CombODDnation: Lamb stew for remembering Grandmother

I think I actually remember grandma Ruth. And this happened all because the grocery store was selling really cheep lamb breast and I decided to try something new. Last Friday I really heated my house up, it was way too warm for this sort of cooking. But as it started to smell yummy, like it was getting close to done, I started thinking it was a familiar smell. Very distantly familiar.

I made a sort of irish stew. It's made basically by cubing cheep lamb parts (in this case, lamb breast I'd picked up for less than a dollar a pound) and a bunch of vegetables in a tomato stock. I read the "about" section lamb in the joy of cooking, and read all of the braised lamb recipes based on the cut of meat I had.  That usually gives me enough background information to go ahead and invent something different.

Smells are wonderful memory joggers.

It smelled like helping in the kitchen, like a grandmother, but not like the grandmother I grew up with. It was a little confusing at first.

Then, as the stew got closer and closer to done, it started to smell like being shorter than tomato plants, looking up at the bottoms of ripe tomatoes on the vine, like being carried by a woman who was showing me plants, and like standing on a tall bench to be able to reach the counter and then sitting in a booster seat so I could reach the dining room table. It was becoming obvious this was a very early memory.

But could it be?

There are pictures of me on a visit to longisland, with Ruth holding me, and grandfather raking some fallen leaves, when I was not quite two years old. It looks like it was late September, from the pictures, and I have a tiny red jacket.

Maybe it could be.

I tasted the stew, and it tastes like understanding for the very first time that food can come from the ground, like someone taking a lot of time to really show me how plants are in the ground, how good garden dirt crumbles, and how plants can make food, how bits of plants can go in the compost and make more dirt, and then later, how the garden food can be made into something yummy.

In my memory, eating this soup that we made was the very first time I truly understood that what I was eating was something that was grown and cared for in somebody's back yard. I was sitting in my booster seat, I had a little glass of milk off to one side, and I was kicking my chubby little legs, and thinking about how awesome my grandmother was for showing me all of that.

Could that be Ruth? Is it possible I might actually remember her? Her sister thinks it could be, Barbara says Ruth loved showing things to children, and had a vegitable garden on long island, though she can't recall if there was compost. Her daughter thinks it could be, too, Mary says Ruth made amazing stews. I sure hope so, I hope I remember her, even if it's just a few short moments of memory.

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I didn't take pictures while I made this. I wasn't really thinking it would be worth a share, I expected this to turn out mediocre at best. Turned out fantastic by surprise, so I wrote it all down for you, sorry to be lacking pictures. Here's the recipe for grandmother memory inducing stew.

     With approx 2lbs of lamb breast -
           this will be inexpensive meat when available,
           the breast meat is sometimes discarded as it
           is considered inferior quality with lamb.

Cut any skin away from the lamb breast, and cut  the meat into 1 inch cubes.
Prep a very large and deep skillet (check my out skillet prepping tips).
Brown the meat for 10-15 minutes. Do not drain fats.

Add to the skillet:
     3-4 yellow onions, cut into chunks
     1/2 cup carrot pieces cut to bite size
     Celery - cut half a bundle into bite size peices
Simmer covered for 15-20 minutes on medium low heat.

Add to the skillet:
     16 oz tomato sauce
     2 cups water
     One yellow squash, cut to 1 inch cubes
Simmer covered for additional 30-40 minutes.

Cool, and serve.