be 14 Rediscover the delights of lamb as more reaches the market Undermeath all that soft wooly fleece is a great deal of flavour and nutrition — are discovering every But lamb more than any other meat perhaps also needs the correct kinds of side dishes and condiments to really bring out its unique flavour. We've included several variations for lamb, plus some interesting dishes that will compliment any of them. Leg of Lamb Sib. leg of lamb salt & pepper 1 tbs. oregano 1 clove garlic % butter juice of one lemon 2small onions - chopped 4 sprigs parsley lc water 4 mushrooms chopped - dried 1, Preheat oven to 450°F. 2. Place lamb on rack - skin side up in open roasting pan. Rub meat with salt & pepper, oregano and garlic. Melt butter, add lemon juice, pour over meat. Add onions, parsley and mushrooms and 4 ¢ water to pan. Place in oven - roast for 20 minutes. |. Add remaining water - lower oven to 350°F and roast to desired doneness. Baste oc- casionally. Lambchops with mixed Vegetables 8 rib lamb chops 1 clove garlic 3 tbs. oil % c stock, wine or water 1 tsp. tomato paste Garnish vegetables: l eggplant sliced 2zucchinisliced 1 large green pepper - cut in strips 2 tomatoes - seeded and cut in strips 2 tbs. olive oil 1 clove crushed garlic salt & pepper Method: Trim fat from ends of the chop bone to expose 1 inch of bone, then scrape bone ends clean. Rub meat with the cut side of the garlic and set aside. Prepare vegetable garnish - sprinkle the eggplant and zucchini slices with salt and leave 30 minutes then rinse in cold water and drain, dry on paper towels. Heat half the oil in skillet, add eggplant and saute until soft. Take out, add zucchini with remaining oil and cook until soft. Put the eggplant back with the green pepper, tomatoes and garlic. Season - cook gently stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Lambchops - Cook chops - heat oil and fry chops for 2-3 minutes on each side or until brown. Season after browning on one side, Take from the pan and arrange on platter on the other side of the vegetable gamish. Keep wamn. Discard fat from pan and dissolve the meat juices with stock or wine. Stir in tomato paste. Simmer for 1 minute and pour sauce on chops. Seven Rice ue c rice 4 slices bacon - diced 2 tbs. butter 1¢(% lb.) mushrooms - sliced 1c peas or 1 pkg. frozen peas 2 medium tomatoes, seeded & cut in 8 pieces. Method: Rice - boil rice in salt water for 10-12 minutes or until cooked, drain in colander - rinse with hot water. Leave for 30 minutes. Ina large frying pan fry bacon for 2 minutes then add mushrooms. Fry 5 minutes until bacon is brown, then add rice, peas and tomatoes. Season well - toss with fork over heat for-2 minutes until hot. Serve with lamb stew. Spinach Mold 3-4 c capacity mold 1% lbs. fresh spinach or a pkg. frozen spinach (or swiss chard) 3 tbs. butter ‘4 ¢ fresh white bread crumbs % chot milk legg yolk & 2eggs salt & pepper 3 tbs. browned bread crumbs (for sprinkle) _ 2c or % Ib. mushrooms (sauteed in butter) 12 slices crisply fried bacon (garnish) 2c moray sauce Method: Wash spinach, remove tough LAMBS ARE CUTE on the hoof and delicious in the pot. With the growth in the Canadian sheep poputation lamb is coming back onto the tables of the Nation and many are disco’ vering its special delights. stems, steam in a little waer for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain thoroughly - press out water. Puree in blender. Melt butter in pan - add spinach - cook for 3-4 minutes, stir until moisture has evaporated and puree is firm. Cool. Soak the fresh bread crumbs in hot milk and add spinach with egg and egg yolk beaten to mix - add seasoning. Butter the mold - sprinkle with browned bread crumbs and put in spinach mixture. Cover with buttered foil, stand in a water bath and bake in 350°F oven for 45-55 minutes or until mold is firm to the touch. Remove from water bath and leave 2-3 minutes. Turn out onto a platter. Surround the spinach mold with sauteed mushrooms and crisp bacon and serve with mornay sauce separately. Mornay Sauce: Melt 2 tbs. butter in a pan. Stir in 2 tbs. flour off heat. Pourin2¢ milk and bring to boil. Simmer for 2 minutes while stirring. Season and cool before adding % ¢ grated Gruyere or cheddar cheese. Stir in 1 tsp. dijon-style or prepared mustard and season to taste. (Be careful not to boil the sauce after adding mustard or it will spoil the taste). Minted Pears 1can pear halves or fresh pears 4 c green creme de menthe Drain pears and marinate in 4% creme de menthe overnight in refrigerator. If using fresh pears - poach for 10-15 minutes, drain, then pour on creme de menthe. An alternative idea is to use pear halves and serve with mint jelly in the center. Interest in winter wheat revived by new varieties Interest in winter wheat may be down a bit in western Canada, but researchers say there are better yields ahead. Varieties with improved winter hardiness and disease resistance will make winter wheat a more reliable crop with wider adaptability. Norstar, a new winter wheat variety that was developed at the Agriculture Canada Research Station at Lethbridge, Alta., is showing good performance after first year of commercial production. Mark Grant, the biseder who developed it, says Norstar has a higher level of winter hardiness than Winalta or Sundance, the previously recommended varieties for western “Norstar survived last winter almost 100 percent on dryland plots at the research station,”’ he says. “It was a good test. The winter was one of the coldest on record, but Norstar