RUSSIAN BEEF STEW

Finally, my Russian Beef Stew.  I finished cooking the stew in the oven in my stainless steel pan equipped with a tight cover.  I know...why is she starting at the end??  Because everything happens in this pan -- it's the stage for all the actor ingredients to play their roles.  So if you have a stainless steel pan use it, you won't regret it.  This recipe was easy and took less time than I imagined, including prepping. 

First, though not as lean as I would've liked, I used beef stew meat.  After completely defrosting, sprinkle salt over all of it.  Not too much though, there'll be plenty of flavors to come.  Also, be mindful of the fat/oil content, olive oil or grease from the meat and bacon.  If you rather add another tablespoon of olive oil and drain the bacon grease, that's fine, but I wouldn't leave it all in.  You'll find yourself scraping it off the top in the end anyway.

Start with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoons of butter in a hot pan.  Throw in beef and brown it well on all sides, then transfer to a clean bowl. 











Next, cook finely chopped onions and garlic until translucent. Remove from pan and follow with cooking the bacon, till slightly brown and crisp.  Again, spoon bacon grease out if you think it's too much.

1 pound of lean beef (cut in cubes)
2 mediums onions, chopped
3 medium cloves of garlic
2 slices of bacon/chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1tablespoon of butter

Now it's time to pull it all together.

With bacon, add onions, garlic and mix in one tablespoon of flour.  Next, 1/2 cup of beef stock.  Mix well, scraping the bottom of the pan to free up any bits of meat, onion or bacon.  Add meat, potatoes, carrots, 1/2 teaspoons of salt, pepper, plus two or three bay leaves.  Mix.  Another 1/2 cup of beef stock and 1/2 cup of water.  The contents should sit at least half way in the liquid (don't worry this will reduce).  Finish with a dash of garlic powder and paprika.  Bring to a boil for about 3-5 minutes. 

Potatoes cut in small cubes
Carrots chopped small

½ Tsps. salt & pepper
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup of beef stock
1/2 cup of water
2-3 bay leaves

 

 
Cover pan tightly and place in middle rack at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Remember most of this is already done and the rest doesn't need long to cook.  Also, every oven is different, so what you want is the sauce to simmer in the pan.  If you think it's boiling, lower the temperature.

Get your sour cream ready: 1-2 dollops of sour cream

Once done, put on stovetop and add sour cream.  I added 2 dollops of sour cream and although it tasted great, it was one dollop too many for me.  With everything, flavor to taste.

Serve and enjoy.

 

A Try At The Banana Upside Down Chocolate Cake

So I made the below this past weekend (including the Russian Beef Stew, which I'll post about tomorrow).  I threw the banana slices into a hot pan of a butter and peanut butter mix I created.  I passed on the molasses as it seemed too much...actually it just didn't make much sense.  Not that some of you will think that butter AND peanut butter makes any sense.  Once the peanut butter loosened up and the bananas were fully covered, I poured everything into a bundt cake pan.  I made sure all the banana slices were evenly distributed at the bottom, then covered it with chocolate cake batter.  Baking time: about 30 minutes.  The result was...

I ended up with a mini crust of peanut butter/banana.  I would've liked the taste of the banana and peanut butter to be more pronounced.  And the look of it, a little prettier.  I thought the bananas would show off more but they turned out mashed onto the cake.  Perhaps my bananas were too ripe?  I wanted to try something similar to what I did a month ago with apples in a 9inch pie pan.  Then, the result was spectacular: both flavor and visually.  Seems bananas are a little harder to work with, but I can always check out how others have conquered the challenge and try again.  In either case, I think it's yummy with a side of vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream!

IN SEARCH OF RUSSIAN BEEF STEW

I did some research online of Russian Beef Stew and from what I can see; there are more recipes out there for Beef Stroganoff than anything else.  A few recipes called Russian Beef Stew did surface, with slight variations.
Your typical Beef Stroganoff seems to consist of beef tenderloin, a small amount of all-purpose flour, beef consommé, sour cream, onions and salt/pepper.  Some recipes added Dijon mustard mushrooms, and tomato paste.

The recipes for Russian Beef Stew also contained beef (lean slices), onion sour cream, and salt/pepper. However, some added bacon, beef stock, bay leaves, sauerkraut, and tomatoes.

It was hard to know if these ingredients or even some, surmounted to the Russian Beef Stew I ate (see my notes two posts ago).  The only way I can recreate those flavors for myself, with my own twist, is to compile a recipe based on my likes and dislikes.

So, since we were snowed in today, I came up with what I think is a simple recipe.  I like simple flavors where the main ingredient is the star.  In this case the beef.  I’ll give it a go in the next week or so (as soon as the roads are plowed and I can make it to the market).

I will definitely start with:

1 pound of lean beef (I’ll cut some in cubes)

2-3 small-mediums onions, chopped

If the beef is really lean, then I’ll add:

3-6 slices of chopped bacon (for flavor and fat)

Followed by:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

½ Tsps. salt & pepper

2 bay leaves

1-2 medium cloves of garlic, chopped

½ cup of beef broth

I’ll only add the broth if I feel it needs the moisture, I really don’t want it soupy.

