Do It Yourself

Six years ago, while spending a summer with my sister in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, a guy I barely knew asked me if I’d like to “float down the Susquehanna River” with about twelve of his friends on a raft that he had built out of plywood and empty beer kegs. I had to admit, I’d gotten wind of this project and was a little skeptical that he would actually be able to pull it off. But on a beautiful Sunday in July, the raft that Ryan built, equipped with a mini barbeque and a half-keg of beer, floated smoothly down the Susquehanna River for four hours while we sipped Yuengling, ate hot dogs and soaked up the Pennsylvania sun.

My boyfriend Ryan struck me immediately as the do-it-yourself type of person. Whether it is building a raft out of kegs or teaching himself how to play guitar, he is always in the middle of tackling some project or another. Right now he has twenty gallons of Dortmunder lager, English strong ale, raspberry nut brown beer and Belgian abbey beer, brewing in his basement. Just for fun.

Lucky for me, Ryan’s do-it-yourself mentality translates to the kitchen as well. I am never surprised to find two or three jars of something pickling in his fridge or a container of cabbage fermenting into kimchi on the kitchen counter. When he comes over, it is often with Tupperware containers filled with some delicious homemade soup or stew, a pound of salmon that he cold-smoked himself, or some sort of baked good that he made without ever looking at a recipe. Right now in my fridge, is a jar of his homemade pesto, made from the last of his summer basil. Although his backyard consists of a plot of concrete, this hasn’t stopped him from growing an herb and vegetable garden in a series of pots on his deck.

Whereas most of us probably think there are some foods that are best made by experts, Ryan never hesitates to try out a new recipe or cooking technique. While sampling unfamiliar dishes like ahi poke, char siu, and loco moco on our recent vacation to Hawaii, I heard him exclaim several times, “I have to make this when we get back!” This trip also inspired his resolve to start making his own jams, salamis and a hot sauce. And why not? Most of us would never think about making our own hot sauce when we can easily pick up a bottle of Tabasco at the store. But Ryan enjoys the laborious processes of brining, smoking, stewing, pickling, roasting, brewing, and growing his own food.

Ryan also likes cooking because he says it is “a mixture of science and art.” He finds the scientific processes involved in different cooking techniques fascinating and approaches them at the molecular level. When we’re cooking together we’re not making a salad dressing, we’re “emulsifying,” and we’re not browning the onions we’re “carbonizing” them. When I ask Ryan how to brew beer I don’t get a set of directions, I get a lesson on microbiology. Understanding not only how to make something using the do-it-yourself mentality, but also the scientific reasoning for why it must be done that way, is important to his cooking experience.

Ryan's recipe is braised lamb shank:

Braised Lamb Shank

4 lamb shanks

2 large onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbs chopped fresh rosemary (3 or 4 tbs if dried)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 cup red wine
stock or water
2 cups mushrooms, chopped

Season the lamb shanks with salt. Brown each side in a Dutch oven or large pot at medium high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. Remove the shanks from the pot. Add onions and celery and sauté until tender or until the onions begin to brown. Return the shank to the pot. Add next 5 ingredients: tomatoes through red wine. Add stock or water until shanks are two thirds submerged in liquid, bring to a simmer, and cover with low heat. Mix periodically and adjust heat if not simmering. Add fresh black pepper and salt to taste.
While simmering the shanks, bring a large sauté pan to medium high heat with two tablespoons of olive oil. Add mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms are brown and slightly crispy around the edges. Add to lamb shanks.
Add fresh black pepper and salt to taste, but remember the broth will appear saltier as the liquid evaporates. Simmer lamb shanks until fork tender but before the meat falls easily off the bone (approximately 90-120 minutes). Simmer uncovered for the last 20 minutes if a thicker sauce is desired.
Serve with potatoes. Garnish with rosemary.