came through all right. Winalta suffered about a 10 percent winterkill.”" Beating disease. Plant breeders in eastern Canada also have variety candidates developing that will boost the performance of winter wheat. L.F. Gates, a plant pathologist at the Agriculture Canada Research Station at Harrow, Ont., says plant breeders to Gates, streak mosaic is the most per- sistent disease threat. ‘‘This disease lowers yields as much as 5 percent in Ontario,”’ he says. Although a fungicide can be used to hold off the soil-borne virus that causes this disease, it’s an expensive way to go. ‘‘Varietal resistance is a better solution,’* Gates continues. ‘‘We havefound - several wheat lines that show promise. Halytchanka, a Russian red winter wheat, has very good resistance to the disease. In test plots, crosses from lines of that variety and others have remained disease-free alongside Fredrick, Yorkstar and other widely planted varieties that sustained moderate damage from spindle streak. Breeding and selection are boosting the yields and quality of lines that have this resistance, so the project is coming along well.’* In western Canada, scientists are working to develop wheat . varieties that resist wheat streak mosaic. This disease is caused by an insect-borne virus, Researchers say this damaging disease is carried by an almost-microscopic mite. The mite spreads virus from spring wheat to fall-seeded wheat if the spring crop is late and green plant material is still present when winter wheat seedlings emerge. Winter wheat that has resistance to the mite has been developed at the Lethbridge research station, but researchers say it will be several years before acceptable varieties will be available. Priorities. Crop specialists are also putting heavy emphasis on the right cultural practices for growing winter wheat. In southern Alberta, for example, farmers now know they have from 1 September | to 15 to plant winter wheat. Before that they run a very high risk of getting wheat streak mosaic in the emerging crop. Later planting does not allow sufficient root growth for winter wheat to hang on through severe winter temperatures. “We still get questions about bending those dates a few days one way or the other in southern Alberta,” says Urban Pittman, soil specialist at Agriculture Canada’s Lethbridge Research Station, ‘‘but most farmers now have gotten the message.” Convincing farmers that it’s essential to plant winter wheat shallow has been a little more difficult, he continues. Winter wheat has to be planted shallow, in a firm seedbed. Pittman says he checked several fields this spring where winterkill was severe and found the wheat had been seeded 2% to 3 inches (60 to 75 mm) deep. He says 1% inches (40 mm) is the absolue maximum for planting depth. For a field in good condition, with firm soil and good moisture, he recommends a seeding depth of % to % inches (15 to 20 mm). Researchers say they don't know all the reasons why shallow- seeded wheat survives the winter so much better than deep-seeded wheat. However, recent studies in growth chambers and in greenhouses show that shallow- seeded winter wheat always produces a larger root system than controls that were deep seeded. Surprising response. Good fertility levels are also important for survival of winter wheat. High levels of phosphorus improve the winter hardiness of winter wheat. This has shown up in several tests in areas where winter wheat is a borderline crop. ‘‘The new variety Norstar responds especially well to what might be considered a heavy application of phosphorus,” Pittman says, In tests for phosphorus response, researchers applied as much as 80 pounds of P205 per acre (90 kg/ha) with the seed (Norstar wheat). They got good survival results and 80 bushels per acre (5.38 tonnes per hectare) with the high-phosphoms treatment. In plots where only 40 pounds (45 kg/ha) of P205 was applied, the best yield was about 65 bushels per acre (4.37 t/ha). Response to nitrogen has been less dramatic, researchers say. However, they do recommend - that adequate levels be maintained for fast spring growth. Nitrogen is also necessary to produce good quality and protein content in winter wheat. Winter wheat is spreading to more acres in Saskatchewan. Brian Fowler, a wheat breeder at the University of Saskatchewan, says good cultural practices are definitely necessary to grow winter wheat in this province. “With some snow cover throughout the winter, we can usually get a hardy variety like Norstar through the winter in good shape,’” he says. ‘Stubble is important, in fact vital, to holda snow cover on the field."* Fowler says there are several possibilities for providing stubble or crop barriers to trap snow for winter insulation of winter wheat, but the easiest method is to plant it in the standing stubble of a previous crop such as rape or grain. If the previous crop comes off early and moisture is good, no seedbed preparation is necessary. Spray for winter annual weeds and plant, he says. Hoetype drills have worked well for seeding winter wheat in stubble in his experiments, Fowler adds. Although new varieties have improved the hardiness of winter wheat and are helping reduce disease damage, researchers caution that careful crop management is still the number one factor for good yields. Following the management guidelines they suggest will usually produce. the most consistent performance with winter wheat. From The Furrow John Deere Limited PARTICIMOTION | _SundayJune 1ST’80 7 1A MULTIPLE PURPOSE VAN | e —T