Recently, Justin Stevenson has been out in the field looking for unidentified sage grouse leks. Due to the unusually warm weather and the subsequent runoff, right now is the perfect time to survey potential leks. Below are some great photos he took of male sage grouse displaying and a photo of pronghorn running through the lek without disturbing the sage grouse.
Yesterday was astonishingly beautiful out. The perfect day for lunch outdoors. Heidi had planned a staff lamb lunch potuck, but we had not planned on the great weather!
Heidi’s idea for a staff potluck was spurred when she read Paleo blogger, Melissa Joulwan’s Deconstructed Gyros recipe on her site The Clothes Make the Girl. Everyone loved and the idea and signed up to contribute a little something to the gyros lunch. Heidi made the lamb shoulder, I made hummus, Ross made fresh pita bread, Mike made tatsiki sauce, and Jen brought all the fixings for the gyros.
The combination of everyone’s contributions created a delicious and filling staff lunch. We will definitely be planning and enjoying more lunches like this in the near future! Find the recipe Heidi used to cook the lamb for the Deconstructed Gyros below. Enjoy!
Paleo style!
Deconstructed Gyros from Melissa Joulwan
Ingredients:
Lamb “Gyro”:
Directions:
With a sharp knife, cut the lamb shoulder into 3- to 4-inch chunks. You don’t want them bite-sized. Place the lamb pieces in a large ziplock bag.
In a small bowl, rub the mint and oregano leaves between your palms to crush them. Add the cumin, Aleppo pepper, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper; mix with a fork until blended. Add the spice blend to the bag, zip it closed, and shake assertively until all the lamb pieces are coated with the spices.
Place the lamb in a large, deep pot. Pour the lemon juice into the bottom of the pot, then add water to just cover the meat.
Place the pot on high heat and bring the water to a rip-roaring boil. When it’s rolling, reduce the heat to keep a steady, strong simmer with the pan uncovered. The liquid should bubble a fair amount, but should not be a vigorous boil. While it’s cooking, it will look like uninspired soup. Do not be discouraged! As the water evaporates, the acidic qualities of the lemon juice tenderize and flavor the meat.
At about the 2-hour mark, check the pot. The water should be much lower and maybe even almost gone. Allow all the water to cook out of the pan and watch as the meat magically fries and caramelizes in the fat and fruit juice.
Carefully turn the hunks of meat — without shredding them — to brown all sides, then remove the hunks to a plate and let them rest for 5 minutes before eating.
If you need a little inspiration for Easter don’t miss the latest recipe on Chez Us. The author of the blog, Denise, cooked up a traditional yet flavorful leg of lamb recipe “with a slight twist.” Her ingredients were simple: Lava Lake Leg of Lamb, garlic, sumac, maldon salt, fresh cracked pepper and olive oil but how she utilized the ingredients is what resulted in the delicious finished product pictured below! Read the recipe in its entirety and Denise’s inspiration for the leg of lamb in the blog post Roasted Leg of Lamb at ChezUs.com.
photo from chezus.com
