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I’ve been so bored with dinner lately. Seriously. I’m ready to change seasons and move on already. But, the fact of the matter is that here in Ontario it’s a good 6 (or more) weeks before spring will even start and many weeks after that before we’ll have any new local produce or nice weather.

So, in the meantime, I’m going to mix it up a bit by making entrées that feel springlike but that are still hearty enough to keep us going in the cold.

First up: Yummy lamb burgers seared in a grill pan.

Moroccan Spiced Lamb Burgers

1 small onion, peeled and finely grated
1 tbsp (15 mL) finely chopped fresh mint and lemon juice
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) hot pepper sauce
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1mL) pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup (125 mL) fresh breadcrumbs
1 lb (500 g) lean ground lamb
2 tbsp (30 mL) vegetable oil
4 pitas, halved
Lettuce, tomato and olives, feta, etc.

Combine the onion, mint, lemon juice, cinnamon, hot pepper sauce, salt, pepper egg and garlic. Stir together until well combined. Stir in the breadcrumbs. Crumble in the ground lamb and toss gently until evenly combined. Shape into four equal-sized patties.

Heat the oil in a large grill pan set over medium heat. Add the patties. Cook, covered, turning once or twice, for 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through. Lift out of pan and blot on a paper towel lined plate before serving. Serve in lettuce- and tomato-stuffed pita halves with feta. Makes 4 servings.

What transitional winter to spring foods are you making to stave off beef stew boredom?

It seems too cloyingly retro to put little frilly paper cuffs on the bones of a rack of lamb, but using a parchment paper or silver bone holder (called a manche, en Francais) for a larger roast has a truly practical purpose: it gives you a clean handle to hold when you’re carving your roast.

You can go fancy, like the silver ‘manche à gigot’, a clamp that is designed to be the perfect size for holding a leg of lamb. Or you can keep it simple like I did on Christmas Eve when I tied a triangle of parchment paper around the bone end of the whole ham I glazed for our family feast.

When’s the last time you cooked a bone-in roast? If you don’t do it often, what holds you back?

At long last, the heat and humidity has come to Toronto. We’ve had an amazingly summery week and I’ve loved every single minute of it. Seriously. You don’t hear me complaining about the heat – I even cycled to work and played tennis. I just love it!

The only downside to the hot weather is having to cook in a steamy kitchen. No fun. So, I took my dinner prep outdoors.

Pictured above is a yummy cauliflower curry that we sopped up with grilled naan bread. Once the curry was done I threw in some extra charcoal and grilled a few  lamb chops, too. It was a fantastic dinner if I do say so myself.

How do you beat the heat?  Do you order in, subsist on salads or what?

Curried Cauliflower over Charcoal:

Combine a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes with two tablespoons of mild, medium or hot curry paste and a tablespoon of minced ginger. Add a little extra cumin if you like. Cut up a small head of cauliflower and stir the florets and a handful of golden raisins into the mixture. (If you don’t live with Martin who is allergic to legumes, add some drained, rinsed chickpeas, too). Cook, stirring often, on the hot barbecue until the juices are thickened and the cauliflower is fork tender. Stir in chopped fresh mint or coriander and season, if necessary, with salt and pepper.