Ok, this is really an inspiration from a mash-up of 2 Paula Wolfert’s recipes from her Mediterranean Claypot Cooking book. I have been a massive Wolfert fan for years and years (I’m sure I tell you this all the time) and have collected a few of her intense tomes. The Slow-Mediterranean Cookbook is really stunning but generally out of my financial reach (as many reductions call for as much food as to feed a family of 5, only to be thrown out after reducing), but I find a lot of gems in Mediterranean Grains & Greens and I couldn’t survive without my copy of CousCous.

And I do this sometimes, I think my best artichoke/spinach/crab dip recipe are the 2 (and sometimes 3) consequetive recipes for such things in The Joy of Cooking, all of them, together. This one is like that — where I have a bit of this, a bit of that, the cooking is from one, the method from the other, and the two were handfasted and now reside on my plate. So, this below is the lovechild of Tile-Roasted Lamb Shepherd’s Style and Moroccan Mechoui…I chose to head it under the latter since it covers the cut of the meat and the stronger spices.

We also really really wanted to start our Summer goal of cooking over the firepit — we put up (freezing, canning, fermenting) so much last year we need to eat it down in order to get ready for this year’s harvests, which we’re using this method to get through. We have a tripod to hang a pot (or piece of meat over a pot), or a cauldron, or a big pot you can put right into the coals (we recommend cast iron, it gets hot but bakes/roasts pretty evenly), and a grill over it so there are many options to cook over a fire. Josh loves the added elemental flavor, the extra grittiness to the dish — it feels real, and connected, and frankly, freaking delicious. We are also trying to get through the last of our lamb from the Winter, and have the big bits and the weird bits left. Cooking over a fire makes all this possible in easy ways. We highly recommend it!

Moroccan Mechoui

Serves 6

• 1 bone-in Lamb Shoulder (about 5 lbs), trimmed of excess fat & scored
• 1 Garlic clove, minced
• 2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 Stick of Tbsp Unsalted Butter, 4Tbsp at just room temp, and 4Tbsp cut into pats
• 1 1/2 Tbsp ground Coriander
• 2 tsp ground Cumin
• 1 tsp Smoke Paprika (sweet or hot, your desire)
• 1 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
• 2 tsp Greek Oregano
• 2 cups (or more if desired) of Fregola, cook as directed (2 cups of water to 1 cup of Fregola), alternatively potatoes or bread or classic Couscous
• 2 Medium Vidalia Onions (or 3 Med Shallots, or 2 Med Leeks, even frozen), chopped coarsely
• And then clear out your frozen/canned veggies: we used a bag (1/2#) of frozen Scapes, and 3# of Whole frozen Tomatoes (they freeze great whole! or we slice them/roast them with garlic, olive oil, and herbs and then freeze them);

Last year we did this and also threw in that random bag of Zucchini (doesn’t freeze that great), canned Green Beans, frozen Pell Peppers, and chopped fresh Potatoes (unless using couscous, which I guess you could still throw in potatoes, especially if you have a crowd to feed)…we’ve also tossed in (generally with the tomatoes, they make a nice liquid to not burn everything) frozen and fresh Kale and the incessant bags of kale stems that I keep, all kinds of stuff you think will roast up nice in a tomato stew, essentially. It becomes like a decadent Ratatouille. Or medium button size Mushrooms, whole.

A few hours before cooking: Take all the spices and the 4Tbsp of room temp butter and combine (best with your hands or a fork) and rub into the scoring of the Lamb (it’s fine to put it into the pot you’re going to cook in and let rest for a couple of hours if you can.

Set up the tripod or grill and the fire, get it to where there are nice slow coals so you can bank them up or remove them when needed. When ready toss in remaining butter (in pats) and chosen vegetables, set the lid all the way on if you are putting in the pot or hang meat with a meathook from the tripod over the vegetables (then either on a grill above the fire or hanging from the tripod). At this point we put the Lamb in the pot with the veg and hung over the coals on the tripod, you could equally put the whole pot into the fire and keep coals low and slow (and can even put them on the lid in the right cast iron pot) and cooked over the fire for 2-3 hours (depending on how slow your coals are, we could’ve probably gone a little slower but it turned out extravagent, nonetheless). You only need an inner temp of 140degreesF on the meat which you will probably get pretty easy, if it cooks slow enough it will keep the meat soft. Keep an eye on the liquid, you need enough so as not to burn the veggies or the meat and then as much as you want it to be stewlike, we chose a thick sort of stew to stir into the fregola…turn the meat occassionally to test its tenderness.

