Stew is the most ancient form of cooking. It is also arguably the simplest and the most comforting. Who doesn’t love the scent of simmering herbs, spices, and onions wafting through their refuge on a Sunday afternoon? The traditional devotion to slow-cooking has waned as our lives have become busier and we’ve traded a pot of bubbling Bolognese for microwaved taquitos. But let’s not forget that although stew takes some time to prepare, most of it just involves throwing everything into your cauldron and letting the heat do its thing. Think of it as an opportunity to perfume your house with the hearty and peaceful scent of a well-cooked meal.
The great thing about stew (well, there are a lot of great things, but here’s one) is that you can use the opportunity to scrape the backs of your refridgerator and cupboards. This is truly recession cuisine. You toss in odds and ends of things that are getting old and forgotten and allow them to be useful. Food wants to feed us. Got a few handfuls of grain, not enough for a serving? In it goes. Some chard stems that you don’t feel like juicing? Chop them up and add them to the broth. A couple bites of ground turkey chili left over from a few nights ago? Yay, protein.
Pick an afternoon or evening when you’ll be home doing chores, working, or relaxing with a book or movie. Plan to prepare your stew right when you get home so it’s got a couple of hours to simmer. Most of the work is just the up-front chopping. And then you’ll have enough dinner for 4-5 people, or healthy lunches to bring into work the rest of the week. You can freeze a couple of batches too; thawed, they’ll be no worse for the wear. Here’s a super-basic stew recipe that you can’t go wrong with, even if you’ve never made stew in your life.
Nutritionally, please note that when you boil something, the minerals leach out into the surrounding fluid. This is why boiling a vegetable, throwing out the water, and eating only the vegetable is not a good call. So in a stew, the vegetables themselves end up existing mostly for the fiber, which is still very important, but the broth is going to be what’s chock-full of minerals…hence broth’s reputation as a powerful healer.
1 1/2 lb stew meat. I have tried elk and bison and both are lovely. I choose them because both tend to be grass fed. If you are choosing beef please ask your butcher for organic or grass fed specifically. In a pinch “all natural” is ok.
1 onion
1 bay leaf
1 qt water
1 tbsp oil. PLEASE DO NOT USE MARGARINE OR ONE OF THOSE BUTTER SUBSTITUTES. Ew. Butter, olive oil, coconut oil, lard, or suet are all fine. You can also fry a piece of bacon and use its fat.
vegetables. Choose 2 or 3 of the following: 3 small potatoes, 3 carrots, 3 ribs of celery, 1/2 head of cauliflower, 2 parsnips, 1/2 head of cabbage, 1 1/2 cups peas
salt, pepper, and seasonings. Good seasonings for this dish include the Simon and Garfunkel quad of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. You can also use a pre-made Italian blend or Herbes de Provence (my favorite)
1. Brown the stew meat in the oil,
2. In a pot, add the meat, chopped onion, bay leaf, 1 tsp salt, and the water.
3. Simmer, covered, on very low heat for about an hour and 30 minutes.
4. Add your veggies, herbs, a dash more salt, pepper, and herbs.
5. Simmer for another half hour.
6. Taste and adjust seasonings. If it’s bland start with more salt.
7. Feast in the old school way!!!!
photo credit: conskeptical
“That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood.” – Barack Obama, earlier today
Sure, Barack is talking about the dismal state of world affairs, but he’s also referencing the economic challenges plaguing Americans. In tough times, it’s best to pull inward, hunker down, and get to some serious grounding. And what’s more grounding than a hearty home-cooked meal? Food’s one of the easiest areas in which to scale back spending, with the added benefit that the simplest meals are often the most satiating (maybe that’s why, when you eat at that Noveau Japanese-Cajun-Antarctican fusion joint you always leave hungry…). Every week, on Recession Cuisine Tuesday, we’ll be exploring an inexpensive recipe that’s packed with nutritional power. Learn to stretch your dollar while fueling your body with the most micronutrients possible.
Today we are going to look at the ancient technique of sprouting, developed by the Chinese several thousand years ago. You know those organic broccoli sprouts you used to drop $7 per bag for at the Berkeley farmer’s market? The ones that turned brown in your vegetable drawer about two days after you got them home? Well, when you make your own, they’re far cheaper. And since seeds bulk up as they sprout, multiplying 8 to 15 times their weight, they’re a very economical choice. Rich with proteins, enzymes, vitamins and minerals, sprouts are one of the most nutritionally complete foods in existence. They’re a live food, which means they keep growing until the moment you bite into them – compare this with other vegetables, whose nutrients begin to oxidize (break down) the minute they’re harvested.
Sprouting is incredibly easy. All you need is a dark, cool place, a glass jar, a piece of cheesecloth with a rubber band, and the beans (mungs are a nice one to start with – be sure to get organic!). Put a ratio of 1 part beans to 3 parts water in the jar, cover with cheesecloth, secure with rubber band, and place in said dark cool place. After about 24 hours, drain off the water and add some fresh water to the jar, swirling or stirring a bit to rinse the beans. Then drain that off, still keeping the beans slightly damp. Re-cover, return to the dark cool place, and repeat the process every 12 hours. You’ll see the beans start to grow little tails. It’s your choice when to eat them – tails can be short, medium, or long.
The recipe below is by my friend and colleague Kelly Walker, a holistic nutritionist in San Francisco. It was my introduction to sprouting and it’s so delicious that if it’s your introduction, you too will become a sprouting groupie. Sprouts contains so much life force that you may feel bionic after consuming this salad.
MUNG SPROUT SALAD
2-3 cups mung sprouts
2 avocados, sliced
1 cucumber, diced
OPTIONAL: protein i.e. tuna, chicken, salmon, shellfish…
DRESSING: (to taste) salt, pepper, olive oil, cumin, paprika, either Balsamic Vinegar OR Apple Cider Vinegar OR lemon juice
Add everything together, stir, and eat. It’s fine to chill for an hour or so but will be soggy by the next day, so if you are stretching this out for a few meals, keep the dressing on the side…
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