It’s the time of year when stew becomes a weekly occurrence on our dinner table! And if you are into fitness and eating well, experimenting with stew gives you even more ways to utilize with the healthy foods you eat daily. Stew is a favorite in my household, where my children even named their rabbits Hoss N’ Feffer (as in the popular and tasty rabbit stew we all love called hossenfeffer). Each time I am in the kitchen cooking up a fresh pot, I say, “who doesn’t like stew?” The children laugh and say, “Hoss N’ Feffer don’t like stew!”
This afternoon I had a real brainchild. The stew meat that I store for the winter was deeply frozen. I was feeling quite lazy, and didn’t want to have to wait to thaw it. So, I grabbed out a fresh tri-tip, diced it into cubes, massaged it with a rosemary olive oil, paprika, a dash of chili-pepper, and Celtic sea salt rub. I then tossed all the meat into the crock pot.
I sautéed one yellow onion, 3 stalks of celery, 3 cloves of garlic, and 8 heirloom variety tomatillos in a non-stick pan on the stove. I added 3 tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes suspended in olive oil to the mixture. I then made the broth, which consisted simply of Better than Bullion Beef Base, which I have found to be a lifesaver in the kitchen! For good
measure (and a complete meal) I added 1/2 cup uncooked wild rice, which I had purchased on my last trip to the White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota. The real thing is always far better than an imitation when it comes to rice.
I allowed the ingredients to slow cook throughout the entire day, turning the house into a virtual Shangri-La of aromas! About 2 hours before the stew was finished, I added another tomatillo (finely diced) a few more stalks of celery, and some diced Yukon Gold potatoes. This second batch of veggies is added to obtain texture throughout the stew. A second addition of veggies that has not been cooked as long as the first gives any stew much more depth and crunch.
Needless to say, the stew was a complete success. Because I was unsure that my children would appreciate the green color of the tomatillos, I had made some oven-baked mac and cheese using organic, whole wheat noodles, organic half and half, Colby and sharp cheddar, and butter. The combination of the soup and pasta was sinful, but perfectly balanced.
Stew serves more than one purpose. Besides making your entire house smell like Martha Stewart’s kitchen, and aside from the healthful benefits of your ingredients, stew heats up the body for long periods of time. A warm body means a faster metabolism, and the ability to burn more calories faster. Stews that are made using bones, such as chicken stew, also carry the increased benefits from the marrow, which has been proven to help combat the colds and fatigue commonly associated with winter.
If you are a soup/stew lover like I am, try experimenting with some of the better winter vegetables that are always in season at your local growers market this time of year: Kale, squash, turnips, beets, parsnips, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, sting beans, broccoli, and cauliflower. Next week, if I can find a lick of time, I may share with you my recipe for Cream of Cauliflower soup, which is so delightful that my children have NO idea they are actually consuming a vegetable. 🙂
Love to all,
Orange Crush, Hoss N’ Feffer
I Am 