Hearty Stew to Beat the Chill

By now you've likely realized that I write a lot about beauty products. While they are a nice distraction from everyday mundane stresses, there is something else I enjoy very much as well, and that's cooking. Now, I have absolutely no desire to turn this into another food blog, there are lots out there. But cooking is very comforting, especially in the fall, so in colder months there may be a few recipes thrown in. After all, something has to contribute to the "lifestyle" part of this blog, and what better than nice food.

In at least one way, us young folk have it easy today. If you don't have a relative to teach you the ins and outs of creating fabulous meals, you no longer have to agonize over complicated written instructions, struggling to find some missing bit of technique in a cookbook - we now have Youtube. Still, some things are harder to make than others, and some things just look difficult when really, upon making them, you realize how simple it was all along. Thankfully, this will be one of the latter recipes!

For this beef stew, you can use practically any vegetable you want, with a few exceptions. For a fool-proof stew, here's what I use:

• Beef cubes
• Onion
• Beef broth
• Carrots
• Cabbage
• Turnip 
• Parsnip

Here's the quick and easy breakdown:

1. The Meat
   
   You'll need two cooking tools: a pot and a pan. Put oil and butter into a prying pan and get it nice and hot. When a droplet of water sizzles like mad in it, you're there. Brown the meat and don't crowd the pan (if it's a large pack of meat, do it in several batches). The brown stuff on the bottom of the pan isn't burnt stuff, it's fond. Fond is good. Finish up, and put the meat in the pot. Chop up onions and put them in the pan you just used. Note: Do not wash the pan in between, you'll remove the fond, which we need! So brown the onions, toss them into the pot too, then poor a little broth into the pan and scrape the bottom until all the brown stuff comes off, and poor it into the pot with the meat and onion. That brown stuff it pure flavour.
   
   The thing about meat is, when it's not quite cooked (think medium-rare), it's tender. When it's cooked for a little while, it's stiff. When it's cooked even longer, it becomes extremely tender. To achieve this last stage, we've seared it, and now we're going to simmer it for quite a while.
   
2. The Veggies
   
   Cut up your other veggies, thrown em into the pot with the rest of the stuff. Poor in enough broth so that things are just about covered (but not over!), bring it to a boil, then back off the heat until it maintains a tiny tiny boil, otherwise known as a simmer (Note: I'm not trying to be condescending, but this is a beginner-friendly recipe).
   
   Put as much of everything as you want. If carrots are your favourite of all these things, go heavy on the carrots, and so on. It's all up to you. Now, how will you know it's all done? The best way, I find, is to test the turnip. That's the toughest veggie to cook, and when it's fork-tender, chances are your meat will be too. You don't have to check every fifteen minutes either. My advice is to leave it simmer for an hour, check it, and then check every half hour or so. On a simmer, it shouldn't take more than two hours or so.
   
3. Spicing
   
   As far as spicing, go with the simple herbs like thyme, basil or oregano. You don't even have to spice it if you don't want. Salt and pepper go a long way on their own.
   
4. Thickening
   
   Wait til the last five minutes to thicken, or things will start to burn. When the turnip test comes up positive, turn off the heat and add a little flour. For fewer clumps, whisk it in with a fork. Add as much or as little as you want, depending on how thick you like your stew.

And that's all! A nice, simple, very enjoyable stew for those chilly days you want to spend in the kitchen.

Have a great day, and thanks for reading!

A.