Rainbow Stew

In very stressful times, folks turn to cooking out of necessity.  During the 1900's we had homecanning as a means of surviving the Canadian winters.  It made a resurgence during the Great Depression which also introduced a style of cooking known as Depression Era Cooking.  When women went to help the war efforts then remained in the work force, convenience foods like tv dinners and packaged foods made their appearance.  There was a resurgence in home canning with homesteading and survivalism.  That grew during the period leading up to y2K.  Cooking shows coined the term foodie, so anyone who  could cook was inspired by their favourite tv chef.  Now into the 2000's, we have the popularity of food kits and pandemic cooking.  

 

Once again we are seeing a resurgence in home cooking, canning and food preservation in general.  Many are cooking for the first time because they have to.  Restaurants are closed, take-out is limited and then there's stay-at-home restrictions.  People do not want to spend a lot of time at the grocery stores.  Two trends have emerged as a result: inexpensive food kit availability and most smaller food producers are offering online shopping with reasonable shipping.  This opened the door to people discovering a wide range of ingredients they normally wouldn't find locally and at the same time, they discovered a multitude of ingredients they could get from local food producers.

Earlier this year, I began buying organic produce from a local grower who delivers weekly.  I've dealt with this farmer for ages so when he offered the delivery service, I supported it.  Each week, I place an order based on availability so have been experimenting with a few neat ingredients.  

I made this delightful stew for dinner, quickly named Rainbow Stew because of the bright colours. Unlike most stews, potatoes are not included. It is chock full of nutritious ingredients including purple top turnips, celeriac, corn and rainbow swiss chard. The bay leaf (middle left) was fresh picked from my bay laurel plant! The new to me ingredient in this dish was celeriac.  It's definitely an ingredient I will use again.  Very tasty stew!

Tex Mex Beef Stew

I was very fortunate to get a good deal on carrots, onions, beets and potatoes for $1.88 per 10 lb bag, the day after arriving home from our fall vacation in October.  I had done a lot of canning, over 200 jars of home canned tomato products in addition to other home canned products.  After being away for three weeks, we were quite tired.  Still, I took advantage of the sale.  As a result, I had 40 lb of Ontario produce to use.  The nice thing about the produce sale was  carrots, onions, beets and potatoes keep well in our pantry so there wasn't an urgency for processing them.

I decided to do a bit of a freezer clean-out to use the packages of chicken bones I had saved since the summer to can stock.  During the process, I found a couple of packets of pre-cooked beef, just perfect for soup or stew.  I used one of the packages to make a full bodied stew with Tex-Mex flavours.  The stew was quite tasty!

Tex Mex Beef Stew
source:  Garden Gnome

2 L (8 c) home canned whole tomatoes
250 ml (1 c) beef stock
1 lg carrot
2 ribs celery
2 sm onions
2 lg potatoes
500 ml (2 c) left-over cooked beef pieces
500 ml (2 c) cooked kidney beans
5 ml (1 tsp) garlic powder
5 ml (1 tsp) onion powder
30 ml (2 tbsp) homemade taco seasoning
250 ml (1 c) frozen corn
1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) paprika
1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) cayenne pepper
5 ml (1 tsp) cumin
garnish with plain yogurt or sour cream

Cut the carrot, celery and potatoes into bite size pieces.  Finely chop the onion.  Place the whole tomatoes in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil on high heat.  Reduce to a simmer.  Continue cooking while mashing the tomatoes to break down, leaving a few larger pieces.  Stir in the stock and vegetables.  Continue cooking until potatoes and carrots are tender.  Stir in beef, seasonings and kidney beans.  Mix well then cook for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to blend.  Serve hot.

Kitchen Quick Tips - Thickening Stew

Add 1 tsp of instant potato flakes to stews to thickening until desired consistency.  The instant potato flakes thicken without adding lumps.

Venison Stew

My husband goes to hunt camp each year not for the actual hunting as he doesn't hunt but for the guys get away.  They always have a great time.  Any catch is split amongst the guys wanting venison so that's a nice bonus for me.  Venison is a lean red meat that can be used in place of beef for most dishes.  What little fat there is has a poor mouth feel so it is best to serve venison piping hot as well as add a bit of other fat to the dish.  Usually pork fat (eg. bacon, ground pork) is added to venison dishes.

One of our friends is an avid hunter to the point he and his wife very, very seldom ever eat domestic meat.  He hunts large and small game but as far as I know he doesn't fish which is a bit odd but hey, I fish and don't hunt.    Anyway, he always brings us wild game (eg. moose, deer, goose, turkey) ready for cooking or brings dishes he has prepared with wild game.  Now this hunter knows how to cook wild game!

