LINDA MARTIN'S LAMB STEW IN A PUMPKIN

Steps:

• Brown lamb in 1 tbsp salad oil over medium high heat. Remove from pan as it browns. Add another tbsp oil and two chopped onions and 2 cloves garlic. Saute until soft and return meat and juices to pan. Add cinnamon (about 2 inches) cloves, ginger and cayenne along with chicken broth. Cover and simmer until meat is tender (check, but somewhere between 1/2 to 1 hour). Add 2 zucchini cut into 1/2 inch thick slices and 6 carrots cut in half lengthwise and into 1 inch pieces. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Remove meat and vegetables and spoon into hot pumpkin. Discard cinnamon stick. Stir together 2 tbsp flour and water and stir into cooking liquid. Cook, stirring until mixture boils and thickens. Pour over meat and vegetables in pumpkin. Set lid in place and bake in roasting pan about 30 minutes or until pumpkin is tender when pierced. Pumpkin: Cut top off pumpkin and scrape out seeds and fiber. There should be a shell of approx. one inch depth. Put the whole pumpkin in a shallow roasting pan. Add about 1/2 inch water and bake in a 350 oven until almost tender (approx. 1 hour) It's wise to cover the stem of the pumpkin with foil to protect it while baking.