A Little Lamb Shall Feed Them...

Continuing the late evening returns idea, Debi had late patients and I had a meeting at seven. So the question was, do I start cooking before I leave? Or do I prep and cook when I get back and both of us are actually home?
Then there was the third option, which was do nothing, go to the meeting, and start everything when I returned.
Number three is the Winna!

We started with a couple of Princeton Cocktails:
1.5 oz gin
.5 oz dry vermouth
.5 oz simple syrup
.5 oz fresh lime juice
Chill cocktail glass. Place ingredients into shaker, fill with ice. Shake oh so vigorously, strain into glass. Repeat as needed or required.

The meal itself was Curried Lamb. We used another of our reliable standby authors, Lorna Sass, and her terrific collection of pressure cooker recipes Cooking Under Pressure, 1989. Served it with kashi and all the usual curry fixin's like raisins, chutney, peanuts, coconut flakes, pepper flakes, sour cream.

Lamb Curry (Pressure Cooker)

1 TBS oil
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
2 tsp finely minced garlic (just a starting point)
1 TBS finely minced ginger
2 cups water
2.5 pounds boned lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into 2" cubes (that is a lot of lamb, we use 2 pounds and cube to 1")
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 large carrots, scrubbed and coarsely chopped
.5 cup raisins, preferably golden
1 TBS plus 2 tsp mild curry powder (another starting point, we are up to about 3 TBS of the Madras)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste (really, an eighth?)
Salt to taste
Garnish: Finely chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)

HEAT the oil in the cooker. SAUTE the onions and garlic until the onions are soft (I add about half of the lamb here to start browning some of it). STIR in the remaining ingredients except the cilantro. LOCK the lid in place and over high heat bring to high pressure. ADJUST heat to maintain high pressure and cook for 12 minutes. Let the pressure drop naturally or use quick-release method. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow any excess steam to escape.
Drain off the liquid, if you wish. (Very soupy, excellent for soaking into rice or just sopping up with bread). Adjust seasonings and garnish with cilantro.

Sass's notes add that you can thicken the sauce by stirring in about 1/3 cup of finely ground almonds while simmering over medium heat. We like the soppiness factor.