Wartime Braised Lamb Chops

Happy Sunday Lovelies

We had another inspiring morning at church. 

It really does recharge my batteries for the week

It was a chilly but beautiful walk home from church...

 palm trees and snow... so pretty

Photo: 1940

I do love my Sundays.. church.. relaxing with my dear husband.. doing a bit of stitching or reading...and sharing a cosy, relaxed meal together. It sets us both up for the hustle and bustle that hits every Monday morning

Another Sewing Project 

Dinner today used a meat that we havent had in a while.. Lamb

I dont buy lamb very often...even though I love the flavour. Its very hard to find where we live...and if I do see it in shops its quite expensive. But this week I found a pack of chops in the the reduced section in the butchers market... and I couldnt resist. So this Ministry of Food recipe for Braised Lamb Chops was put on the menu. Its a slow-cooking method using bacon rinds and fresh vegetables to create a flavorful gravy.

I halved the recipe as there are only two of us.. and I didnt have any rinds or mace... so I cooked without... and it still turned out to be a very tasty dish. The vegetables I used were leeks, turnip, carrots and a handful of peas. And I only had one tomato.. but Im sure canned could be used too. I also thickened the gravy with a little cornflour.. just because we like it that way

4 lamb chops (trimmed of surplus fat)
½ oz. fat or dripping (for frying)
3 bacon rinds
Mixed vegetables, diced
8 tomatoes, sliced
Seasoning: 1 teaspoon salt, pinch of pepper
Liquid: ½ pint stock or water
Flavourings: 1 clove, 1 blade of mace, 2 or 3 peppercorns, a tiny sprig of thyme, and 1 or 2 leaves of mint

Recipe from the book

• Brown the meat:
• Heat the fat (or dripping) and bacon rinds in a pan.
• Fry the trimmed chops until they are well-browned on both sides.
• Remove the chops from the pan and pour off the excess fat.
• Place the diced vegetables, sliced tomatoes, flavourings, seasoning, and stock (or water) into the pan.
• Lay the browned chops on top of the vegetable mixture.
• Cover the pan with a lid and cook very gently for approximately ¾ hour.
• Remove the bacon rinds.
• Serve the tender chops on a hot dish accompanied by the vegetables and the resulting gravy

Eating For Victory
Collection of Official WW2 Recipe Leaflets

Brrrrr....

Happy Saturday Lovelies... and what a cold morning it was 

We woke to a covering of ice on the ground... unusual for Southern California. Thank goodness I covered the strawberry plants last night. It was lovely having a nice leisurely breakfast with MrD before he disappeared into his workshop for a couple of hours

Now the heavy rain has stopped I went out and pottered in the garden for a bit.. The flowers appreciated the downpour... even if it left me a bit damp

LaterI sat by the fire and did a bit of mending. How buttons go missing so easily I shall never know! But on the  other hand...I know I will never run out of buttons!

Meat Pie with a Biscuit Topping

Dinner tonight was Meat Pie with Biscuit Topping from "57 Ways to Use Heinz Condensed Soup", 1944.. Its fast become a family favourite.

We ended the evening watching  Veronica Lake, Frederick March and Susan Haywood in

I Married a Witch ~ 1942