Snowbound II

As you can see from the picture on the left there's a very good reason it's not exactly grilling season here in Ohio. We just concluded the largest month of March snowfall in 40 years with depths ranging from 10 inches to 24 inches. There is a dome under the mound on the far left, but the mound on the far right is on a flat work surface. Obviously my immediate neighborhood is in the upper reaches of those figures.

The snow stopped about 3:00 PM yesterday and we had sunshine in the evening, but the overnight temperature dropped to eleven degrees so there is now a crust on the snow.

The Gordons loved it. They have been finding all the sticks and toys that they left lying around outside. It's like a large Easter Egg hunt for them. Scott managed to find a nook across the lot where three stray cats took shelter from the storm. Cats don't move very well in the snow, but a Gordon certainly does. The cats should be thankful for leashes. The dogs spent most of their inside time in the front window watching the birds congregating at the feeder station. The squirrels never made an appearance.

So what does one do during a 24 hour snowfall? Other than organizing the wine cellar and putting everything in it's proper place and updating the locations in the cellar software I did what I always do in a snow storm. I braised something.

In this case there was a lamb shoulder roast in the freezer that was braised in white wine, chicken stock and tomatoes. The bones were removed, the meat pulled apart and a lamb stew with leeks, carrots and white beans was the end result. It's pictured with three, small, cheesy polenta cakes. I tapped the "house red" for the wine, the Vina Alarba Old Vines Grenache 2005 from Spain.

It turned out to be a pleasant and satisfying evening that ended with a glass of Highland Park 12 year old single malt whisky. Now it's daylight here again and time to feed the birds and remove some snow.