La Quinta, California: Our entire day was planned around the Oregon Ducks v Virginia Commonwealth in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Also, in my plan to rid the freezer of anything large, a TWO-PLUS-POUND lamb shank was prepped for the slow cooker - because we had a tee time that would get us home in time for tip-off.
I used my (eleven-year-old) recipe for Lamb Shanks with Arugula & Cannellini Beans, but after browning the shanks and sautéing the onions and garlic, I put everything (lamb, onions, garlic, herbs, red wine, and chicken stock) in the slow cooker for eight hours on low. (Oops, fresh rosemary sprigs were swapped for the basil... my garden is bursting with rosemary right now.)
It was a glorious day in the desert. Actually wore a golf skirt and a "sports shirt" (as Lucile calls a collared sleeveless golf shirt).
They don't call this Mountain View Country Club for nothing.
Such a pretty course. Such a difficult course... but usually still fun. I had just an amazing day on the links, shooting a very-low-for-me 128! I had one par! Golf just lures you in by giving you a par... and then you five-putt the next hole. Welcome to My World. I am blind in my left eye. My depth perception Sucks The Big One. Years and years and years ago, Dave's dad (scratch golfer, who passed away in 1999) tried to get me to putt left-handed, thinking if I could actually see the hole, maybe I could putt better? He even bought me a left-handed putter. His genius plan did not work, probably because I am so dominantly right-handed, my left hand is completely useless unless I am typing or stitching. Still, a man with four sons was most excited for a girl to join the family. Dave (#3 son) was the first married. Though forever regretting not being a better golfer for him, I did give him his first grandchild. Points?
As we began the 11th hole (photo above) our phones started blowing up with text messages. Beep. Beep. Beep. It seems the Ducks evening opponent, Virginia Commonwealth, had several players test positive for the Coronavirus, and had to leave the tournament. Ducks advanced on a technicality. Bummer of a way to win, and I hope the players at VCU will recover quickly and suffer no long-term consequences from the virus.
There was now no reason to rush to finish our round. We had nothing to do tonight... except eat the lamb shank.
Well, dang, if that lamb shank wasn't just lovely. Though rosemary was swapped for basil tonight, the dish was garnished with basil from the herb garden. Please try this recipe in the slow cooker if you are at all interested. A veal shank works just as well in this dish. (NOTE: I made this recipe in the Instant Pot pressure cooker previously - it was tough and stringy. DO NOT RECOMMEND!)
Okay. No Ducks on TV, but maybe we did watch more March Madness tonight. It is March; we are Mad... and so excited for something new in our day-to-day routine.
Until my next update, I remain, your winning correspondent.