Here I am, and here we all are, plowing through the first month of 2018. For those of us calling Northern California home, thus far there has been relatively little plowing involved in this winter. As a matter of fact, yesterday when I was pumping gas the gentlemen in the next lane over filling his Jeep was wearing cargo shorts and a short-sleeved tee-shirt. As I’ve said many times before, if Californians see sun they break out the sunscreen and assume a tanning position. Weird.
I packed up Christmas the day after and began the process of tucking a truculent and difficult 2017 away for the last time. What a year it was! However, I shall not look back only forward as that is the direction I am going.
Santa brought me an Instant Pot for Christmas. Perhaps I would not call this a romantic or even perhaps personal gift, but for one who likes to cook such as myself it is definitely exciting to have a new tool to play with. The pot has nine functions according to the manual, including pressure cooking. According to those hyping the product it does everything but birth your children for you, so I’m excited to give it a try. Up until yesterday the pot remained in the box as shipped. I haven’t really had time to stop and read the literature but from what I understand there is a “learning curve” involved in using this item. As I’ve gotten older, my learning doesn’t tend to stretch beyond opening a gum wrapper so most likely I’ll have a recipe to report by the time pumpkins are again showing up on store shelves.
A busy week looms before me. My calendar has appointments lined up like pigeons stretched along a phone line. A tool that makes cooking time more efficient could really come in handy about now. All I need is someone to read the manual, wash the equipment, watch the helpful video, prep the food and cook it for me and I’m good to go.
A friend asked recently “how can you be so busy all the time”? Hmmmmm. Well, my mom needs quite a bit of my time, and Rick can’t drive yet. The effects of meningitis do not stop simply because he left the hospital. Often he feels off balance or unsteady on his feet. This will hopefully pass as time does but for now I man (or woman as the case may be) the wheel when we go out. Being a male animal, and being Rick, this does not sit well with him. Naturally, he considers himself a far superior driver to me. Most men I have had the pleasure of spending time with over my lifetime seem to have this opinion in common.
At fifteen and a half precisely to the nano second I was in line at the DMV under a sign reading, “learner’s permits-line starts here”. The millenials don’t seem to share the same enthusiasm as did Baby Boomers when it comes to this rite of passage. I tried to get to the bottom of this with family members in that age group. This didn’t leave me with any definitive conclusions other than owning a car and all that entails seemed to be at the root of it from what I gathered. In the end it just didn’t seem important to them the way it was to us. For my friends and I it was our first real heady taste of freedom. No way would I have passed up the opportunity to leave the house without being under the ever watchful eye of my parents and travel the roads unsupervised. Did I do stupid things once set free? Naturally. Did I get caught? Often. Does my mother know to this day the extent of my early exploits when manning a vehicle? Not nearly. Some, like leaving the speaker at the drive-in attached to the window before exiting the parking spot were unavoidable. Mainly due to the fact the window remained with the speaker as I drove off making an explanation unavoidable. Others such as getting the car stuck on an operating railroad track remain stored in my old and not so fond memory box for my amusement only.
Having read the manual thoroughly many times, I passed the written test with one error and was handed the cherished document. The next task was to actually seat myself behind the wheel of my mother’s Ford Falcon convertible and learn how to maneuver it. This was to prove a far more formidable task than remembering what the color painted on the curb signified on the test. During our first time on the road together, my mother divided her time between maintaining a death grip on the door handle, frantically depressing an invisible brake on the floorboard, and making incoherent muffled scream noises. This, as one might imagine, did not lead to a highly productive first outing.
After that my step-father took over. To be truthful we were not close he and I, but perhaps that is what made the pairing work. A teacher by trade (something I never understood as the man truly disliked children) he was able to get me to a point where I could drive safely and proficiently enough on public roads without being a danger to myself and others. For this I thank him. In the end, it would take three tries to get my actual license once I turned sixteen, but I persevered. Since then it has been a steady uphill grade with a good driving record for most of my years behind the wheel. Knock on wood, thank you.
The learning curve and time devoted to create these delicious lamb tacos is minimal but the end result delicious and finger licking yummy. Perfect for a quick dinner on
Savory Lamb Tacos with Crema
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs. ground lamb
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
8 corn tortillas
Lettuce, chopped
Tomatoes
Red onion
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 6 mins. until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 min. Add lamb and seasonings to pan. Cook, stirring frequently to break up meat until lamb in nicely browned. Drain.
Place 1/8 of lamb mixture in center of each of the warmed corn tortillas. Top with lettuce, tomatoes and red onion. Serve with crema.
Crema
3/4 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. chopped mint
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp. corinader
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon zest
Whisk together. Refrigerate for 1 hr. before serving
Serves 4
Terrific anecdote – I barely passed my driver’s test because I thought it was so stupid to be tested on something I knew how to do – oh course, I’m a guy who what do you expect? Your recipe is terrific and I’m going to take it for a spin!
I love this recipe. The lamb has lots of flavor. So sure we know just about everything when we’re kids. Amazed they ever gave me a license. Thankfully I’ve improved.