Sigh

Before I get back to work on the Great Big Glob of Essay, I thought I'd give you a little weekend grilling assignment.

Semi-Greek Lamb Chops

You'll need:

8-10 Lamb chops

1/2 red onion, quartered

5 cloves of garlic, halved

5 sprigs or stalks or whatever of fresh oregano

10 leaves of fresh mint

1 lemon, halve

Extra virgin olive oil

Fresh ground pepper and kosher sal

Lay the chops in a pan just big enough to hold them. Squeeze one half of the lemon all over the meat. Throw the garlic in there, and arrange the onion chunks in between the chops. Cover everything with the oregano and mint. Drizzle olive oil over everything, then squeeze the second lemon half over the mess. Add sprinkled salt and ground pepper to taste. It should look something like this:

Stick it in the fridge, covered, for a couple hours.

Grill your chops over extremely hot charcoal, for an absolute max of 90 seconds per side. You want to get them extra-caramelized on the outside, and rare-to-medium-rare on the inside. Know what else is tasty? Put those onion chunks on the fire for about 45 seconds and serve them with the veggie.

Starch? I like angel hair pasta, tossed with olive oil and your leftover herbs. For your veggies, try a spinach salad with those onions on top. If you like your spinach wilted, then toss the salad while the onions are still hot. Use a little lemon, olive oil, and pepper for the dressing.

The best part is picking up the chops and eating them with your soon-to-be lickable fingers. The second best part is that your loved one's fingers will be lickable, too.

Or do I have that the wrong way around?night, I got to the last page of Tobias Buckell's Crystal Rain. The right/libertarian side of the blogosphere has been buzzing about this book for a couple weeks now, and all I can add is that the buzz is dead-on.