This week is definitely SOUP weather. It’s chilly and rainy here on Fox Trot Farm…nothing to complain about since we are still way below average for our rain totals this year, and thankfully not cold enough to wear gloves, but the only animals that like this weather are the ducks. 🙂

I was in the midst of soap making yesterday when Farmer Bob called to tell me his flight had landed and yes, he sure would like supper when he gets home. Yikes! I cleaned up my soaping mess and found a recipe for lamb soup from Saveur magazine. Here’s the original recipe, and it looks good, but boy oh boy, I sure didn’t have enough time to make this, and didn’t even have all the ingredients. Instead, I did some short cuts and substitutions, and Farmer Bob pronounced it DELICIOUS and worth making again. (When he likes a recipe I make, there are always lots of sound effects that accompany dinner! haha) Here’s my version for you to try. (I especially love the method of mixing the flour with the sour cream to keep it from curdling in the soup.)

Hungarian Lamb Soup à la Fox Trot Farm

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound Fox Trot Farm ground lamb
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 large onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 quart chicken stock (I like Kitchen Basics best.)
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 russet potato, about 8 ounces, peeled and chopped
1 yellow squash, about 8 ounces, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 cup good sour cream

-Brown the ground lamb in the olive oil in a 5 quart Dutch oven.
-Stir in the onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Sauté till the onions begin to soften.
-Add the paprika and the chicken broth. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
-Taste for salt, and add the salt and pepper and the cayenne pepper, the potato and the squash, and the dried dill weed. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
– Combine the flour and sour cream and add this mixture to the simmering soup. Stir thoroughly and bring back to a simmer. The soup will thicken. Lower the heat and hold till serving time. If it gets too thick for your liking, just add a bit of water. Don’t forget to taste and adjust the salt if you need to add more.

NOW, for the “little things” that count. The golf cart has been giving me a hard time when I first start it…I push down on the accelerator and it just sits there and whines….rrrr, rrrr, rrrr. And then it starts. In other words, there are NO “jack rabbit starts” when it comes to my golf cart! One day I got down in the middle of the creek bed and I was afraid it wasn’t going to get me out!

Farmer Bob said it was probably the battery, so, knowing he was going to be out of town AND the weather was turning cold, he took that battery out and installed a brand new one. WOW! What a difference! I can spin gravel now! hahaha Thank you, Farmer Bob!

The bad news is that my golf cart needs new tires…the nubby kind for traversing the farm terrain, and they’re super expensive. I hope we can find a good deal because I sure don’t want to think of doing chores without my trusty golf cart with its hydrolic dump bed. It makes all the work here doable for me. I think that Carly and Blair would miss it almost as much as I would.

We have ground lamb at a great price (just $5.99/lb.) so you can try my recipe for Hungarian Lamb Soup. Call or text during the week to stock up on all different cuts of lamb (we are sold out of racks currently), our own fresh blue and brown eggs, Granny Bee’s honey, soap, quilted and crafty things, and more. Or come by to visit our farm market every Sunday afternoon from 1:00-5:00. 803-804-3541

EIEIO!
Debbie