Monday with Marcia Lowry--Racist Sheep?

I think I see the culprit...Mama Olive.

Who could NOT love a face like this....her OWN mother that's who! For the second time in her 3 year lambing career, mom "Olive" has rejected one of her babies. Olive is all black ...with some silver showing, as she ages.

The first year she had twins, one black, one white. She tried to beat the white lamb into the ground just minutes after he was born, but loved up on the black one. So we bottle raised "Charlie" that year - feeding him milk replacer (very costly) 4 times daily for two months...a major commitment. I thought maybe Olive's issue was having two to care for, but the next year, Olive had two black babies and loved them both.

This year, she had twins again - a black and a white and once again beat up on the white baby lamb? So now, we are bottle feeding "Mandy" and Olive is SOL down the road.

And on that note...here's a favorite recipe for lamb,or it maybe mutton this time around!

Potato and Lamb Moussaka

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2 pounds peeled baking potato, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preparation

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add one-third of potato slices to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Transfer potato to bowl. Repeat procedure with cooking spray and remaining potato slices.

2. Preheat oven to 350°.

3. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, garlic, and lamb to pan; cook 3 minutes or until lamb begins to brown. Add bell peppers, tomato sauce, salt, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, and parsley; cook 10 minutes.

4. Arrange half of potato slices in a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange lamb mixture over potatoes; top with remaining potato slices. Combine milk and eggs in a small bowl; pour over potato mixture. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until top is golden and set. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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