lamb kofte kebabs and borscht

In my continued quest to find meat dishes I enjoy I have discovered this recipe for lamb kofte. Simply in Season cookbook has it as "middle eastern meatloaf" and one of its variations is to grill it it in small cylinders to use in pittas. We like the taste better than the ones we buy at the kebab shop.

400g lamb mince
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t allspice
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ground coriander
Mix and then shape into cylinders. Grill and serve in pitta pockets with tomatoes and parsley salad.

I made Borscht, a Mennonite dish, for the first time yesterday (also from the Simply in Season cookbook). It is made with beetroot and so it comes out really pink in colour. It's really easy to make with chicken, carrots, potatoes, dill and parsley. Justin is staying with us for a while and we enjoyed it together last night with toasted pitta.

spice drawer

I have taken a huge step forward in the organisation of my kitchen. I labelled all my spice bottles on their tops and I have put them in the bottom drawer. Now every time I need one I can just reach down and see everything! The drawer seems good to me since I know that light is bad for spices.

After I took this picture I decided to roughly alphabetise them as well (I know, a bit nerdy). So they run alphabetical left to right, give or take. At least I know approximately where to look to find the cinnamon and where to put back the paprika.