I wrote:

> Braised Lamb Shanks with Vegetables and Vodka

The beets had turned spongy, so I used turnips instead. But since I only
like turnips if they've been caramelized, I made that a separate step in the
recipe: The shanks were browned in grapeseed oil, the meat was removed from
the pan, and the turnips (cut into half-moon shapes) were cooked until
lightly browned on one side. Then the pan was deglazed with the tomato-vodka
mixture, the mirepoix chunks and turnip chunks were added, and the recipe
proceeded routinely from that point.


> Black-Eyed Peas with Turmeric and Butter

This made a believer out of Lin; she'd been concerned that the black-eyed
peas would be tasteless without bacon. But I've made this one many times
before; the black-eyed peas come out with a lovely creamy texture and a
"pure" taste. She liked it a lot.


> Chard with Garlic

This was another simple-but-nice preparation. I had intended to make it in
the mini-crockpot, but the uncooked greens were just too voluminous for that
to be practical, and I ended up cooking it on the stovetop.


> Tomato-Mint Relish

This stuff was addictive, especially with the lamb! I deviated from my prior
description of the dish by adding finely-chopped red onion.


> I'm not sure what we'll drink with that; probably iced tea.

We ended up drinking red wine[1] and iced tea[2].

To serve, some of the black-eyed peas were placed at one end of an oval
platter and some of the chard was placed at the other end. Some of the
braised vegetables were put into the center, the shanks were put on top in a
kind of "69" formation, and more braised vegetables filled in any empty
spots. (The tomato-mint relish had its own bowl.)

Pictures will be posted on Lin's Facebook page because Sheldon can eat a bag
of shit.

Bob
[1] It was Mount Vernon Winery's 2008 Sierra Foothills "Expression" red
table wine.
[2] It was Republic of Tea's "Tea of Inquiry" a blend of green tea leaves
and toasted rice.