i love winter with hearty soups and stews full of root veggies, bone broths and big chunks of meat. I made up a huge stew the other day, now, whenever i want something warming i can just heat some up on the stove. it's healthy fast food. It's not something that i ever use a recipe for, i buy whatever veggies are in season, this time of year, it's the lovely rootie veggies like turnip, parsnip, beet, carrot, and the cruceriferous cabbages and broccolis and cauliflowers etc. i add whatever seasonings i'm in the mood for. Sometimes, i'll throw in a little dried organic nettle from the summer season for some extra vitamin power. And the bone broths are such a wonderful source of calcium and magnesium, all balanced out the way that nature intended them to be. I've been serving the stew with a drizzle of Udo's oil on top for added flavour and for extra healthy fats. YUMMM! What inspires you in the winter?
My crock pot is my inspiration. I love stew. Now, granted, winter is the BEST season for good hearty stew, but I find any excuse I can to use my crock pot. Thick, goopy gravies to slop up with freshly baked bread is the absolute best...
it's a little early yet for the hearty stews (it *is* only september!), but i hear ya. i love the crockpot for days that i'm working. i can put everything together the night before, throw it in the fridge and then plug it in the next morning and come home to a totally luscious meal that i didnt have to slave over. i can get some amazing juicy freeranged organic local chickens, and they do up just beautifully in the crockpot.
maybe your chicken is cooking too long for your tastes? personally, i love it when crockpot chicken melts apart. it's soooo tender like that!
indeed....just cook it for the minimum time if you want it to remain in tact, but i love crockpots largely because i can just slowly cook the meats until they're soft, tender, falling apart....i'm far from a big fan of pig products (despise ham and don't generally eat bacon, pork roasts or chops or bbq sandwiches are ok sometimes though) but a pork roast cooked in apple juice until its nearly falling apart (but in tact enough to remove whole) is very delicious....... very recently i busted out the crockpot and made some wonderful lamb stew. two lambchops, a handful of chopped fresh chives, a can of baby peas (couldn't find any fresh peas at the grocery), a medium red potato chopped up, two chopped carrots, one chopped red onion, a tiny bit of cumin, a can of vegetable broth, some rosemary, sage, and a small amount of thyme and even basil.....some fresh ground pepper, a clove of garlic, and a modest portion of salt, along with some whole wheat noodles...... after about 7 hours of cooking (pasta was added last to absorb some excess moisture) the stew was incredibly delicious, filling, and savory to say the least.....went quite well with a glass of inexpensive pinot noir. unfortunately its too expensive for me to cook this way all the time (fresh meats and vegetables aren't easy to afford on my wages sometimes) but all in all i was pretty pleased with the results. i want to make a roast soon..... btw, if using lambchops for stews, be careful because once it falls from the bone there are likely to be a few little bones hiding out somewhere in the stew, and occasionally you may find what appear to be small chunks of meat with a sharp bone in there. i did a pretty good job keeping bone out of the finished stew by letting it cook until the chops were done but keeping them whole and at the top of the pot.....when they were soft enough i got most of the bone peices out with a large plastic serving spoon
Rabbit stew and dumplings is one of my favorite dinners. Italian red - Barbera, or some more stout or bitter www.slowfood.com
I LOVE this recipe for chili when it's cold out. Growing up in Texas, I've had my fair share of chili. This one uses Buffalo meat so it's leaner with a more game-y flavor. Really worth trying! Enjoy! -------------- Three-Alarm Buffalo Chili Serves 8 to 9 (1 cup portions) Ingredients: 5 pounds buffalo stew meat (3/4” cubes) 1 or 2 fresh or pickled jalapeno chilies 1 large onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 2 large can (15 ounces) tomato sauce 1 can (12 ounces) beer 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves 2 to 3 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper 1-1/2 tablespoons ground cumin 1 tablespoon paprika 1/3 cup ground pasilla chili or ground New Mexico chili water salt 1. To prepare fresh jalapenos, hold each by the stem over a gas flame or almost touching an electric burner on high, turning until chili is charred on all sides. Let chilies stand until cool. Wearing gloves (to prevent hands touching eyes) pull blistered skin from chilies. Cut chilies finely; discard remainder. For pickled chilies, cut off and discard stems and chop finely. 2. Add oil to 6 to 8 quart pan over medium-high heat. Add meat, a portion at a time, and cook until well browned on all sides. Add onion and garlic and stir often until onion is limp, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, tomatoes sauce, chopped jalapenos, beer, oregano, pepper, cumin, paprika, and ground pasilla chili; stir well. 3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until meat is very tender when pierced, about 2-1/2 hours; stir occasionally. If chili is thinner than you like, uncover and simmer until some of the liquid evaporates. If it’s thicker, stir in water and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste. ------------------
mmmmm i guess it is springtime but it is still bitter cold up here in humbum, i like to use the autoclave i use for my mushies to make jars of stew, like take pint jars and stick in browned meat, veggies, broth and beer and autoclave for an 1 and a half at 15 pounds of pressure, found a 4 pound piece of roast meat in the fridge so i tossed it in a spawn bag with a pint jar of stew and some afrikaaner spices for beef, it's been in there for almost 2 hours. holy crap pulled it out, when i popped the seal on the clave the steam inflated bag pushed the lid off for me and when i pricked it to release pressure it filled my kitchen with the scent of dank meat. it is the consistency where you can pull it apart with a fork, i give it a mark of full success.
Flemish (or Vlaamse) stew is the best- haven't a recipe for it though. Always look for it when in Belgium.
