No foodtography yet again.

Saturday afternoon, I went to three places in search of lamb, including my usual butcher, and could not find the right cut of lamb for the popsicles.  Where did I end up finding them?  Where else?  Whole Foods.  I am both saddened and relieved that there is not a Whole Foods that is convenient for me to get to.  On the one hand, they almost always have what I need.  On the other, there's a hefty price tag attached to what I need.  No matter.  After scouring all of North Denver in a fruitless search for racks of lamb, I finally marched out of the Belmar WF triumphant, with a lovely package of lamb tucked under my arm.

No challenge is quite complete without incredible feats of strength, so on Sunday morning, I hopped on my bike and rode 40 miles, from the Platte River at elevation 5280 ft to the top of Lookout Mountain at elevation 7064 ft, and back.  I sped down the back side of Lookout Mountain, down Hwy 40 at 35 mph, blinking only once.  And then I came home to french the rack of lamb, cut it into "popsicles" and marinate it in wine and mustard, all while still wearing my bike shorts. 

Then came time to blanch the spinach and mince it up for the noodles.  I donned my trusty red apron, and made a tidy little mess of it (after a shower).  From scratch, sans recette.  The Tangoista (or tangoera?) and Four-sides showed up around then.  Perfect timing because I was getting thirsty for wine.  N.B. There is no wine glass on the butcher block.  Not good.

I got to making the sauce, and as it turns out, I wasn't in love with Vij's sauce.  So I went back to my spice cabinet and doubled down on the fennugreek, added some indiscriminate amount of garlic and cayenne, an extra dash of turmeric, and an extra half a lemon.  I found Vij's lamb recipe in need of more than a little embellishment.  But his dessert recipe was spot on: Jasmine basmati cardamom rice pudding.  Simple and aromatic and delicious.  It was a good way to end the evening.

My foodtographer was having battery problems with her camera, but Mr. Rose did come to the rescue when I was gifted with this bad-ass mutha of an apron.

No food shots or biking shots to show for my efforts, but note the jaunty pose and glass of wine in the foreground.  It's obvious that a good time was had by all.  Especially me.