Hearty Beef Stew

There are certain dishes that evoke fond childhood memories...that fresh coconut birthday cake or crescent cookies and rum balls at Christmas or Dad's hush puppies with fried fish in the summer.

This beef stew is such a recipe. It was a favorite for dinner when it had been snowing all day and we had been out sledding with our friends. There was a hill down by the creek that was a favorite...easy to climb but a good swift ride down and a nice long flat area at the end to slow down in. Returning home with chilled fingers and toes and a nose that would do Rudolph the Reindeer proud it was so red, it was great to open the door and smell the rich aroma of beef and potatoes and onions. Usually we would have biscuits, too, so the kitchen would be warm from the oven being on. Even if it was my turn to set the table I didn't mind...we were having stew!

A good stew is thick and hearty and loaded with good things. The long simmering tenderizes the beef chuck (which is not the most tender of cuts) and you can even do as I do and make the first part, with just the meat, onions and seasonings and water, and then refrigerate it overnight to allow the flavors to blend. The next day allow some time for it to reheat, then continue on with the recipe.

This one is my Mom's recipe and, good frugal housewife that she is, she adds leftovers whenever possible...all those small containers and plastic bags of corn or carrots or green beans or peas (to name the most popular ones) thaat have been hiding out in the fridge now have a place to go...but you can just add about 3 cups of mixed cooked or frozen vegetables of your choice. This makes a stew that is all about the beef flavor, but it isn't spicy. If you like some heat in your stew, add some cayenne or pepper sauce if you must, but try it without first...you may decide that it's perfect as written. Must be those childhood memories again, but I wouldn't change a thing!

BTW the photo is not top notch but I'm at work when there is daylight, which is what I try to use for photos. Trust me, it tastes even better than it looks!

Beef Stew
From Family Food

2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 ½ -inch cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic
1 medium onion, sliced
1 -2 bay leaves
a dash of allspice or cloves
4 cups boiling water
6 carrots
6 Idaho potatoes
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 small can white onions or ½ bag frozen small white onions
leftover vegetables or frozen mixed vegetables
Flour and water paste to thicken gravy

Brown the meat in the fat. (If you wipe the cubes with a paper towel first they will brown more easily and spatter less.) Cook the meat in batches, removing browned meat to a bowl until all are browned. Remove any excess fat and return all the meat to the pot. (I use a large enameled cast iron Dutch Oven to cook the stew but any large pot with lid is fine.)

Add Worcestershire sauce, garlic, onion, bay leaves, allspice or cloves, and the boiling water to the meat in the pot. Cover, bring to a simmer and simmer 2 hours. Remove bay leaves.
Add the carrots, and the potatoes, both of which have been cut into bite sized pieces. Cook, covered, until carrots and potatoes are tender. Add the onions and any leftover vegetables desired. ( If no leftover veggies are available, add some frozen mixed vegetables or any cooked vegetables you like. I usually add at least 3 cups of veggies.)

Cover and heat through. Make a paste of flour and water to thicken the gravy. Add to the stew and simmer until thickened. (I usually use ¼ cup flour and an equal amount of cold water to make the paste, but you may want to experiment to get the kind of gravy thickness you like. I also removed some of the cooked potatoes this time and mashed them, then returned them to the pot for an even thicker stew.)

Serves 6 -8.

Future Food

There is a pull, irresistible and steady, pulling me away from the kitchen, out into the garden.

It all started innocently enough. I purchased some seed packets for six kinds of heirloom tomatoes and four kinds of squash. This is not really new...I grow a few things from seed many years. What was different this year was that almost every seed sprouted. And then, almost every sprouted seed turned into a seedling. And then none of the seedlings died. Well, that's a lot of seedlings let me tell you.

While they were little, it wasn't a problem. A month ago they were in our sunspace, bringing some welcome green when the rains were here. But then they needed to be put into soil in larger pots, and then I had to feed them and find room in the garden.

If I had the kind of garden where you just dig a hold and pop a plant in, I suspect that every one would have found a home. But by August I would be in trouble...too mahy squash by far (not sure that too many tomatoes is possible). As it is, my garden is overrun with gophers. This requires that plants be put into planters like half barrels, or that I put gopher cages in the ground first and put the plants inside. We used to have a cat who caught the gophers, but she is gone and Xam, our lab, shown here, tries to catch them but just digs up the yard in the process.

I did some of each kind of planting and now have enough seedlings planted to allow for a few to be eaten by critters, a few to not like their spot and to not thrive, and a whole bunch to fill my garden by harvest time with a rainbow of tomatoes, summer and winter squash, chard, cucumbers, beans and maybe even some peppers (I might buy a plant or two).

Now comes the daily watering, weeding, watching and enjoying their progress. When you raise them from seed, they are sort of like your progeny...more personal than something from the hardware or home store. I even found good people to give homes to many of the seedlings that wouldn't fit into my garden. Still have a few squash plants without homes. Any takers?