Lamb and Chickpea Stew

Lamb Beef and Chickpea Stew, page 167

I've been absent from here, but not absent from my kitchen OR The Feed Zone. Jonathan has been traveling, we traveled as a family for the Thanksgiving holiday and I even was able to go on a little trip last week too. Soccer has finished, Futsol has begun and we are in the early months of Odyssey of the Mind*. I love this season of Waiting and as the world seems to swirl with excitement and hustle, I'm trying to pause each day and be still. I'm successful some days and not so much others.

This recipe is perfect for a chilly day. It is warm and filling and rich and yummy! Chas even gave it a 5. Well, the meat part with rice. He avoided the onions and chickpeas. I knew I had a better chance of success with Chas if I used beef, so I purchased extra lean stew meat instead of lamb. If you are new here, you need to know that Chas is a bit of a plain rice and meat kiddo. It's ok, we have rice in our house almost always.

While I'm still on a bit of a tangent, here are two kitchen tools I use often. The top one is perfect for coating the pan with oil. My sweet friend in Boulder, Dita, gave it to me. I love it, but I love her more. And the ceramic knife, not a fancy one, is always sharp. Another friend, Jock, turned me onto ceramic knives when we were at his Rwanda home for dinner one night. He's the coach of the Rwandan cycling team. Make sure to check them out. SO proud of them. It's been heart warming to see the success they are having, after watching the years Jock and other have dedicated to the program. We {heart} Team Rwanda!

TO THE STEW...

I added the spices to the meat as it cooked. I like to think it adds more flavor to the meat itself. Anyone know if this is true?

 I used large chunks of onion, so the non-onion-loving people in my family could remove them from their bowl and add them to mine.

Kombucha.
I brew my own.
It tastes apple cider vinegar-y.
Yum.

Simmer. Simmer. Simmer. This is the part where I had to add extra water. I didn't soak the bean overnight. I used chickpeas from the can.

I mentioned that I went on a little trip myself last week. I'll share more about it in the next post, but let's just say that I was able to meet some people I'd only communicated with in the cyber world and another that thought I'd only racing on television or in Triathlete, not chatting about our kids, products we like and past Australian politicians.


Kitchen Action
Lacking in Pantry: Nothing
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes: lean beef instead of lamb & less onion
What I'll try next time: I'd like to try it with lamb, but only when I know I can either trick the boys or feed them something else
How it Scored:
Jonathan: 4
Elliott: 4
Chas: 5 (meat and rice only)
'becca: 4.5

*I coach, Chas is on a team and YOU score major points if you participated when you were in school. Any other OMers out there? Any of you go to world competition? I did. Not only am I a Nimrod, I'm a a bit of a nerd too. I try to wear it well.