This weekend, I fell and sprained my ankle.  I walked across my front lawn and did not see the small hole beneath the grass – a hole just the right size to snag the top of a shoe.  I stepped right into it  and fell face up on the lawn, screaming in pain.  

So, a trip to the hospital and a few hours later, I found myself trapped at home with a soft cast and crutches.  For the first few days this week, I couldn’t really get around at all, but as the week progressed, I started doing more and more, and I depended less and less on the crutches.  

Needless to say, I am working from home this week, which means that I am cooking for myself every day.  As you know, I love to cook, but cooking everyday from necessity is a new experience for me.  I really like it. (Although hopping around on one foot is a bit cumbersome).  I can be as lazy or ambitious as I feel like it.  

Today, I woke up early (conference calls all day) and prepared a braised beef shank for dinner.  I started by sautéing some smoked bacon.






Then I seared the seasoned meat on both sides and removed it from the pan.  Once I removed the meat, I added a mirapoix of carrots, celery, onions and leeks to the bottom of the pan and began caramelizing them.  I deglazed with a touch of red wine, added some chicken stock, fresh minced parsley, bay leaves, and slivered garlic to the pot. I returned the meat to the middle of the pot, covered it, and put it in the oven at 200 degrees for the next eight hours.






When I finished working, I took the dish out of the oven and it looked like this:





I ate a piece of it with some of the veggies and gravy, along with a nice, thick piece of multigrain bread to sop-the gravy up with, and drank a glass (or two) of the red wine – Boggy Creek Vinyards 2002 Shiraz and Cabernet blend from King Valley, Australia.

The best part is that I have plenty left for lunch tomorrow.