A little extra . . .

. . . to say how utterly scrummily delicious the slow cooked lamb was.  So good that here's the recipe.

Slow cooked leg of lamb

Serves: 6 generously – very generously. I’d say 8 to 10 myself, looking at how much I have left over

Ingredients
1 large leg of lamb
Head of garlic, split but not peeled (I kept one clove aside for the dauphinoise potatoes
Some Chantanay carrots or any you might have about 6-8 depending on size
300ml red wine (I used a merlot)
300ml stock (I used a lamb stock cube in 300ml hot water)

Method
1.Preheat oven to 120C / fan 100C / gas 1/2
2. You need a roasting dish large enough to get the lamb in
3. Heat carrots, garlic, wine and stock in a saucepan until boiling. Pour into the roasting dish and lay the leg of lamb on top. No other seasoning needed.
4. Carefully cover with foil tightly, put in oven and cook for 7 hours. No need to check.
5.Remove lamb to a another tin, turn oven up to 200C / fan 180C / gas 6 and put lamb in to crisp skin for about 15 to 20 mins. (I actually didn’t do this, I just poured off the stock into a saucepan, re-covered it and put it back in the oven until time to serve).
6. Reduce cooking juices to make tasty gravy. I thickened it with thickening granules or you could use cornflour or a buerre marnier.

Great served with dauphinoise potatoes and veg – the carrots cooked in the wine and stock were gorgeous.

Scrummy!  And so much left over for other meals!  I do love leg of lamb but can never cook it just for one.  That would be silly!

Sunday

Note to self - when cooking slow roasted lamb that takes seven hours and needs to be ready at 1:00, don't lie in bed until 6:45!  Ah well, I'm sure it won't matter too much in the wider scheme of things!

Yesterday was a bit of a lost day.  We spent the last part of the morning and all afternoon back in A&E while they checked Alex over and rebandaged his hand (the bandage had fallen off and also had been vomited on - not good.  This was after advice from the NHS drop in centre who couldn't find a doctor to visit!  Turns out they should never have advised anyone with D or V to turn up at A&E.  Anyway, we got there and after Beth explained everything to the desk lady we were shown to the kiddies waiting place.  A while after that along came a rather cross nurse to put us all in a room away from the other patients.  That was fine, what wasn't fine was that she was cross with Beth!!!!!   I hope that if it was such a naughty thing to do, they dealt with their own procedures and also gave where we had been a good wipe down.  I wonder if they did.

So that was yesterday!  Today will be a whirl of activity this morning, cleaning and tidying downstairs before my visitors come for lunch.  Lunch might be late but then they might arrive late - probably will, in fact!  It'll all pan out OK in the end!  Obviously, Beth and Alex won't be coming over though.

Just one of those casual days - and the lamb is already beginning to smell pretty good so here's hoping!

More . . .

I've found a couple of nice recipes, one for slow roasted lamb and the other for dauphinoise potatoes so that's what I'm doing.  Sounds nice, doesn't it.  I'll probably do peas to go with it all.  Dessert?  I'll perhaps cheat and buy something!

Saturday

Weekend!  As I said, more or less, on Facebook, isn't it lucky it keeps coming round once a week, every seven days!  I do have to do some clearing up today as I have guests around for lunch tomorrow.  I bought a nice looking leg of lamb and want to do either a pulled lamb or a long, slow roasted dish so I have to look up some recipes - there's a lot of them about.  I'll serve it with roasted potatoes and a selection of veg.  I have to think about dessert . . .

Yesterday was a long day.  We had a non-uniform day, not for Children in Need, sadly, but to get things in for our Christmas fair which is in three weeks' time.  After school I hung around for a while but didn't get all that much done, after which I popped into Morrisons to get some stuff for Beth and Alex and then took it over.  Both invalids are improving slowly although Alex was very disinclined to talk much and took himself back to his room fairly quickly, bless him.

Having just written that, I've had a message to say the puking is back - poor old Al!  And Beth.  As she said, thank goodness she replaced the hall carpet with lino!

That's about it really!  Better get going with the tidying up, etc!

Friday

Good morning!
Well, it was a very good course indeed yesterday.  Lots of confusion cleared up, lots of clearly defined expectations, good handouts and a very nice lunch.  I feel a lot more prepared to mentor now.  They have changed the system since the last time and very much for the better, I think.

A great shame I was only concentrating about 90% because of other stuff.  Beth and Alex have the norovirus (I reckon that's what they have) and Alex has damaged his knuckle to the extent that he will need an op.  He's dehydrated so they can't operate straight away but they are treating the sickness which is very good news.  Fingers crossed for the next four or five days.

It is at times like these that I am truly grateful yet again for working in such a caring and supportive school.  I whizzed back when the training finished to have a chat to the deputy head who immediately agreed to give me today off (this was before I knew they were intending to operate next Tuesday) without any hesitation whatsoever.  As it turned out, Beth refused my offer to help saying she didn't want me to get the virus (I agree, I don't want to either, not with a Christmas Show to produce) and that they would be OK and stay snug indoors.  So I will be in school today but will not forget the kindness that immediately agreed to give me a day off without any ifs, buts or maybes.

Thursday

I feel as if I have been given a holiday.  Today I am not in school; I'm off to a PGCE mentor training day at our local university.  The training starts at half past nine and goes on until four so lunch is provided, as is coffee, tea, biccies, etc!

Now, usually, when I am on a course I go into school at the usual time, wait for the supply teacher to turn up, go through the pre-prepared and copiously detailed notes I have made for the day and then dash off, late and a bit (or a lot, depending on where I have to go) stressed, for the course.  Supplies are not noted for turning up early, I fear!

But the worm has turned.  No more!  After all, agency supplies are qualified teachers and ought to be as capable of interpreting planning as I am, especially planning that goes into as much detail as mine does.  They ought to be able to photocopy sheets, find resources and generally manage a class, especially one as delightful and well trained (I have to say that, don't I?) as mine.

So - I have annotated my usual planning, placed all necessary resources on an accessible part of my laptop (route also annotated), placed a necessary sheet for photocopying on the planning sheets and won't be going in early tomorrow.

Instead I have another two and a half hours at home before setting out into town.  Bliss.  And as I didn't know which nearby long stay car parks don't get totally clogged up early (some do), I have done something really shocking.  I have ordered a taxi!  There, isn't that decadent?  The thing is, I get travel sick on buses and my gammy knee isn't going to like it if I try to walk into town.  That's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it. 

Even worse, I will be getting another one home again.  Bad, bad me!

Hope the training is worth it!

Wednesday

It always makes me giggle when I think of the different phrases children have for asking if they can go to the loo.  Most are very polite, some are pretty basic and I will never forget one little lad whispering urgently 'I wanna wee - NOW' - and did!

Yesterday, on playground duty
Child:   Mrs Clark, please may I go for the toilet?
Me:     (feeling flippant)  Why? What's it done to you?
Child:   ???????????????????????????????????????????????
Me:  (with a sigh)  Sure, off you go!

Some you win, some you don't!