Lessons in Lethargy or Carbohydrates in times of Crisis.

It is day one of the fifth month of quarantine / isolation / apocalypse / the end of the world or whatever you’re choosing to call it. Day One of The Fifth Month of limited hugs and overwhelming loneliness and figuring out how to separate general anxiety from COVID anxiety from political anxiety from financial anxiety from the anxiety of feeling like I will die alone, an old maid who forgot how to love because it was all too fraught.

It is Day One of the Fifth Month and I am self medicating with weeknight carbs. The Halal butcher around the corner has made it too easy for me to procure incredible lamb, and tonight I have a pound of perfectly gamy ground lamb to use up. On Day One of the Fifth Month, I am no longer concerned with my waistline. On Day One of the Fifth Month, I will do whatever it takes to feel better for a moment. On Day One of the Fifth Month, I eat a hotdog bun for breakfast, frozen chicken nuggets for lunch and a popsicle and private label potato chips for a afternoon snack to satiate my emotional hunger, much more than my physical hunger. On Day One of the Fifth Month, my heart was ravenous for something to console my mind by way of my stomach.

Carbohydrates of the most simple variety are what I tend to self prescribe when I am feeling most vulnerable. The thing I turn to when my heart is ravenous for something to console my mind by way of my stomach. When everything I want is in conflict of everything I need. When conflict is the only constant, melancholy becomes the vibration that gets you through the day, and lethargy becomes abundant. Experts will tell you that Simple Carbohydrates were the last thing I needed on Day One of the Fifth Month, and meditation may have been a more prudent coping mechanism. Nothing is certain anymore except for one thing: In case of emotional emergency, I will always choose pasta over meditation.

xoxo lcf

Lamb Ragu

Ingredients

—

1 sweet onion, roughly chopped

1 bulb (yes, bulb), garlic, minced

1 lb ground lamb

16 oz crushed tomatoes

1 pint grape tomatoes

1 can anchovies

1 orange, zested and juiced

2 Tbsp. Oregano

1 Tbsp Dried Mint

1 Tbsp Onion Powder

2 Tbsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 Tbsp Dried Parsley

1/4 C. Bread Crumbs (I used matzoh meal because it’s what I had)

1/8 C. Milk (I used half and half because it’s what I had)

2 Eggs

Salt

1 lb pasta of your choice (I suggest Rigatoni or Orechetti for this)

Parm & Something Green to serve

Method

1. Begin with a large mixing bowl, combine your eggs, bread crumbs, milk, parsley, mint, onion powder, 1 Tbsp of pepper flakes, 1 Tbsp of Oregano and some salt.

2. To the above mixture, mix in your lamb, just until all ingredients are incorporated.

3. With the lamb mixture, form large balls, about the size of a baseball, set aside.

4. In a large pot over high heat, glug a bit of olive oil and a large pinch of salt and sweat your onions and garlic.

5. When onions and garlic are transparent, add crushed tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, anchovies, all remaining herbs and orange juice and zest. Bring to a boil.

6. Turn the heat down to create a constant, soft simmer. Slowly and carefully place your lamb balls into the simmering sauce (yes, rare) and let them simmer for about 30 minutes or until they are falling apart. These balls shouldn’t be perfect, nor should they stay completely in tact.

7. In a second pot, prepare pasta according to package directions.

8. Combine pasta and sauce - allowing the some of the balls to break up and coat the pasta as nature intended. Top with some kind of salty cheese and some kind of zingy green.