Lamb

On February 23, 2007, MARJORIE I. LAMB. Friends may call at the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME EAST, 1101 E. North Avenue on Wednesday after 8 A.M., where the family will receive friends on Thursday at 6 P.M. Funeral services will follow at 6:30 P.M.

Harold L. Lamb, a retired executive who established a record time in the Maryland Senior Olympics 100-meter dash at age 77, died Friday of heart failure at his winter home in Lake Worth, Fla. He was 87 and lived in Baltimore.Nearly a half-century after he retired as a New York University track star, Mr. Lamb laced up his track shoes in 1988 and captured the 100-meter and 200-meter races conducted by Maryland Senior Olympics at then-Towson State University.A year earlier, he had won the gold medal in the 100-meter event but did not set a record.

Today is the one day each year when, supposedly, everyone becomes Irish. In an effort to celebrate with food and drink, delis add cabbage to corned beef and rye, and bakeries smear cream cheese on green bagels. And you might even find your all-American neighborhood bar serves green beer or red wine from bottles labeled Chateau McCarthy.Even the Irish themselves sometimes have trouble deciding what's the best meal to serve on St. Patrick's Day, although most cooks who plan to do a bit of celebrating opt for one-pot meals like Beef and Guinness, or Bacon and Cabbage, both of which leave lots of time for partying once the vegetables have been peeled.

Editor's note: In this season of movies about talking toys and family members that are mice, an overlooked playmate tells her true story. It's about a lamb ... and her beef.My name is Lambie. In our house, we don't say stuffed animal. You stuff mushrooms -- not friends. When strangers see me, they always say, "You look very loved." In other words, I look as though I've been hit by a truck.Anyway, here's my beef. I've seen a few of these holiday movies. (Frankly, I wouldn't mind seeing a few R-rated movies, but I always have to tag along with my 7-year-old, Hannah.

EVERY SO OFTEN you do something right and you're not sure exactly how you pulled it off. That happened to me recently when I successfully grilled a leg of lamb.My prior attempts at grilling lamb had produced results that were not pretty. Either I undercooked the lamb, ending up with a slab of meat so rare it would scare cannibals, or I overcooked it, ending up with meat so tough that it could plug holes in the Constellation.But the other night the lamb was perfect. Crispy on the outside, pink and juicy -- but not cold -- on the inside.

If you want to catch TV's most captivating series this summer, don't look to HBO. Don't look to MTV. Look to C-SPAN.The weekly "American Presidents: Life Portraits," three-hour treatments of each of the nation's 41 chief executives, may be television's most ambitious documentary project ever.But aside from its obvious value to history buffs, what makes "American Presidents" so compelling are the unexpected, often contentious debates that take place between the program's featured historians and its viewers who call in and offer very different takes on the American presidents.

Five years ago, a group of wide-eyed minor-leaguers stood near the door of the Orioles' spring-training clubhouse in Sarasota, Fla., waiting to catch a glimpse of Cal Ripken.Jesse Garcia was 20 then, starting his second professional season. Summoning all his courage, he asked Ripken to sign two baseballs that day, one for himself, one for his father."I was so nervous, I dropped one of the balls right in front of him," Garcia said.For all anyone knew at the time, meeting Ripken might have turned out to be the highlight of a career that looked less than promising.

Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost- cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.Sunday/FamilyFor a memorable family meal, serve Grilled Spiced Lamb (see recipe)

While visiting a remote Turkish village several years ago, I learned to make an amazing, nearly effortless casserole - what the Turks call guvec. The recipe called for thick chunks of lamb layered with eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes and bay leaves, all in a deep clay pot. We sealed it tight and carried it down to the village baker's wood oven, where it stewed gently all afternoon.It was a dish I'd nearly forgotten when our editor-in-chief suggested that I develop some slow-cooker recipes.I have to admit that my response was a little, well, slow.

In the spring when ewes are lambingand the rains do watchful standCome the days of gentle warmingLonger light on softer land.-- From "A Symphony for the Sheep" by C. M. Millen Like many families around the state, Cynthia and Ned Murray and any of their four children, assorted in-laws, two granddaughters and sprinkling of family friends who are free will gather at Mary's Meadows in Glyndon Sunday for a traditional Easter dinner featuring leg of lamb.But...

"Dying for Mercy" Mary Jane Clark (William Morrow, $24.99) It's another typically lavish, elegant gala at a sprawling estate in New York's exclusive Tuxedo Park, until the wealthy host is found dead. Eliza Blake, co-host of a popular morning TV show, witnesses the grotesque scene, and decides to put together the pieces of the puzzle before a brutal murderer wipes out the entire community. "Don't Know Much About Literature" Kenneth C. Davis (Harper, $14.99) Brush up on your Bronte, your Kafka, your Faulkner, your Melville and more with Davis' newest installment in the "Don't Know Much About" series of informational yet entertaining guides to just about everything.

