Classic Beef Stew

One of my favorite internet surfing activities includes scouring the myriad of food blogs out there and swooning over unique mouth watering recipes. More often than not though, in my own kitchen I lean towards tried and true classics. There's something comforting about combining a few simple ingredients and transforming it into a sacred dish full of love. Recently I've noticed these classics haven't been taken seriously, I see recipes boldly adding ingredients or making it so simple the directions could lead one down a path to disaster. Channeling my great grandma or really the very distant memories I have of her cooking while I sat on a pull out stool chair as she danced around the kitchen weaving magic over pots of heavenly smelling goodness, I worked up this stew. 

Now here's the thing, the most important part of a 5 ingredient dish is the quality of the ingredients. If each ingredient brings the top of their game then the dish will surely be a winner.  The second most important part of this process is, well, the process- how things are cut, prepared and little extra steps here and there that seem like no big deal to skip-don't skip them! When done correctly these "extra" steps really bring the dish together. 

So the bad news is- for this recipe you can't just throw everything in a crock pot and walk away-it does take a little time.

The good news-it's delicious and easily doubled to save for a lunch later in the week or freeze for another dinner.

Ok so technically there's a little more than 5 ingredents but there are 5 main ones

1 lb organic grass fed stew beef -if this absolutely is not available, look for a beef that's hormone free and grass fed if possible but I promise you for just a couple dollars more you're not just getting the best tasting beef, you are also voting with your dollars supporting the ethical treatment of cows and most likely supporting a small/local farmer.

3-4 small organic potatoes- I like North Carolina gold, but that's partly because I can get them from a farmer about an hour from my house. Yukon gold or scrubbed russet potatoes work well too. 

1 bunch of organic carrots (about 9) please don't use baby carrots- I know they are super convenient but they're also processed and contain small amounts of chlorine-just say no! chop into bite sized chunky pieces.

1 stalk organic celery and 1/2 an onion chopped

4 Cups Organic beef broth

For the beef- stew meat usually comes in big chunks take each piece and look for the long running fibers, the the meat into bite sized pieces  cutting against the grain. Cutting it this way reduces the amount of chewiness. 

Next brown the beef on medium heat by itself. While the beef is browning over medium heat put on some water to boil in a pan or tea pot and cut the potatoes into small pieces and place in a glass or stainless steel bowl. 

As the beef browns gently pour out the "juice" don't worry about flavor it will make more juice but I've noticed skimming the first bit off drastically reduces any "gamey" flavor of the beef. 

After drained add the onion by now the water should be boiling , add the boiling water to the potatoes for 2 minutes, then drain. The potatoes will add starch to the stew but "pre-cooking" them reduces the amount of starch so there's a little liquid left and the stew will be more like gravy and less like delicious mush. 

Once the beef and onions are almost cooked add a couple tablespoons of butter, the carrots, celery and potatoes and add

1-2 tsp (I just go by "shakes") of the following

oregano

thyme

parsley

basil

red pepper flakes

then add

a couple tablespoons of worstershire sauce

a splash of braggs

and a couple cloves of crushed garlic 

1-2 bay leaves

Cook until veggies start to soften throw in about a tablespoon of flour and stir until everything looks kind of gooey, then stir in the beef broth and bring to a boil. Let boil about 5 minutes or so reduce the heat to low and stick a lid on that bad boy. Let simmer for a couple of hours (at least an hour) then relish in the delight of a classic!

 

Sunshine Juice

A few years ago I was blessed with the opportunity to intern on a wonderful organic farm specializing in fruit and raw roots nestled between the gorgeous Pacific ocean and Mount Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The owners of Josanna's Organic Farm, Steve and Janelle are wonderful farmers and fantastic human beings, I quickly fell in love with them and became part of their "farm family". Normally all the interns had specific jobs they completed each morning then were free the rest of the day to explore the Island, my job was to climb and harvest the lemon, orange, avocado and star fruit trees. Every once in a while we combined forces to dig up a root field and the first time we did this I discovered one of my favorite medicines I have come across so far, tumeric.  Tumeric is the main ingredient in most Indian curries, and I had eaten it before many times in powder form but I had no idea it was a root or that it had magical qualities. Tumeric is known to reduce inflammation, aid digestion, amongst many other things and in my case drastically reduce migraine pain. When suffering from a migraine one day, Janelle made this juice for me, which was kind of a big deal because the whole farm runs on solar power and using the juicer requires loads of wattage. It worked so well I make it frequently whenever I have a headache or feel a cold coming on (since it's loaded with anti-oxidants from the tumeric and vitamin C from the orange juice) or when I just need a bit of sunshine in my life.