Remove from heat. We didn’t cook the fregola as per directions but threw it into the pot with extra water to absorb but leave a little movement (I might recommend 3:1, liquid to fregola). Or serve with bread/wide egg noodles/couscous, etc. And serve with a vinaigrette or lemon green salad or fresh pickles to brighten the unctiousness.

This is going to be a very good Summer.

I don’t advertise myself as an herbalist or natural healer but I have been working in the research and development of healing processes for over 15 years. I’ve taken classes and workshops with renowned herbalists, alternative and holistic healers, attended conferences and worked as a natural health advisor (for over 6 years). I grow and forage for my own medicinals and source others from reputable places. I have herbalist friends! And I seek out much knowledge and practices from around the world. Even as a teen (many many moons ago) I gravitated toward making my own teas and growing my own herbs, I was very limited then but the drive and desire for the knowledge and plant connection was there.

I believe deeply in our own ability to heal ourselves from nearly anything (save losing a limb, radiation poisoning, or other acute conditions) or at least minimizing the damage and supporting our systems, if given the right tools. It’s not that I don’t believe in allopathic healing; I just think it is used more often than it should be (it is emergency medicine, not preventative or supportive, it is also cascading and makes itself self-reliant). There are many types of holistic care — many of which I prefer to go to experienced healers for (much bodywork takes years to understand and complete pictures of not just the human body but an individuals own experiential and physical make up — I admire and am amazed by the dedicated work of these folks), but for the day to day, I can manage many of my own (and my family’s) needs.

I also believe that plants, especially (and especially in our shared space and time), have a knowledge of what we (and they) need, as well. In a time of deep respiratory concern (whether from pollution or viral), Mullein, Nettles, Plantain, and Goldenrod appear near and ready. Close by a patch of Poison Ivy, many times Jewelweed (the cure and mitigation) grows. From my own experience of my severe lymph issues, I was happy to learn about Cleavers (which then began to grow in great patches of my field, along with never before seen Milk Thistle). And we can enhance these medicinals with plantings of our own (since much of our ‘wild’ medicines have been eradicated from their native places and free sowings) like Echinacea, Elderberry, and Bee Balms. Last year, my body (and mind) was finally ready to tackle some big shifts and maintain some equilibrium and St. Johns Wort began growing in my herb garden.

This is not to say I think there is a sentient being bestowing blessings upon me, but I don’t believe in coincidence, either. I am not one to believe there is a reason for everything that attends to a great and culminating design, however, I think there are reasons by many agencies unbeknownst to us at any given time — so, not a design, per se, but decisive or called for directions (most having nothing to do with us humans). Such as the natural conditions of Jewelweed are also the natural conditions for Poison Ivy (because the cure and the ill are not just about humans) and that they offer each other support in a way I do not know that just happen to benefit me (but not me, because my body is unaffected by the urushiol, surprisingly since my body also naturally attracts so freaking many things out in the world trying to eat me or give me rashes).

And I struggle with folks who fight the idea that there are herbal medicinals because simply put: 1) where do you think the original medicines came from and 2) why do you bother to eat apples or anything you think is ‘good for you’ if you don’t believe it affects you. So, with that said, last Summer and Fall I put up tinctures of St. Johns Wort, Lemon Balm, Evening Primrose (root, flower, and seed), Hawthorn, Cleavers, dried Red Clover blossoms and Raspberry Leaf, Monarda, Yarrow, Boneset, Mullein, Caledula, more Cleavers and Usnea. I sourced some Antler Reishi (and got some Hemlock Shelf beauties yesterday from a friend!) and Chaga, dried Elderberries, Skullcap, Milky Oats, and Lavender. I like tinctures, teas, and baths though I have a friend who makes elixirs and another who likes capsules. There are many plants and stages of plants I prefer fresh and that is where my daily and seasonal foraging comes into play — I never believe that what I eat is just food. It should all be medicine and all has an effect.

This year I’m hoping to add more barks and roots to my medicines (likely willow and witch hazel, maybe prickly ash, buckthorn, and wild cherry, as well along with burdock, mallow, and sarsaparilla). And I’ve added Horehound, Ashwaganda, and Vervain to my garden.

My beautiful Tulips (J & D) made me some apothecary shelves a couple of years ago which I store all my goods, plus many herbal books, tools, tea making supplies, etc. They help me take good care of myself and them. I’m onto drying and tincturing that new Reishi and being in the garden today to get ready for new plant babies.