Last Saturday night we had a get together and he brought a slow cooker full of venison stew.  It was absolutely delicious.  Being rather curious I listened for comments, chuckling a little under my breath at hearing him tell another guest that there was no recipe "I just cooked it".  You know some of the best meals come from just cooking it!  From appearances the stew was a simple on consisting of venison, mushrooms, carrots, onions and potatoes in a rich gravy but this stew had a secret ingredient that gave it a bit of pizzazz.  The secret ingredient, well not so secret anymore was hot peppers!  He didn't specify what hot peppers but I suspect red jalapeno.  The hot peppers added an amazing flavour without overpowering heat.  I will be experimenting adding hot peppers to my stew once my garden starts producing.  I think hot banana peppers would work nicely so this should be an interesting experiment!

Biscuit Topped Stew

Stews like soups, chili and chowders originated as a frugal way to stretch a little meat and vegetables during the long winter months.   While the type of meat varied the vegetables used were those that kept nicely in the root cellar.  Typically these vegetables were carrots, winter squash, potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, and cabbage. 

The nice thing about stew is you really don't need a recipe.  As a result there is a lot of possible variations.  I add whatever strikes my fancy when it comes to vegetables often adding corn, peas or green beans.

I made a typical beef stew in the slow cooker.  I browned the stew beef in a little olive oil and Montreal steak seasoning then poured that into the slow cooker complete with the liquid.  Next I added prepared carrots, potatoes, onion, water, and bayleaf.  I programmed the slow cooker for 7 hours on low.   About two hours before the cooking time was up I stirred in corn niblets followed by sliced mushtooms about an hour later.  Finally I added Worcestershire sauce, a cornstarch slurry to let the juices thicken in the last fifteen minute and set the slowcooker on high.

We enjoyed a hearty bowl of the stew that night for dinner.  The following day was cold, blustery do nothing day.  I topped the leftover stew with biscuit mix dropped by dessert spoonfuls on top of the stew.  My husband took care of the baking and getting the dish into and out of the oven.  The biscuits and stew were baked at 400ºF until the biscuits were golden brown and the stew warmed through. 

The following day my husband took the leftover biscuits and stew to the office to share with one of our kids.  There small batch of stew was enough for six healthy sized serving.

The biscuit topping added a nice dimension to the second dinner.  They were similar to dumplings on the bottom yet biscuit-like on the top.  It was a lovely, homemade meal perfect for a do nothing day!

The nice thing about both dinners was low prep that could be done sitting down and they were since pot dishes.  This was very much appreciated since I'm still on crutches.  It's times like this that all the home canning I do comes in handy.  However, we are getting the freezers ready for our annual purchase so need to work on using the meat in them up.  

Parsnips & Beef Stew

Stews are the perfect winter comfort food. Much like soups and chowders, there is a basic method to making stews but the ingredients can vary greatly. Stews generally use a cheaper cut of meat so stewing over long, slow heat in a liquid is meant to tenderize the meat. The addition of vegetables adds flavour, colour, nutrition turning and thickening the liquid to form a gravy makes for a comforting, budget stretching meal. I previously posted recipes for beef stew, crockpot chicken stew, and French Canadian braised beef so today will present another beef stew that has a bit of a different flavour due to including parsnips as an ingredient.

Parsnips

Parsnips are a root vegetable that is often overlooked by many home cooks. While the resemble carrots they have a creamy white flesh and a stronger flavour than carrots. Parsnips can be cooked in many of the same ways as carrots but unlike carrots they are seldom eaten raw. They are richer in vitamins and minerals than carrots. Parsnips are rich in potassium with 600 mg per 100 g and a good source of dietary fiber.

Parsnips in particular is an ideal ingredient when making soups, stews and stocks. They add a depth and roundness in flavour.

Beef Stew

As with all of the stews I make this beef stew made use of what I had on hand. The end result was a lovely, chunky stew packed full of flavour and nutrition. I like browning meat before using it for stew as this adds more flavour. Once the meat was browned I put it into the crockpot then added carrots, parsnips, onions, bayleaf, potatoes and stock. When the potatoes were fork tender I added the corn and flour slurry to thicken continuing to cook for about 20 minutes. I added the frozen peas last letting them cook just enough to brighten. Pea are one of those vegetables that are best put into soups or stews last as they can easily over cook.

French Canadian Braised Beef

I love finding new but old recipes that still work well. Old recipes are wonderful in that they don't specify brands and we all know that in some cases brand A may vary in taste from brand B not that it is ever much of a concern for me as I tend to use my home canned or home frozen variants. They also tend to use less ingredients specifically less exotic ingredients. If you want frugal recipes for saving a few dollars when cooking look for the older recipes.

French Canadian Braised Beef

This recipe really starts out a lot like a stew and believe me I'm not exactly sure what makes this recipe French Canadian either. Likely this was a dish that was popular in French Canada at the time this cookbook was published (1965). In the end the sauce was quite thick, creamy in texture and tasty even thicker than a stew. It was rich, creamy and flavourful, definitely comfort food. In my opinion this dish could be adapted rather easily to using a slow cooker (crockpot) or the pressure cooker.

