander, garam masala (just a little), cinnamon (just a little), turmeric (all of these spices can be found at many Indian-style food stores. I like Onkar Foods and Spices in Kitchener)
Stir it around and let the onions soften, making sure it has enough liquid to prevent sticking
Add around 4 cups of either diced or pureed tomatoes
Stir and simmer for around 40 min.
If you want it saucier, add some hot water.
Taste, and adjust seasoning.
Serve!

I ate this with brown rice and it lasted two people a few meals.

I LOVE FOOD!

The obnoxious use of CAPS doesn't even do the sentiment justice. I lovelovelove eating, cooking, baking, reading about food, and shopping for food, especially in out-of-the-way, little-known places where people grow it themselves.
I'm actually not a great cook. I like to experiment a little too much, and throwing in half the fridge or the spice cupboard doesn't always work out (though, sometimes it does - and I'd like to record why). But, I'm a pretty darn good baker if I do say so myself; I feel ok saying it myself 'cause others have said it (other than my mom). :)
What I'd really like to be though is an intuitive cook. And I'd like to gain more knowledge about food, especially local food, and how food is grown and produced and cooked. Since intuition does just HIT you, I am going to have to do some more experimenting, (yikes!) but also some more skill building and reading, so that my intuition about what flavours go well together, and what wine to serve with food, and what will happen when I substitute this spice for that, can be based on fact and experience.

So, here I go, and I will start with learning more about wine, cheese, and french cooking (yep, Julia Child - I know, it's been done, but that crazy, wonderful, hilarious lady is so absolutely up my alley).