I’m still working on the box of lamb that I bought with Dorothy, and have been searching for something different to do with the ground lamb. Tonight I tried a recipe from Aromas of Aleppo, a book that Isabel Baker gave me. Isabel runs a fine children’s book catalog company and she knows good books. This gorgeous cookbook describes the cuisine of Aleppian Jews, who migrated from Syria to the U.S. in the early twentieth century. The lamb is exotic, yet so easy to prepare, combining finely chopped onion, allspice and cinnamon.

To make the rice pilaf I sauteed 1/2 cup chopped onion, a finely chopped large carrot, a teaspoon of cumin seeds and about 4 whole cloves in a little olive oil. I started brown rice in half water and half chicken stock, stirred in the sauteed vegetables, and then cooked the rice as usual.