• 1 leg of lamb, bone in (about 6 to 7 1/2 pounds) 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 8 garlic cloves minced 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves 1 tablespoon salt 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Using your hands, rub the lamb all over with the lemon juice.
3. Pat the garlic and rosemary evenly all over the surface of the meat.
4. Season the meat with the salt and pepper and place the lamb in a roasting pan.
5. Place the lamb in the oven and roast for 30 minutes.
6. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to cook for about 1 hour longer for medium-rare, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers about 145 degrees to 150 degrees (be careful that the thermometer does not touch the bone.)
7. Remove lamb from pan and allow to rest overtop of bread slices for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.
8. Under the roast if desired you can place potatoes, carrots, celery.
9. Vegetables underneath will soak up seasoned drippings.

Elizabeth Bow was born in Long Island, New York in 1961. She grew up with two brothers and a mother who rarely cooked, which prompted Elizabeth to start cooking at a young age. Everyone else viewed cooking as a chore by everyone else, but Elizabeth grew to enjoy it and as her family can attest, became fairly skilled in it. Elizabeth left Long Island at a young age and spent her childhood traveling, as her father would pack up and move the family in order to follow his military assignments.

Nowadays Elizabeth can be found in a quiet and secluded farmhouse off of a narrow and winding dirt road in the Appalachian foothills of South East Ohio. She works as an integrated preschool teacher, and has raised three boys of her own. With her sons grown up and out of the house she has more time for herself, however, she misses having the opportunity to cook meals large enough to satisfy the appetites of three growing boys.

When her three sons, all close-in-age, were growing up, she recalls how busy she was and how out of control and hectic life was. However, like any good mother, she knew how to bring a calmness and sense of order to the chaotic household. Every Sunday she would cook the same meal for dinner, Leg of Lamb Roast with Bloody Bread. Not only was it the three boys' favorite meal, but as Elizabeth reflects, "When the boys got older it was the only way that I could guarantee that they would be home for supper." The Sunday Leg of Lamb dinner was not reserved solely for the three boys' taste buds. When asked what she liked best about the meal, Elizabeth reveals that, "the process of making it is somewhat therapeutic, in that the whole process is calming and comforting. In addition it fills the house with a tasty aroma."

The culinary therapy started the same every Sunday. First, the house would be brought to life by the faint sound of the bread maker whirling as it kneaded the bread that would soon serve as a tasty sponge to absorb the bloody juice drippings. This would soon be followed by the crisp clap of potatoes, carrots, and garlic cloves, being cut to size on a well-worn wooden cutting board. Even more comforting than the sounds from the kitchen was the seductive smell of garlic cloves being shoved into the roast and then showered in a spice bath of rosemary and various other seasonings.

The sounds produced by Elizabeth's therapeutic cooking were almost always drowned out by the fighting or complaining of her three sons. However, as soon as she placed the mint jelly on the dinner table, signifying the final stage of her culinary feat, all brotherly combat ceased. The chairs surrounding the table were quickly filled and a sense of calm infused the once frenzied home.