Winter Philosophy

At this writing, we are experiencing a Polar Vortex dipping into the middle of the U.S. It brings us some of the lowest temperatures and wind chills in recorded history.

We have taken the steps we can to prepare:

  • Check the propane level for the house and the generator
  • Close off the porch
  • Stock up on birdseed to help our feathered friends
  • Dig out our warmest clothes
  • Make sure the vehicles are full of gas

Like many of you, we prefer long days of warm sunshine, being outside working in the garden or mowing the grass, and sipping cold iced tea in the afternoon shade. We don’t like to be cold or to shovel snow when it piles up in the driveway or drifts in front of the garage door.

Some people cope with the cold dark winter by moving south to warmer weather, but we hunker down and stay put.

There is also a beauty to winter we must not forget. Winter gives us time to do some of those inside chores we put off until after gardening season. It offers us a time to rest from the hard labor that often comes with outside work.

In the midst of the vigilance required to stay safe in bitter cold and snow, while we wait for the sun to drift further north on it’s daily rounds, let’s remember to be grateful.

Here’s a short list to get you started:

  • Long evenings to read a book
  • The beauty of pure white snow pouring a cleansing blanket on the brown landscape
  • When fog freezes on the trees turning everything into a wonderland
  • The blessing of a warm house

What are you grateful for?

Instapot Peasant Stew

Last Sunday, I was hungry for Boeuf Bourguignon.

What is this fancy French sounding dish? It is a beef stew in red wine made somewhat famous by Julia Child. The stew is simmered for 3-4 hours in the oven, developing deep rich flavor.

Before I go further, I must make a disclaimer. For those of you following our adventures at Five Feline Farm, you know we have significantly reduced our consumption of red meat. However, when we do choose to eat beef, we go all out on something high quality, delicious and special.

Back to the Boeuf Bourguignon.

It was already 4:30 PM and not wanting to wait until 8:00PM to eat, there were two choices: make something different or find a short cut.

I made up an Instapot shortcut.

Since I wasn’t following a recipe, I also decided call my version Peasant Stew.

Peasant Stew

1 pound beef, cut into 1 inch cubes (use any cut that has some fat marbled throughout, I happened to have a couple of strip steaks in the freezer)

1 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup minced onion

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

2 cups beef stock

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsp tomato paste

3 large carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch slices

2 Tbsp flour

salt and pepper to taste

1 pound buttom mushrooms, quartered

6 Tbsp butter, divided

2 tsp neutral oil such as canola or grapeseed

Heat oil in Instapot using the brown/saute setting. Add beef in single layer and brown all sides. Work in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pot. Remove beef and set aside. Add onion and garlic, saute for 2 minutes or until fragrant and beginning to turn transluscent. Add flour, stirring for about 1 minute until browned. Add red wine and continue cooking for 3 minutes to release alcohol. Add tomato paste, carrots and browned beef to pot and then beef stock. Make sure the stock just covers the beef and carrots, using more or less than 2 cups as necessary. Add bay leaf.

Attach cover and set steam vent to closed. Use stew setting or manual with high pressure for 35 minutes.

While stew is cooking, melt 2 Tblsp butter in skillet and saute mushrooms until browned. Work in batches to avoid crowding if needed.

After pressure has released, remove and discard bay leaf. Remove beef and carrots, then set pot to brown/saute to boil broth. Once reduced by half, add remaining butter by tablespoons until sauce is silky. Stir in beef, carrots and mushrooms and stir to coat.

This is best served with a crusty bread and green salad.

Bon Appetit!

For more recipes like this, check out Simply Delicious, a memoir of cooking.

052-Seed Starting

It is mid-January as we recorded this and time to start the first seedlings for the garden. We discuss our process and plans for the upcoming season.

We get the majority of our seeds from Johnny’s and Baker’s Creek and recommend these sources for high quality seeds. Donna also describes saving seeds and how to determine when seeds from prior years are still viable.

And here’s the link to Gardener’s Supply.

Thanks for listening.

See ya.