Friday April 11...

Another broken promise. We forgot to take the camera with us last weekend. So bear with me, as the following posts will be filled with text, with no visual aids. Sorry.

Friday morning, Joni braised up a lamb shank, picked some herbs from our garden and tossed it into a crock pot with some "cranberry beans". They simmered all day, until we left that afternoon and drove to Jazmine and Kylie's Mom's. We bid adieaux to the girls for the weekend and headed up to the Solar Compound.

We drove thru Sacramento and stopped in Marysville to buy a bottle of wine. Arrived at the Cabin at dusk, and brought out the Lamb.

Now I'm not a fan of crock pot meals. It seems that the crock pot takes the best of the meat, and distributes it weakly to the contents of the meal. What you end up with is a bland soup of meat that only hints of tasting like meat---and veggies that only hint of being veggies. Everything tastes the same; not necessarily good.

Not so with this Lamb made by Joni. The Cranberry Beans were exquisite. The Lamb held the flavor of Lamb and dropped from the bone. Yet the braising Joni did provided the Lamb with some texture. And the fresh herbs that Joni picked complemented everything with a savory ooze that, frankly, was the best Lamb and Beans I've ever head. Even the cheap Barefoot Merlot that was about the only wine that the liquor store had in Marysville paired nicely with the meal. Definitely a hit!!

We spread out our sleeping bags on the deck (see the photo below) and watched the moon, stars and digger pine tree tops as they swayed in the wind. Joni fell asleep first, and I listened to her breathe. Happy that she is sleeping. Resting, after working so hard for her family.