To give you a little inspiration for Valentine’s Day, I compiled what I would consider romantic recipes for two. All the recipes work well with both Rack of Lamb and Lamb Loin Chops. Until February 6th our Loin Chop Lover’s Package is 30% off. Say ‘I Love You’ to that very special someone with a lamb dish prepared from the heart and shared together.

French Rib Chops with Balsamic Reduction

• 8 French Rib Chops
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 tablespoon Oil
• 3/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/4 cup Red Wine
• 1 sprig of Rosemary
• 2 tablespoons Butter

Herb Citrus Crusted Lamb Chops

• 4 lamb french rib chops
• 1 orange, peel zested
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• rosemary, handful, minced
• olive oil
• maldon sea salt to taste

Rack of Lamb with Roasted Figs

• 1 rack of lamb
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
• 4 tablespoons fresh thyme
• 1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or extra virgin olive oil

Fig Sauce

• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/6 cup red wine
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
• 4 roasted figs, roughly chopped

Lamb Chops with Pomegranate Plum Agrodolce

• 1 lbs lamb chops (about 4-6 chops)
• olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

for agrodolce

• 1 C pomegranate juice
• 1 C japanese plum wine

Imagine driving through the dark, snowy desert, the sagebrush peeking out from under the snow, the headlights off, and the only light for navigation is the spotlight expertly wielded by Nathan Muhn, an Idaho Department of Fish & Game field technician, with rock & roll blaring from the speakers taped to the hood of a truck. Last Thursday, that is exactly what the scene was like when we were searching for the elusive Greater Sage-Grouse, the target of a current study in the desert south of Picabo, Idaho.

I joined Nathan, along with two other volunteers, for an evening of trapping Greater Sage-Grouse in order to radio collar the birds. The goal of the study is to radio collar some of the grouse in the desert south of Picabo and to use their GPS locations to study the population’s movements and distribution in relation to the proposed airport site in the area.

So, meeting at 8:30 PM, Nathan described what we would be doing all night – until 4:30 in the morning. We would be driving through the desert on snow-covered roads, searching for Greater Sage-Grouse with a high-powered spotlight. In order to cover the sound of the truck and of us, we have attached speakers blaring music to the front hood of the truck. When we spot a Greater Sage-Grouse, Nathan shines the light on the bird, causing it to freeze and the driver speeds the truck directly at the bird.

This is when it gets exciting! The two netters hop off the truck and sprint alongside, waiting until the truck comes right up to the grouse, then net the Greater Sage-Grouse, ensuring that it doesn’t escape. With the Greater Sage-Grouse captured, we attach a radio collar to the bird and put an identification band on its leg. We ended up catching four Greater Sage-Grouse over the course of the evening: 3 females and one male. They are big birds, and the male was especially large. These birds are built for winter cold; their legs are completely covered in feathers – unlike a chicken’s – and they have interesting little grips on their toes. Pretty cool!

Needless to say, I was cold and tired when I crawled into bed at 5:30 on Friday morning. But, field biology can be fun and fascinating, and these Greater Sage-Grouse are a crucial member of the sagebrush ecosystems here in central Idaho. So, understanding them a little bit better seems like a great idea.

Male Greater Sage-Grouse displaying

Bodie, Phoebe, Payson and Fiona wearing Lava Lake hats in all 4 great colors!

Click here to buy a Lava Lake hat

photo by Sara Sheehy

During the week I can be pressed for time in the evenings to make a nice slow cooked meal. That’s where my crockpot comes in handy. It is quite a wonderful thing to be able to place an assortment of ingredients into the crockpot before work and come back in the evening to a delicious meal ready to go. And my home is filled with tasty smells to boot.

I love this stew recipe because the prep time is low (I roughly chopped all my ingredients) and you can play around with amounts and seasoning based on what you have. I served this up with mashed cauliflower instead of the typical mashed potatoes or rice to cut down on the starch. To make mashed cauliflower simply blend/ puree steamed cauliflower with salt, pepper and a bit of butter. Enjoy!

Crockpot Lamb Stew

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 large onion peeled and chopped into 2-3 inch pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped in 1-2 inch pieces
• 1 potato, chopped into 1-2 inch cubes
• 3 collard green leaves, ribbon cut
• Dash of cinnamon
• Dash of cumin
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups water (or stock)
• 1/2 cup red wine
• Lava Lake Lamb shoulder, cut into 2 inch cubes

Procedure

1) Trim the exterior fat off the lamb shoulder then cut into 2 inch cubes.

2) Place ingredients into the crockpot starting with the butter first and adding the onions, garlic, carrot, potato, collard greens, salt and pepper, cumin, cinnamon, fresh rosemary, water, red wine and lamb on top.

3) Cook in the crockpot on low for 8-10 hours or on a high for 4-5 hours.

*Recipe adapted from andreabeaman.com

Last week was wonderfully snowy in Idaho. After two months of waiting, with hardly a snowflake in sight, we received over two feet of new snow in just a few days. In addition to assuring happy sheep come spring-time, the snow also made for some happy Lava Lake employees. On Sunday Christina, Heidi and I were all on the slopes of Sun Valley’s Bald Mountain for a day of skiing and riding.

It was my first day on the mountain this year and I have to say, I waited for the right day.  The snow was perfect and the sun was shining brightly all morning.  None of us can wait for our next day on the mountain.

Here’s to celebrating winter!

Mike Gordon, Heidi Watanabe and Scott Watanabe on the Challenger Chairlift

Cold Morning Mist at Lava Lake Ranch