(**By the way, does the word stew always have to mean soupy or brothy?**  Just a thought.)  

I'll probably make it in a stainless steel pan so I can throw it in the oven for a bit, then finish it off with:

1-2 dollops of sour cream

I'll let you know how it goes.  If I change or add anything (which I’m sure in a moment of inspiration I will) I’ll let you know.  Oh, and if any of you have any thoughts or ideas on Russian Beef Stew, let me know.
Lastly, on the weather front: If you’re out doors, but struggling to get around due to the Nor’easter that just visited the East…my sympathies.  I’m right there with you...all 38".

 

Disruptive Inconvenience?

So this guy walks into the elevator with his left arm in a sling.  I turn to him and say, "That can't be fun."  He rolls his eyes affirmingly and says "No, it's a major disruptive inconvenience.  It's amazing how disruptive it is to my life."  I know this sounded like it was headed for a joke, but it isn't...not really.

As I looked at his thumb sticking out of the sling, bandaged in white gauze, I wanted to tell him the temperature outside had dropped and, it just started snowing harder, too.  In that second, the elevator doors opened and we all filed out in automatic fashion.  Behind me I could hear him engaged in conversation with the other rider.  Their voices drifted further away as I became lost in thought with his words, "disruptive inconvenience". 

How many times have I had (and seen others have) disruptive inconveniences.  And, how many of those have been a blessing.  Not all inconveniences are the worst thing ever.  Often they are exactly what we need in order to see where we are, and in order to shift gears.  I understand how painful injuries like this can be, but putting the pain aside, perhaps the funny thing is, sometimes it's exactly what we need to slow things down. 

Today, without having any disruptive inconvenience to motivate me, I slowed down to have lunch away from my desk...really away, like the other building at our cafeteria.  (I think they call them commissaries these days.)  I'd like to think I ate lunch slowly, but who am I kidding.  Baby steps, right folks.  I can't slow down everything at once!  When I finished eating, I did slow down enough to move forward with an idea.  I stopped to see if I could catch our chef's ear and suggest he post recipes of some of the delicious meals I've been having the last two weeks.  Alas, he was engaged with some corporate suits and I could not get his attention.  I suppose there's always email.  In any case, I asked one of the cooks to clue me in on what I had just eaten: Russian Beef Stew.  I think it's the perfect dish for any cold day.  I'll do a little research on it and get back to you...unless, you have some insight.  It was absolutely delicious and rustic.

This weekend, instead of waiting for a disruptive inconvenience to slow things down for me, I'll practice it on my own.  How about a yummy dessert?  I was thinking a pear or banana upside down chocolate cake...molasses will be involved for sure.  If I can put in the time to make a wonderful dessert -- trust me, I've slowed down.

Well, may we all have disruptive inconveniences that we can see as wonderful blessings, that take us to delightful places.  Till then, take a moment to slow down and view this sweet picture, courtesy of Giant George's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/GiantGeorge)

Pilgrimages In Tiny Proportions

Why haven't I been posting??  It's not that I haven't been taking photos, or baking, or gardening, though once the cold weather came I cleaned out my raised bed and prepared it for winter.  I took a hiatus, and also did some interesting things.

Some of those things are:
1) Learned more about myself through gardening
2) Got married (big one at my age!)
3) Traveled to Prince Edward Island, Canada and fell in love with the landscape
4) Become a better baker
5) Learned how imperfectly human I really am
6) Co-organized a Sandy Hook Elementary School benefit concert

To name just a few...

Many of experiences have been what I call tiny pilgrimages.  My travel partner at times has been Fear, and Fear has taken me to the very edges of my tolerances (both negative and positive), my desires and the edges of what I want in my future.  Each one a pilgrimage of intention, which I am still walking through (sometimes strongly marching). 

I've also been busy getting acquainted with the world of Twitter and have met many fascinating people and organizations.  I will be adding this link to my Twitter account soon.  For almost a year I felt quite alone on this site, perhaps Twitter will attract more dialogue, community. And most recently, I've been teaching myself how to speak the basics (really basics) of the Indonesian language, as I will be traveling to Bali soon. 

Many things have appeared in my life quite timely, one being another meditation challenge.  For the next 28 days I will commit to meditating and logging what my experiences.  Feel free to contact Sharon Salzberg if you'd like to join: http://www.sharonsalzberg.com/realhappiness/blog

Finally and sadly, I recently learned of a friend's passing.  He was 76 years old and going to Asia was something he wanted to do for a long time.  Unfortunately, he died en route.  It was an unexpected death, and a reminder...if I wait for things to be in order before moving forward with my desires -- well, I think you know the rest.  Death is the last human pilgrimage before entering the other side (whatever the otherside is) - WHAT do you want to do with your today while you still have it?