WHAT’S COOKIN’

Serving lamb roasted or navarin

By Catherine Metzger Redstone Review

LYONS – We celebrated Labor Day, our anniversary, and a birthday with a threepound Snyder Ranches’ leg of lamb, so this week we’ve been enjoying lamb two ways – roasted and navarin.

Roasted lamb is a simple delight the night it comes out of the oven, fragrant and tasty, but there are lots of leftovers when there are just the two of us at table. Assembling lamb navarin, or lamb stew, expands what remains to include turnips, carrots, potatoes, peas and gravy, which means you won’t be cooking dinner for a few days. It’s a win-win especially if you have other projects going besides dinner, and, who doesn’t?

Roast Leg of Lamb A 3- to 4-pound leg of lamb 1 clove of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced Kosher salt Melted butter or ghee • Preheat oven to 450°. • Rub the leg of lamb all over with the garlic, then insert a few slices into tiny slits you cut in the flesh. • Spread the melted butter or ghee all over the lamb. • Place in a roasting pan or Dutch oven and roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375° and continue roasting, turning the lamb frequently with long metal tongs. Baste frequently. • Allow 18 minutes per pound for well done meat. For a larger leg of lamb weighing six or seven pounds, roast for about 12 to 15 minutes per pound to reach medium-rare. • Remove the lamb from the oven and from the roasting pan and make pan gravy, if desired. If you don’t make gravy, scrape the drippings from the pan and keep them for stew making tomorrow.

Lamb Stew The remains of a of a 3-pound leg of lamb Drippings from the roast lamb 1 t chopped shallot or onion 2 T flour 3/4 C canned or fresh tomatoes, diced 1/2 C red wine (optional) 1 stalk of celery, sliced crosswise into small pieces 1 t parsley 1 small bay leaf 1/4 t thyme 2 C chicken stock 2 C water 1 medium turnip, peeled and diced 5 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks 1 1/2 C peeled and sliced carrots 1/3 C green peas, fresh or frozen Salt and pepper Glazed Onions 2 T butter 1 medium-sized onion, sliced, or 12 peeled pearl onions A sprinkle of sugar 1/4 C water • Cut leftover lamb off the bone and into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. • Bring a large Dutch oven to medium high heat and add the drippings from the roasting pan, the teaspoon of chopped shallots or onion, and the flour. Cook for two minutes, stirring to combine. • Add the tomatoes and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. • Add the half cup of red wine along with the celery, parsley, bay leaf and thyme. Add the stock and the water and stir to combine. Add the lamb chunks. • Add the turnips, potatoes and carrots. Let the stew cook for 40 minutes, half covered, until the vegetables are tender. • To make the Glazed Onions: In a small frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the uncooked sliced or pearl onions. Sprinkle them with the sugar. Add the water. Let cook until the water has evaporated and the onions are beginning to caramelize. Set aside. • In the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the peas and the glazed onions to the stew. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a baguette.

A late summer zucchini salad

By Barbara Shark Redstone Review

LYONS – As the summer slowly turns to fall, my zucchini plants have sprawled over their garden bed. Big, prickly leaves hide just the right size squashes, if I spot them before they become unwieldy clubs. The stealthy giant zucchini is a challenge for all of us vegetable gardeners.

My considerate plants have put out fruit at a reasonable pace. I can keep up with their production if I am vigilant in my harvesting.

One of our favorite zucchini dishes comes from Yotam Ottolenghi’s book Plenty, a marvelous compendium of vegetable recipes.

Zucchini and Hazelnut Salad This recipe is for two but can easily be doubled or tripled. Cut two medium sized zucchini into long skinny strips 3/8 inches wide, either diagonally or along their length. Toss with a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat Shark a grill pan or a cast iron skillet until very hot. Lay the zucchini on the dry pan and sear until grill marks appear, just a minute or two on each side. You don’t want to cook the zucchini but rather barely soften it and get a bit of char. Spread the strips on a platter and sprinkle with a teaspoon of your best balsamic vinegar. Top with 1/4 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts, shaved parmesan and torn basil leaves.

Barbara Shark is an artist and authorwho lives near Lyons. For more recipes, read her blog at www.howilearnedtocookanartistslife.blog.