Tucked inside Kitchen of India's leatherette menu is a page of five appetizers and six entrees titled "New Additions." I wouldn't be surprised if this page with the same items, give or take an appetizer, has been inserted like this since Kitchen of India opened two years ago. (The Indian-Nepalese restaurant Mount Everest used to have this location before it relocated to Nottingham.) If so, then that's pretty smart marketing. We tried, and liked, a few things off of the New Additions page, but I don't think we would have if they had been listed under "Chef Specialties."

Elfegne Ethiopian Cafe is a peach. Owned and operated, pretty much single-handedly, by former mortgage broker Emu Kidanewolde, this small and tidy 20-seat storefront cafe is more than just a great place to feast on inexpensive home-cooked Ethiopian food. Elfegne also acts as a de facto community center for the residents of Washington Village (aka Pigtown). It opens at 7 in the morning for breakfast (Kidanewolde will have been there for hours already, making homemade injera, the fermented Ethiopian bread staple)

Lamb is a popular dish in the spring. There are religious reasons. In Christian tradition, a lamb is symbolic of the risen Christ and is often the centerpiece of the Easter meal. In some Jewish homes, lamb is served during Passover, reminding believers of the Old Testament account of how households that adorned their door posts with the blood of the paschal lamb were spared from destruction. In some of Maryland's ethnic communities, lamb is the first choice for a ceremonial meal, regardless of the season.

Christopher "Chric" Lamb, a retired envelope company executive and World War II Navy flier, died March 25 of kidney failure at the Blakehurst retirement community in Towson. He was 86. Mr. Lamb was born in Baltimore and raised in Roland Park. He was a 1941 graduate of Polytechnic Institute and began studying industrial engineering at Duke University. He left Duke, enlisted in the Navy and was commissioned an ensign. "With months of personal rehabilitation, he overcame an optometric condition and was selected for naval flight school," said his daughter, Caroline MacRae Lamb of Charlottesville, Va. "Graduating near the top of his class, he became a carrier-based fighter pilot."

On October 6, 2008, DOROTHY "Aunt D" beloved mother of one daughter, two sons, one daughter-in-law, 15 grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and a host of other relatives and friends. Friends may call at the Carlton C. Douglas Funeral Service, P.A., 1701 McCulloh Street on Tuesday 2 to 9 P.M. Family will receive friends Wednesday 11:30 A.M to 12 noon at the Lamb of Life Christian Church, 4 N. Broadway with services following. Interment Garrison Forest Veteran Cemetery.

On July 9, 2008, K. JANET McDANIEL LAMB of Darlington, MD. Beloved wife of John T. Lamb, Jr. Devoted mother of John William Lamb and his wife Cindy. Also survived by two grandchildren, Samuel Harper Lamb and Robert Lamb. Predeceased by two brothers, William D. McDaniel and Willis G. McDaniel. Services will be held at the family owned McComas Funeral Home, P.A., Bel Air, MD, on Monday, July 21, 2008 at 10:30 A.M. Interment will be in Darlington Cemetery, Darlington, MD. Friends may call at the funeral home in Bel Air on Sunday, July 20, 2008 from 7 to 9 P.M. Those who desire may send contributions to the American Lung Association, Executive Plaza 1, Suite 600, 11350 McCormick Road, Hunt Valley, MD, 21031 or Wilna 7th Day Adventist, 1010 Old Joppa Road, Joppa, MD, 21085-1510.

Last fall, my husband and I were fortunate enough to take a weeklong cruise along the Dalmatian coast to the island of Corfu, then around the tip of Italy. The Greek isle turned out to be one of my favorite ports of call. As usual, the food got my attention. A small group of us decided to tour the center of Corfu's main town and to eat lunch in one of the many cafes that line its streets. The menu, all in Greek, was indecipherable, but fortunately our waiter helped. When I couldn't make up my mind about what to order, he suggested one of the restaurant's specialties - lamb and vegetables baked in parchment.

Alabama BBQ Company 4311 Harford Road -- Lauraville -- 410-254-1440 Mirchi Wok 6365A Dobbin Road -- Columbia -- 410-730-4689 Entrees $9.95-$18.95 Mango Grove, Columbia's popular vegetarian Indian restaurant, now has an omnivore cousin in Mirchi Wok, which serves hearty, masterfully spiced chicken, seafood and lamb dishes, as well as meat-free entrees. The restaurants share ownership and a front door, but each has its own kitchen and menu. Though the typical Indian kormas and kebabs are served at Mirchi Wok, so are creations like the rarra laal maas, a rich stew that marries the earthy flavors of both ground lamb and chunks of lamb with a heady mix of spices.

Eight-year-old Jason Vanisko admitted he was a little sad about selling his 1,708-pound steer, Michael, at the 4-H livestock sale at the Howard County Fair. He had raised the animal for more than a year, bottle-feeding it when it was a calf. "I'm sad to let it go," he said. But he was happy to auction his lamb, a 122-pounder named George. "I'm not sad to sell my lamb," said the Ellicott City resident. "It's mean. It head-butts me, and it tries to get away." Jason's emotions about the animals didn't change anything.