Lamb Kebabs

I apologise profusely for my absence, I think there has been a conspiricy to keep me out of the kitchen lately. Firstly, my shifts have changed at work, and I now get home around 8:30pm, which although being better than the night shift it means I have no time to plan meals, and most importantly no desire to cook them! Secondly, my oven died. I was in the middle of making Nigellas Norwegian cinnamon buns and went to take them out after the 25 minutes stated, and found a gooey tepid warm mess. I left them in for another 40 minutes, still uncooked, when I realised the oven was barely warm. GRRRRR! It took 4 days and a repairmans visit to realise the fuse had blown ( I know, silly me). The only reassuring fact is that even if I had known it was the fuse, I would never have found it anyway- it was hidden behind some secret panel I never knew existed!

Back to Forever Summer. Spring is finally emerging in Quebec, and the snow is beginning to melt. I have my eye on some of those salads that I put off during the winter. My husband had been hinting very loudly that after my latest soup binge he was in NEED of meat. Lamb kebabs was an obvious choice. I marinaded the meat a good 24 hours, and we both loved the lemony overtone. I made Delias pilaf rice to go with it, an household favorite. I think the kebabs will be even better when made on the bbq this summer, served with a crisp green salad and jacket potato. Roll on BBQ season!

Dime Bar Ice Cream

You might be feeling a little deja-vu here, as Sarah and KJ have both recently made this ice cream. I shared Sarahs apprehension that I was going to find myself with a tub of vanilla with dime bar chips in it (listen to me! As if thats a terrible fate...). Lets just say that all the other ice cream flavours in the book have prepared me for the most delicious combinations possible. I stocked up on Dime bars during my last trip to Ikea (months ago) and hid them in the cupboard so as not to be tempted. In fact I hid them so well I forgot about them as they would never have survived as long otherwise! Nigella and I share the fact that we both used to be Dime bar addicts, and although I didn't become a pusher like her, I have relapses now and again...

The ice cream actually absorbs the flavour of the dime bars, making it slightly malty tasting. I LOVED it, and shall run to Ikea as fast as my little legs can carry me to stock up on more Dime bars!