September 14, 2003
Dear Customer -
After last year's drought, we seem to have had our prayers for rain answered many times over! At lambing time this February and March we had record snowfalls that left nearly 3 feet of snow on the ground, which made the quarter mile walk to the barn a real hike!
The snow turned into rain in late March and it has kept on raining almost constantly ever since then. While this has been great for grass growth - and lamb growth in turn (in June this year our lambs weighed as much as they did in September last year), it has wreaked havoc on the hay harvest. It also pretty much ensured that every time the sun came out, I was outside trying to catch up on the mowing. We finally got our first cutting of hay in the barn in mid August - two months late! The good news, however, is that your lamb this year will be plumper and juicier than ever before.
In addition to our lamb, we still have plenty of 2-ply sports weight yarn available. It's spun from our wool, and it is beautiful. Our yarn is sold in specialty knitting stores for $11.95 a skein, but we can offer it to our customers directly at $8.95 a skein. Please e-mail us at: wool@touchstonefarm.org if you’d like some yarn.
Making Hay in August
You'll be pleased to learn that earlier this summer Touchstone Farm was one of the first farms in the country to achieve the Certified Humane label for the way in which we raise our lambs. Currently we're the only lamb producer in the country with this designation. This program of inspections and monitoring ensures that our lamb is raised according to the highest standards set down by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Humane Society of the US.
Once again we've had a record number of advance orders for lamb this year, with many new customers who have heard about us through word-of-mouth. Thank you for spreading the news about our great tasting lamb!. Luckily we've been expanding production to meet demand, and this year had 55 lambs born on the farm. We are gratified by the growing interest in our lamb, but we’d like to ensure that our regular customers have a chance to have their orders filled. If you’ve already placed your order, we thank you for your promptness. If you haven’t yet ordered for this year, I urge you to do so soon, as we only have 12 lambs left. For those of you who place the same order each year, I would suggest that when filling out the order form this year you put a request in for a "standing order" in the custom box in the order form. That way we can automatically reserve a lamb for you each year and keep your order up-to-date, so you needn't worry about us being sold out before you had a chance to place your order.
The quickest way to order is to click here to be taken to directly to our lamb order page and place your order using our on-line form. We'll coordinate a pick-up or delivery time that is convenient for you. All lamb orders are COD. Our prices remain as they have for the past six years, $6 a pound for a ½ lamb (approximately 25 lbs of meat) or $5 a pound for a whole lamb (approximate 50 lbs of meat).
This year's recipe is a bit more exotic than those from years past, but it's a terrific, festive dish that's easy to make, and can turn a family dinner into a special occasion. Sardast-e Barreh Tu Por (or stuffed shoulder of lamb), is a variation on a traditional Persian feast dish that calls for a whole stuffed lamb. This is a scaled-down version that can serve 6 to 8 people. Perfect for a family gathering or a casual dinner party. Serve it with a nice Australian Syrah wine and finish it off with some caramelized rosemary pears for dessert.
Enjoy your Lamb!
Yours,
Alan Zuschlag
Sardast-e Barreh Tu Por (Stuffed Shoulder of Lamb) - serves 6 to 8 people
For the Stuffing: 1/3 cup basmati long-grain rice 1/3 cup dried apricots 1/4 cup golden raisins 1 medium onion 1 tsp advieh (see below) 1/2 chopped almonds Juice of one lemon Sprinkling of dried oregano Wash and boil the rice in three cups of lightly salted water until almost completely cooked. Drain and put to the side. Wash and cut the dried apricots into six pieces each. Set aside to dry. Chop the onion and fry in a large frying pan until soft and golden. Stir in the advieh and all the other ingredients. Once thoroughly mixed remove from heat and set aside to cool. For the Lamb: 1 boned shoulder or leg of lamb* Salt 6 tbsp. unsalted butter (softened) 2 tsp. liquid saffron (a pinch of saffron with a pinch of sugar in 2 tsp. of warm water) Skewers and cooking twine Preheat the oven to 375o. Unroll the lamb shoulder and sprinkle with salt on all sides. Lay the shoulder flat and "fill" it with the stuffing. Carefully fold the shoulder together with the stuffing inside and pin it together with skewers. Tie the meat parcel with cooking twine and remove the skewers. Weigh the entire parcel. Place the stuffed shoulder on a large sheet of aluminum foil and smear it liberally with butter. Then pour on the liquid saffron and wrap the aluminum foil over the stuffed shoulder. Roast it at 375o for 30 minutes per pound. Then open up the foil and baste the shoulder with the juices and roast with the foil open for an additional 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve over basmati rice. Advieh (Persian Spice Mixture) 4 ½ tsp. ground coriander 4 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon 2 ¼ tsp. cardamom seeds 1 ½ tsp. ground nutmeg 1 tsp. whole black peppercorns 1 tsp. cumin seeds Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl. Can be stored in a sealed container for several months* I prefer using the shoulder for this recipe - just ask for it to be deboned in the "custom" field of your order form
Caramelized Rosemary Pears - serves 8 8 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup sugar 2 sprigs fresh rosemary 4 bosc or comice pears, unpeeled, each cut length-wise into 4 ¼ inch thick slices
Melt butter in a large heavy skillet at medium heat. Stir in sugar and rosemary. Cook and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Add pear slices and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, turn the slices several times until they are soft and caramelized. Discard the rosemary and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