Speaking of sunshine in my life, I recently have been blessed again with fresh local tumeric and of all places right here in North Carolina! Jason and Haruka Oatis grow tumeric on their farm, Edible Earthscapes, which is one of many reasons I love them to pieces.

Look at this gorgeous beast! 

 I like to juice all the ingredients separately that way I can adjust the potency of the tonic and I think it tastes better when freshly mixed.

You will need

1/2 C fresh squeezed orange juice
juice from half a lemon
About 3 tablespoons fresh tumeric juice (play with this at first) tumeric has a strong flavor and a little bit goes a long way!
and enough fizzy mineral water to fill the glass

mix the juices together, add a little more orange juice if you like it sweet then top with fizzy lifting drink, if  you get that reference you are forever on my cool list.


Then drink up and start feeling awesome!

 

Friendly Three Bean Salad

I don't think there's really a way to make bean salad look glamorous in a photo, I'm sure someone has tackled this beast of a task with grace, I have not. I have however preserved and recreated successfully this recipe I learned ages ago while on a cross country adventure with then strangers but now good friends. So when my in-laws (bless their hearts) sent me this amazing package of Cali avocados because I had mentioned I was craving them I knew I had to make this dish, and guacamole too of course!

I always make a double batch, so if you're single or don't think you can tackle this much divine bean power, half everything. 

2 cans organic kidney beans (drained & rinsed)

2 cans organic garbanzo beans (drained & rinsed)

(bonus points if you use dried beans and cook them yourself, you are so much cooler than me!) 

1 bag frozen french green beanslightly steamed

small chunks of mild cheddar, I just chop up whatever I have left in the block you want a good ratio just eyeball it
1 giant avocado cut into bite sized pieces

toss together in a large bowl and make your sauce

Sauce

1C olive oil

1/4 C lemon juice

1/4 C local organic honey, trust me on this it's just the best! 

a little salt & pepper to taste

Mix well then stir gently into the bean bowl, cover and let sit overnight.

Easy as pie and it's a great addition to the lunch box or picnic basket or in my case when I first learned this recipe, in the back of a car driving 70 through Wyoming is how it tastes best.

My happy place

There might not be loads to do in the garden during the winter months but I can certainly relax on the couch with a cup of hot coco and relish in the delight of seed catalogs and the dream of what I will plant in the spring!

Meatless Monday Healthy Potato Leek soup

I have to admit vegetarian dinners can be a bit taboo in this house, despite me being a a veg head for over a decade (I'm an omnivore now) I find it hard to please my boys without meat. My husband enjoys a high protein low carb diet and that can be a challenge when working with the plant only kingdom. However I can usually get away with it on Monday nights because we typically don't do an intense workout that day and I usually have something delicious up my sleeve.

This week I made potato leek soup, now technically this dish is not completely vegetarian because I opted to use chicken broth, mainly because I had some in the fridge I needed to use but one could easily substitute veggie broth or even lowfat milk and still keep it healthy and delicious.

Now, I love a good creamy potato leek soup that's cheesy and delicious but I promise you this version is just as good and as a bonus we leave out all the unnecessary fat (which I saved for putting loads of butter on my bread!)

Ok, here's what you'll need

4 potatoes of choice chopped into tiny 1/4 inch squares (I used 2 white sweet potatoes and 2 red skinned potatoes because they cook down into creamy starchy deliciousness)

1 giant leek or a couple small ones ends removed slice down the middle wash and then slice into small strips

1/4 onion diced

5-6 carrots washed and sliced into bite sized pieces

3-4 stalks of celery washed and sliced into bite sized pieces

a couple cloves of garlic

a little bit of butter and olive oil

4 C chicken broth

and about a teaspoon of each dried herb

orageno
red pepper flakes
salt
pepper
thyme
sage
parsley
1-2 bay leaves

Your cutting board should look something like this  (as a side note if you live in a warmer climate most of these veggies should be available to you right now locally!)

In a big pot melt on low-medium a heavy tablespoon of butter, when melted place all veggies in the pot and stir around for a bit. When the bottom of the pan looks dry (butter all soaked up) add a swirl of olive oil and let veggies cook and stir occasionally. This part is important it takes a little while but let the veggies cook slowly after about 10 minutes stir in the garlic and herbs.

When the veggies are softish not crunchy but not mushy yet stir in the chicken broth (or broth of choice), switch the heat to low add a lid and let this pot of deliciouness simmer as long as you can wait! I paired this with whole wheat spinach and red pepper bread with a tad of butter.

Bon Appetit!