Easter Sunday, April 12

I always buy lamb for Easter, but I waited too late this year. All that the supermarkets had left on Saturday were expensive crown racks. My favorite supermarket here, Martin’s (a subsidiary of Giant) did have some cheaper shank ends, so I bought a twin pack for $6.50. They also had hormone-free whole fryers for half-price ($3.13) and ham butts for an astounding .58/lb ($4.38). A good meat harvest for under $15.

I marinated the lamb overnight in a standard mix of garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and rosemary. Standard but never tiring. I roasted the two shanks for a couple of hours; they should have been braised, but I like the smell of roasting lamb on Easter.

For the rest of the Easter meal, I mashed some Louisiana yams and steamed some broccoli, and a colorful plate it was. I added some slices of the ham butt. Lamb and yam and ham make a harmonious ménage a tois.

I feel a Biblical connection with the lamb, and a cultural connection to the ham and the two vegetables, having grown up Italian in New Orleans, LA. It would be an odd combination in other lamb-eating parts of the world, but for me it was food as a reflection of myself.

Dare I say, the meal resurrected my spirit.