I've got the rainy day stews...

What else do you do on rainy days than come back to your long-lost blog? I've exhausted every other to-do list, and so I'm here.

And, in light of how unseasonably cold it has been, I made a couple of stews (and cornbread, of course!). So, with tummy full and nothing else to do, I'm jotting down what I came up with today:

Stew #1: Pork Curry Stew

You'll need:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1/2 Tablespoon curry powder
1/2 Tablespoon ground bitter pepper
1/2 Tablespoon ground sweet red pepper
8 oz. (250 g) pork, cut into 1/2-in. (1.5-cm) cubes
32 oz. (1 L) water* + chicken bouillon cubes**
3 med. potatoes, cut into 1/2-in. (1.5-cm) cubes
salt + pepper to taste

FRY: Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add chopped onions and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic, stir, and fry for another minute. Add crushed red pepper, curry powder, ground bitter pepper, and ground sweet red pepper, and stir until onion and garlic are covered in spices. Fry and stir for 3-4 minutes, scraping the drippings off the bottom of the pot. Add the pork cubes, stir to combine, and fry until they are cooked through.

STEW: Add the water, bouillon cubes, potatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Simmer on low, covered for at least 30 minutes. The longer it sits, the better it gets!

SERVE: Ladle and serve. This goes perfectly with cornbread muffins.

YIELD: 4-5 servings

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Stew #2: Beef + Red Wine Stew

You'll need:
4 Tablespoons butter
2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
salt + pepper to taste
8 oz. (250 g) beef steak, cut into 1/2-in. (1.5-cm) cubes
2 cups red wine
2 medium carrots, quartered and chopped
10 oz. can sliced mushrooms + liquid
1 medium potato, cut into 1/2-in. (1.5-cm) cubes
16 oz. (500 ml) water* + bouillon cubes**
1/4 teaspoon thyme

FRY: Heat butter in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onions and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, salt + pepper, stir, and fry for another minute. Add beef and fry until cooked through, stirring and scraping the drippings off the pot periodically.

STEW: Add the red wine, carrots, mushrooms + liquid, potato, water + bouillon, and thyme. Stir well. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for at least an hour, covered.

SERVE: Ladle and serve.  This ALSO goes great with cornbread.

YIELD: 5-6 servings

*you can use leftover broth, whey, etc.
**my bouillon cubes are for 16 oz. (500 ml) of water

We had both of these today - had to keep warm somehow!  Hope you enjoy them just as much as we did.

Ciao for now!

Basic Tomato Sauce

This stuff works as a great base for many Italian dishes.  Mmm!  And, I hope you love garlic, because I love garlic, and this stuff has a lot of it.  Here, you have a meat-based sauce, though it's very easy to go meatless*.  So, do as you please!

You'll need:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1 lb. (500 g**) minced meat - mine's a mix of beef and pork
28-oz. (800 g) can tomatoes (crushed or diced)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3-4 torn bay leaves

GARLIC: Heat a large skillet on med-low and add the olive oil to skillet. Add garlic to the skillet and cook until fragrant and lightly browned (approx. 1 minute), stirring constantly. Add the crushed red pepper, if desired.

MEAT: Add meat. Continuously break up meat into small bits and fry until no longer pink. Add a small amount of the tomatoes to the pan and loosen the drippings from the skillet with the spatula.

TOMATOES + SPICES: Add the rest of the tomatoes, oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme, salt, and sugar. Stir to combine. Add bay leaves.

SIMMER: Bring to a boil, lower temperature, cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.



USE: Remove and discard bay leaves, store in your refrigerator (up to 2 days) for a later day, or incorporate into your current dish, like I'm doing (soon-to-come: Zucchini Lasagna!).

*Meatless: Simply substitute the meat with 1 large yellow onion, diced, and fry it for 2-3 minutes before adding the garlic and crushed red pepper.

**500 grams is not 1 pound.  However, I buy meat by the kilo and I just halve it for my recipes.  It's really 453 g/lb.  So, if you visit me in Europe you get more meat in your dishes!

I would love knowing what you use this for! Spaghetti? Classic Lasagna? Do tell.

Also, any other variations?

Off to make Zucchini Lasagna...