Catherine Ripley Metzger has been cooking professionally and privately since 1979. She was a French cuisine journeyman at the celebrated Henri d’Afrique restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Today she is the proprietor of the food blog www.foodfortheages.com and cooks with curiosity from the ground up in her log cabin home on the Western Slope of Colorado.

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collected monthly as posted in the Colorado state accounting system. Tax revenue comes from the state sales tax (2.9 percent) on marijuana sold in stores, the state retail marijuana sales tax (15 percent) on retail marijuana sold in stores, and the state retail marijuana excise tax (15 percent) on wholesale sales/transfers of retail marijuana. Fee revenue comes from marijuana license and application fees.

The Colorado Dept. of Revenue reports the tax revenue by calendar year as: 2021: $290,533,333 (Jan. to Aug.) 2020: $387,480,110 2019: $302,458,426

During the last six years, Colorado has collected over $1.6 billion – that’s just at the state level – in marijuana taxes and fee revenues. As is still true for many states, millions of dollars in untaxed transactions took place in the black market. Colorado has pioneered a lawful, commercial, adult-use market generating billions of dollars in tax dollars for state, according to Forbes magazine.

According to Amendment 64, the first $40 million or 90 percent (whichever was greater) was to go to a capital construction grant program, where schools, districts, and various education providers could apply for money to build new buildings or renovate existing facilities, stated by Forbes magazine

The recreational 15 percent special sales tax, minus a local share, goes to the state’s general fund. A fraction is taken for the Department of Education’s State Public School Fund, and the remainder goes to the Marijuana Tax cash fund. Since retail sales became legal in 2012, 16.4 percent of the Marijuana Tax cash fund’s budget, has gone to education initiatives. According to the Colorado Sun, lawmakers also set aside $25 million to help school districts set up full-day kindergarten programs.

Lyons Museum open until October 3

LYONS – The Lyons Museum will close for the season on Sunday, October 3. Some may work there through the winter. Until then the museum is open daily.

An event for minority owned businesses

LYONS – Workforce Boulder County will be offering a virtual Recruiting, Hiring Retaining Training Series for minority-owned businesses in September. Recruiting and Hiring Talent will be held September 22 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Training Talent will be held September 29 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and Retaining Talent will be held on October 6 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. To register for these events or for more information please go to wfbiz@bouldercounty.org or call 720-776-0822.

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Browning casting the dissenting vote. Trustee Browning said that records show that when McCain applied for Commercial Zoning he promised the board in 2006 that in return for the board granting him Commercial Zoning he specifically promised that he would terminate his industrial use of the property and he did not do that. He said he would develop the property commercially but he didn’t. He promised that for a long period of time, Trustee Browning pointed out. This poses problems for future boards, he added.

Trustee Browning went on to say that this rezoning clearly does not fit with the comp plan. He went on to say that he believes that this rezoning fits the definition of Spot Zoning and could open up the town for future legal action.

In other news Administrator Simonsen said thank you to Tony Cavalier, Carl Marshbanks and Jill Johnson in helping train and transition Lyons’ new Finance Director Cassey Eyestone. She said the staff is thrilled to have Eyestone on their team. “She is ready, willing and able to take on the challenge,” Simonsen said.

Regarding GOCO Grant Improvements, plans for the Black Bear Hole and 2nd Avenue parking lot are underway. The town is planning to formalize approximately 118 parking spots, storm drainage and a public restroom in the parking lot. Black Bear Hole will have parking improvements, replacement sod, tiered stone seating and new wooden planks on the bridge. This project is anticipated to occur over the winter.

The town board discussed the St. Vrain Trail. The trail has been planned for over 40 years, beginning with the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan in 1978. The goals are to create a safe, functional, offstreet connection between downtown Lyons and the Eastern Corridor of Lyons and, eventually, better trail connectivity to the City of Longmont and Boulder. This will provide additional public safety benefits, better accessibility, and environmental and economic benefits to the town and the future Eastern Corridor Development.

The board asked Administrator Simonsen to enter into an IGA (Intergovernmental Agreement) with CDOT authorizing expenditures toward the grant that they have for the trail. The board will ratify the decision by resolution on the Sept. 20 town board meeting.