Lamb to the Slaughter(learning style, Naturalist)

Advocates for grass-fed products are quick to point out the numerous health benefits that can be obtained from grass feeding livestock. According to various research studies, the meat and milk from grass-fed ruminants contains more conjugated lineolic acid (CLA), vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, beta-carotene, and vitamin A than the meat and milk from grain-fed animals.

CLA and omega-3 fatty acids are good fats with anti-cancer, anti-diabetes, and anti-fat properties. The improved nutritional profile of grass-fed meat and milk may enable some producers to command a premium price for their products if they direct market them to consumers, restaurants, and specialty food stores/chains.

http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/grassfed.html
The Caloric Value of Lamb can be found at the following website.


http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/sheep/ansc442/Semprojs/marketing/lamb.htm



The lamb leg that Mary Maloney used to hit Patrick could have been about 3-4 kilograms.



Below is a recipe that Mrs. Maloney could have followed to cook the lamb of leg for Sergeant Noonan and the other policemen.



Roast Leg of Lamb Recipe

The marinade we used on this roast comes from my friend Suzanne and it works quite well. A simpler marinade of rosemary, olive oil, garlic, pepper, and lemon juice would do the trick quite nicely too. One can also make tiny slices into the surface of the roast and insert slivers of garlic and herbs.

INGREDIENTS

Marinade

1/2 cup orange juice

1 cup white wine

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme

2 Tbsp of fresh chopped rosemary or 1 Tbsp of dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

Blend ingredients in a blender, just a few pulses until well mixed.



Lamb Roast

1 (6-pound) leg of lamb, bone-in or boneless. If boneless, the leg should be tied up with kitchen string by butcher.

Marinade

Salt

METHOD



1 Place lamb and marinade into a plastic bag. Squeeze out as much of the air as possible from the bag and seal. Wrap again with another plastic bag to ensure that the marinating lamb doesn't leak. Marinate for several hours, or overnight, in the refrigerator. Remove the lamb, still in its marinade bag, from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before putting in the oven to help bring the lamb closer to room temperature before roasting.

2 Preheat oven to 425°F. Arrange two racks in the oven - a middle rack to hold the lamb, and a lower rack to hold a roasting pan with which to catch the drippings. Place the empty roasting pan in the oven while the oven is pre-heating. Note that this arrangement of racks and pans, with the roast sitting directly on the oven rack, will create a natural convection of heat in the oven, causing the roast to cook more quickly than if cooked the traditional method in a rack in a roasting pan.



3 Remove the lamb roast from its marinade bag (you may want to temporarily place lamb in another roasting pan, just to make it less messy to work with.) Pat dry the marinade off the lamb with paper towels. Generously salt and pepper all sides of the roast. Arrange fattiest side up, so while the lamb is cooking the fat will melt into the meat. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast, not touching the bone if your roast is bone-in. Place directly on middle rack of the oven, with a roasting pan on a separate rack a rung lower, to catch the drippings. You may also want to put some water (a cup or so) in the bottom roasting pan, so that the drippings fall into the water instead of burning in the hot pan and smoking up your kitchen.

4 Roast at 425°F for 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 300°F and roast an additional hour (for a 6 pound roast), about 10-12 minutes per pound. If you are cooking a roast bone-in, the bone will act as an insulator and will require a longer cooking time than a boneless roast.

Note that the method of cooking directly on the oven rack will mimic a convection oven and the cooking time/oven temp needed will be less than you would need if you cooked the roast on a rack in a roasting pan. If you are cooking the roast in a roasting pan, rack or not, start the roast at 450°F and then reduce the heat to 325°F. Also, the shape of the roast will have an impact on the cooking time. Our roast was rather long and thin, so it cooked up fairly quickly. A thicker roast may take longer than expected.

At this point start checking the meat thermometer. Note that every time you open the oven door, you'll need 10 minutes or so to bring the oven back up to temperature, thus slowing down the cooking process. So, don't check too often. Remove from the oven anywhere from 130°F to 135°F for medium rare. Lamb should never be cooked until well done or it will be too dry. Let stand for 15-20 minutes before carving. Cut away the kitchen string and slice with a sharp carving knife, 1/2 inch thick slices, against the grain of the meat.



5 While the roast is resting, use a metal spatula to scrape up the drippings in the roasting pan. Use the drippings to make gravy, or use just the drippings themselves to serve with the lamb.

Serves 8 to 10. Serve with some homemade mint jelly for an added treat.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/roast_leg_of_lamb/

Ending to The Lady or the Tiger by Frank R. Stockton

The ending:

The monstrous beast appeared at the door, inches from the man. He gave a gasp of horror and stared at the princess with despair. This time, his glance asked her: "Why did you do this to me?" The princess closed her eyes. As the tiger pounced onto her lover and ripped him into pieces, the princess felt as though her heart was being pierced by a spear. The savage tiger tore and shredded the flesh from the man with its razor-sharp teeth as he screamed in pain. Puddles of his innocent blood formed on the arena. Within minutes, the man was reduced into a heap of bones. The tiger raised its bloody head and gave a loud roar to show its satisfaction. The princess cried profusely at the sight of this bloody scene. She hated the woman and did not want her lover to marry that horrid woman; however, she did not expect that losing her lover was that painful. Her semi-barbaric father had sat unmoving in his chair throughout the bloody slaughter and seemed to have enjoyed the show. "That was a perfect decision," her father said coldly to the princess as he took his leave.

Mary Maloney"s Diary (in ref. to "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl)

Dear Diary,

What have I done? I almost got myself into deep trouble! I still cannot believe I killed my husband. I wished I could go back in time to correct my errors . Perhaps I could have asked Patrick why he detested me and I could become a better wife. All this could be avoided if only...

Fortunately, my alibi was successful and I did not get caught, nor was the murder weapon found. Thanks to Patrick's compassionate mates.On the bright side, I can now live peacefully with my baby without that uncaring jerk. I really loved Patrick with all my heart, expressing my care and concern to him whenever he was down. How could he dump me like this? I am really heartbroken. I must now find another companion that would accompany me.

To clarify matters, I did not kill my husband on purpose. The moment I heard Patrick say that he was going out, I seemed as though I was possessed . Everything seemed so automatic, my hands seemed compelled to swing the lamb leg on his head.

I am not sure whether his death is more of a good thing or a bad thing. 

              

Newspaper Report - Facebook User Made Police Report (The Straits Times, 5 February 2010)

When full-time national serviceman, Prhabagaran, joined a Facebook discussion on the things parents do to frighten their children into behaving, he expected to be amused.  However, some remarks about Indians made by someone called "Desmond Tan" offended him.  Prhabagaran felt that what he wrote was racist.  Desmond Tan posted on Facebook that parents made their children behave by making them afraid of Indians.
Prhabagaran made a police report on 31 January 2010.  On 4 February 2010, police announced the arrest of three teenagers including Desmond Tan under the Sedition Act. 

Racist remarks or comments are not tolerated in Singapore.  Singapore is a multi-racial country.  Making racist comments that are hateful, threatening, malicious or discriminating can lead to racial violence and threatened the stability of the country.  In the 1960s, Singapore experienced racial riots due to racism.  Many people were killed.  To prevent such riots from happening, severe penalties are implemented.

I strongly feel that we should learn from this incident to respect people of all races.  While we want to have freedom of speech, we must at all times measure our words.  A wrong comment can have serious consequences.