Love God, love people.

Ok, so I edited the crap out of this post about 6 months after I posted it. I can do that because this is my blog. Ahh, power! I mostly did it for me, because what this post originally said felt so out of step with the truth that it gave me the willies. Silly, I know. But that's my thing right now, get rid of what isn't true. In any case, the part below is what I am leaving because it is true. I do so love to love the people in my life through food.
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I had the opportunity last week to love others by helping take care of my friends who had just had a baby. Down here, we do something called a food train when people have babies. It's basically just a schedule of volunteers who bring a meal a day to the new family so they have one less thing to worry about. I organized one and brought food to my friends, not because there's anything particularly great about me, but because I feel like part of the world when I help take care of my people. And, I got to be the first friend to see the baby, so um yeah that was awesome. He's adorable and I just want to say one more time in case anyone has forgotten, I WANT ONE!!!! I mean, not right now, but sometime. Anyway, the most appropriate thing I could think of to make a new mama and papa with all the nutrients and whatnot they needed in a simple package was beef stew. Hearty, with plenty of iron and protein and a good amount of liquid for hydration purposes. I paired it with a good baguette and some mashed sweet potatoes. It was love, pure and simple, in a bowl and I know it warmed their hearts. What more can I ask for (besides a baby)? Recipe is below. As is often the case, it just the Joy of Cooking recipe with a couple of my own tweaks thrown in. Enjoy!


Beef Stew

Ingredients:
1 lb. stew beef
1 lb. potatoes
2-3 carrots
1 stalk celery
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
2-3 bay leaves
Herbs (I like thyme and sage)
Salt and pepper
4 C stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable will work)
1 can peas
1 - 2 T Olive Oil
1 T vinegar

Directions:
1. Season the beef with salt and pepper while you warm about one tablespoon of oil in a large stew pot. Brown the meat on all sides. I leave it in pretty big chunks so that it can cook to tenderness without fear of it getting tough. Once the meat is browned, remove it with a slotted spoon. If juices have collected, drain off all but a couple tablespoons.

2. Chop onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Do not dice or mince, since they need to withstand the simmering that is involved in making soup. Add more oil to the pan and saute until the onions start to soften and become translucent. Add stock, herbs, and bayleaf. Add meat back in and if more water is needed to sufficiently cover the meat and veggies, add some. Raise to a boil, then lower heat, cover and simmer.

3. Simmer for about an hour, until the meat is fork tender. Chop and add the potatoes at about half an hour or twenty minutes. If you boil them the whole time, they will fall apart my personal preference is that they are soft but still holding together.

4. As a finishing touch, I like to add a can of peas and about a tablespoon of vinegar (I used balsamic this time but I think red wine vinegar or even apple cider vinegar are better for this particular soup.) Just dump both of those in about 5-10 minutes before you pull it off of the heat. Salt and pepper to taste and then serve it up!

Just some notes about tweaking this recipe:
- A veggie version could be made with some of those Morning Star steak strips, you just wouldn't cook it for as long.
- If you want a stewier version, use less liquid and/or let the potatoes cook long enough to fall apart so they thicken it.
- Other nice variations are to use spices like cinnamon and cumin or garam masala and substitute sweet potatoes and other roots, like parsnips for a Morrocan sort of take on it.
- Adding tomato paste in the begining, with the veggies right before the stock goes in adds a more tangy flavor.