Feeding the Neighborhood - Let Me Tell You A Love Story

Every fairytale begins with the same simple words: Once upon a time. With these words, the reader knows that they are in for a magic story - a story of good versus evil, of love and happily ever after.

About once a week, a girlfriend and self-proclaimed foodie who believes that bacon should not only form its own foodgroup but also reign as supreme inanimate master to us all comes into our office, and in a hurried, breathless voice, says, "Let me tell you a love story." What follows tells not of romantic love as we know it, with stolen kisses and whispered sweet nothings, oh no. The story that follows tells of a love to intense to ignore, too sensuous to forgo...the love that exisits betwixt a foodie and their food.

Now, I am no foodie. I have no formal education or schooling in anything related to food, unless you count numerous hours of Food Network Shows as training (in that case, check!). In fact, it wasn't until about three weeks ago that I actually made a batch of Jell-o that, you know, gelled. I do, however, LOVE food. I love buying food, heading out to market and picking out the best produce and finding the best sales. I love eating food (as most people do...I mean, really, how many people have you ever met who were all "Nah, man, I'm just not that into food..." ?). But, most of all, I love making and serving food. Which is why I'm here.

My name is Katie. I'll be cooking for you today, and on many days to come. I will be presenting recipes that I have cooked for my family and friends, the core of which consists of a range of food types from the picky eater (the Husband), the stubborn eater (the Preschooler), the not-yet-an-eater (the Baby), and the experienced cook (the Mother-in-Law). The recipes will come from various sources: family recipes, cookbooks, internet finds, magazines, and the like. The recipes I share will be ones that anyone can handle - like I said, I'm a moderate cook, and with two kids and a job I don't have a ton of time to devote to elaborate fancy feasts, which is about where most of us are in life, am I right? I'll definitely push my own envelopes in terms of ingredients and cooking styles, but not so much that it is cumbersome and unrelateable - that's a promise. 

My joy with this project comes in sharing by picture and words my love for food and my love of others through food. So, without further ado...let me tell you a love story.

I think that Springtime offers a lot of variety when it comes to meals - Autumn and Winter meals tend to be on the heavier, richer side, while Summer meals lean towards light and clean in feeling and taste. Spring meals have both sets of elements - the warm days lend themselves to simple, fresh dishes while the cool nights still allow for warm comfort cravings.

I had this in mind today when I hit the freezer in search of a dinner idea. I was in the mood for pot roast, but I wasn't really feeling the "meat and mashed potatoes" thing - felt too heavy for tonight, seeing as it was close to 70 degrees outside during the day. I had a few beef roasts in the freezer but at 10 am, I didn't think I had enough time to pull off slow-cooking them (which is my preferred method for beef roasts). So, I went to visit my dear old friend Allrecipes.com and searched for slow cooked beef roast options. I found a Campbell's Kitchen beef stew recipe that married my want for pot roast flavor with my need to keep things on the lighter side.

First, take a pound and a half of stewing beef (pre-cubed saves time) and toss it with 1/4 cup of flour in a ziploc bag. Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of oil, then the floured steak. Brown it on all sides. To this pan, add 2 cans of beef broth, 1/2 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tablespoon thyme (the recipe calls for 1 tablespoon but I've got a group that thinks too much thyme is bad, which I can't for the life of me understand but oblige nonetheless), 2 cloves worth of minced garlic (I estimate this using two teaspoons of the jarred stuff), and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Set aside.

Put 2 cups of baby carrots, 2 cups of sliced celery (about 4 stalks), 1 wedged onion, and 3 cups of diced potatoes (approximately 1 large baking potato) into the slow cooker. Pour beef and juices on top of the vegetable mixture and top with two bay leaves. Set at high for 4-5 hours.

Now, I always read the reviews before I start in on a recipe from the internet, and I had fair warning thanks to those fine folks that this recipe may indeed come out bland...which it did. Somewhat. There was good flavor from the browned meat mixture no doubt, just not enough. When I checked the dish at the four-hour mark, I added 1/2 of a packet of beefy-onion soup mix and this seemed to do the trick. However, a beef boullion cube would have done nicely as well.

The broth was thin with a clean beef and onion flavor thanks, well, to the beef, onion, and beefy-onion flavor packet.  The vegetables came out tender and the beef fell apart nicely. I served this with warm biscuts (freezer-to-oven style) but it would also go nicely with a simple green salad if you wanted to keep the overall meal light (conversely, I would have added flour to the mixture to thicken it more like gravy for a heavier dish). This go-round, I wanted the warm comfort of the biscuit and, well, little else can sop up the juices from the bottom of your bowl better than a biscuit.

Give it a try - How would you improve upon the flavor of this dish? Did the onion soup packet work for you, or did you try something else? Maybe you added a little red pepper flakes for a kick? Tell me in the comments. I look forward to seeing your ideas!