I made a couple of substitutions in the French Canadian Braised Beef recipe. The recipe didn't call for any oil so I added a bit to help with the searing. I substituted Montréal Steak Seasoning for the salt and pepper and I added a splash of Worcestershire sauce to bring a sparkle to the beef. I also exchanged the new potatoes called for in the recipe with cubed potatoes as I'm quite sure my ancestors would have made this type of dish during the winter when new potatoes were not available. In fairness the recipe does call for condensed cream of mushroom soup so I think my ancestors would have used heavy cream and perhaps mushrooms if they had them. I used the condensed cream of mushroom soup. I also changed the cooking method to add the fresh green beans in a few minutes before serving to keep the beans nice and bright.

French Canadian Braised Beef
modified from: French Canadian Braised Beef, Kate Aitken's Canadian Cook Book, 1965. Pp. 192.

2 lb stewing beef
¼ c corn starch
1 tsp Montréal Steak Seasoning
¼ c olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1½ c water
splash of Worcestershire sauce
1 c carrots, diced
1 c green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 small potatoes, bite sized pieces
10 oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup

Place the stew been, corn starch and seasoning in a covered bowl. Shake until meat is well coated. Heat oil in Dutch Oven then add onion and cook until translucent. Add the beef. Sear meat on all sides. Add water and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well. Cover tightly. Reduce heat to simmer and let simmer until meat is tender. Stir in potatoes, carrots, and mushroom soups. Continue cooking until vegetables are tender. Stir in green beans. Cook until beans are just tender.
Serves 6

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Soups, Stews, Chowders and Gumbos

A good portion of my cooking inspiration comes directly from some food catching my eye as I go into the pantry, refrigerator or freezers. Within minutes a plan is already in process with a somewhat rustic recipe forming in my head. I start jotting in my kitchen journal and it isn't long before I can visualize the final dish. While this method greatly influences my cooking style it is most apparent in my soups, stews, chowders and gumbos. Here's how I define these terms:

• soup - based on stock or broth, usually has one or more vegetables, may or may not have meat, may or may not be chunky, may or may not be creamy/smooth, may or may not have rice and/or noodles, liquid portion is not thickened
  
• stew - based on meat and thickened meat juices to form gravy, has one or more vegetables, always chunky with bite sized pieces, very thick, long/slow cook
  
• chowders - based on potatoes, has stock to cook vegetables in, may or may not have meat, always chunky, has milk and/or heavy cream, liquid portion is thickened to a constistency thicker than a soup but just a little thinner than stew
• gumbos - based on tomatoes and seafoods, may be accented with sausage, may have vegetables, has rice, usually spicy

Getting the texture perfect for these frugal dishes is quite easy with a few simple kitchen appliances and tools. Chances are good you already have these on hand. To make soups, stews, chowders or gumbos the following equipment is quite helpful:

• dutch oven
• slow cooker (crock pot)
• pressure cooker
• heavy stainless steel fry pan
  
• stick blender
  
• heavy stirring spoon
• ladle
  

One of my primary concerns when creating soups, stews, chowders, and gumbos is to pack the dish with the highest nutrition possible using in season or home preserved ingredients. What I'm really thinking when creating these dishes is how I'm going to build up to the final dish using a series of flavour layers. My next concern is flavour followed by colour! In terms of flavour, certain ingredients just go together nicely. In terms of colour, packing in a variety of colours using different vegetables or playing a garnish against the colour of the finished dish.

• first flavour layer - The first flavour layer usually consists of searing meats if they are being used. If using vegetables the first layer is usually the mirepoix (onions, celery, carrots or peppers) and is cooked in butter, bacon fat or other oil until the onions just start turning translucent. The oil or fat you choose does add a flavour to the final dish so choose something complimentary.
  
• base - All soups, stews, chowders and gumbos start off with a base. In most cases this starts with a meat or vegetable stock. The base is added to the mirepoix.
• vegetables/meat/seasonings - Let your main ingredient(s) be your guide always with the end result in mind. Pork and poultry pair nicely with dairy while beef and venison don't. Vegetables and meat are added next starting with root vegetables first. The root vegetables are allowed to cook until just tender. Seasonings such as bay leaf, garlic powder, salt and pepper are also added at this time. The rule of thumb is the stronger the flavour of the meat the stronger the seasoning that can be used. Don't use a delicate herb with a strong flavoured meat like beef as the flavour will be lost and at the same time don't use a strong herb with a delicate meat. The goal to strive for is a balance of flavour. This is the time to add any uncooked rice, pasta or lentils.
  
• additional seasonings - This is where you take advantage of the natural pairing to boost the flavour. For example citrus goes with fish, apples/maple syrup go with pork, cumin/Worcestershire sauce goes with beef so take advantage of that. Stir in a tablespoon of applesauce in a pork based stew and you might be pleasantly surprised with the results.
• the extras - Just before the soup, stew or chowder is finished cooking is the time to stir in niblet corn, sweat peas, sliced mushrooms or things like cooked rices or pastas, cooked beans or lentils, sour cream, milks and creams.
• thickening - Soups are generally thickened using a stick blender before serving. Stews are thickened with a slurry of cornstarch or flour added about a half hour before serving. Chowders are thickened with a slurry of cornstarch or flour in the final 10 minutes of cooking. Instant mashed potatoes can be used as a thickener for chowders as well. Gumbos naturally thicken by themselves as the liquid is absorbed during the cooking process.
• the garnish - There are very few times that I don't add a garnish to homemade soups, stews, chowders or gumbos. A garnish should always reflect the dish and usually highlights an ingredient in the dish. For example a soup contains sour cream so a suitable garnish is a sour cream tear drop with a sprinkling of dried parsley or a chowder has onions as an ingredient so a suitable garnish is chopped green onions. The garnish doesn't have to be the exact ingredient but it should give a visual clue to the ingredients.
  

Kitchen Quick Tips - Thickener

Use instant potatoes to thicken soups and stews in place of corn starch or flour.

Crockpot Chicken Stew

A lot of people love their crockpots but I'm not one of them despite having two. Mine tend to be used mainly for stews, during bulk cooking sessions or to keep something hot like apple cider when entertaining. That's it. One reason I dislike crockpots is because they require a long cook time and while that is good for meats it tends to make some foods turn to mush. While crockpots have a reputation of being energy efficient they actually can cost more to operate than a pressure cooker. In reality, crockpots are money savers but for a different reason. You can put the ingredients in the crockpot before you leave for work in the morning, set it on low and by the time you get home a nice, hot and tasty meal will be ready for you.

Crockpot Chicken Stew

The vast majority of my soups and stews are made from scratch without a written recipe. I start with an idea then add as I go jotting down what I add in my kitchen journal. This allows me to duplicate and tweak further. Saturday we were hosting a larger event and since I had a lot of prep to do for that I wanted something easier for dinner. The idea of making chicken stew in the crockpot came to mind. It meant there would be reduced clean-up so I could spend the time between dinner and guest arrival doing last minute prep.

Crockpot Chicken Stew

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 medium potatoes, washed
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
4 lg carrots, coined
1½ c niblet corn
1 L home canned/made chicken stock
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp Herbs de Province
2 tbsp flour
water

Lightly brown the chicken breasts. Remove and cut into cubes. Place in slow cooker with the chicken stock. Cut wash potatoes into cubes and add to the crockpot. Prepare carrots, onions and celery. Add to crockpot along with corn. Add Worcestershire sauce and herbs. Mix well. Cover then set the crockpot to low. Allow to cook for 6 hours. Check vegetables for doneness. Increase temperature to high. Allow to cook until vegetables are just tender. Mix flour with water to form a slurry. Slowly pour into the liquids in the crockpot. Stir then allow to continue cooking until the liquids thicken.

Homemade Beef Stew

With the house being listed and already shown, I've decided this is a good time to haul out my slowcookers. Life is already busy and it just got busier. Besides a meal cooking in the slowcooker fills the house with yummy smells. This just dawned on me when unexpectedly yesterday a couple wanted to see the house right this minute and since they were from out of town I figured the real estate agent should go ahead and show it. I had put stew in the crockpot for dinner so it was cooking as the house was being shown. The house smelled good and the three of them were pretty close to staying for dinner.

Beef Stew

Like soups, my stews tend to vary with what I have on hand. I don't measure but rather do a toss in thing. I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of crockpots even though I have two. They are used for stews, pulled meat, hot apple cider and sometimes chili. They are used more during bulk cooking sessions.

My beef stew always starts out with about two and a half pounds of stew beef, olive oil, potatoes, carrots, onion, corn, fresh mushrooms, bay leaf, Montreal Steak spice and Worchestershire sauce. From there any vegetable is fair game and I have even added kidney beans to stew. I added rutabegga to this stew. So while there is no actual recipe, here is the method.

Method - Brown the stew beef in olive oil in a large frypan. Sprinkle a little Montreal steak spice over the browned beef. Pour the beef mixture into the crockpot. Splash 2-3 good dashes of Worchestershire sauce on top of the beef. Stir in prepared vegetables (bite size) and bay leaf. Pour in water or beef stock just until you can see it. Set the crockpot to low and leave it alone for about 8 hours. If adding greens like broccoli add just before thickening. For thickening use a flour slurry seasoned with salt and pepper 15 minutes before the stew should is ready to serve.