viper is man. man eat meat.

Grizzly, upset teething child.

Prescription for child:

• Good dose of favourite DVD, ‘In the Night Garden,’ (such a trippy show, whoever writes it totally had too much fun in the 70s)
• Slightly frozen strawberry yoghurt to help sooth sore gums
• Playing in huge pile of clean washing (best fun EVER)
• Homeopathic teething remedy

blurry action shot - but oh so much fun!

Prescription for Mother:

• LARGE glass of the red stuff

(Repeat prescription as required)

(It was required rather frequently)

Don’t you love it when you find a really nice bottle of cab merlot, and it’s only $6?!  When I splurge on a new wine that is in the higher price range (mentality of more expensive = must be totally amazing) it always ends up sitting on the shelf, and then I have to freeze it for cooking.  Maybe I just have a cheap wine tasting palette.  Suits me.  I’m cheap.

Viper has decided to contribute a ‘manly’ recipe (not sure what that means?) utilising some of the said frozen (expensive) wine and large amounts of meat.  Basically he said it’s like spag bol in stew form – rich, meaty and comforting.  Why can’t our family just make a regular Spag Bol?  This recipe requires hardly any effort, as it’s all done in a slow cooker.  The coolest slow cooker of them all.  So groovy.

Love the fact that it’s called the “Crock-O-Dial,” classic.

Viper’s Slow-cooked Spag Bol Stew

• 250g rump (or chuck) steak, chopped into chunks
• 1T olive oil
• 1 large brown onion, diced finely
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 1T dry mixed Italian herbs
• Tin of Italian chopped tomatoes
• 2T tomato paste
• 1t sea salt (or to taste)
• 1t raw sugar
• 2/3C red wine
• 1/3C beef stock
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 1 LARGE (it was a monster) potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• Freshly ground black pepper

plastic wrapped meat, my favourite

1. Heat up a fry pan.  Saute onions and garlic in olive oil, until they soften and become fragrant.
2. Add meat, and brown on all sides to seal in those meaty juices.
3. Place cooked onion, garlic, herbs and meat into your slow cooker bowl.  Add the tin of tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, wine, sugar, and salt.
4. Check your slow-cooker’s manual for cooking instructions (ours is from the 70s, so who knows how it compares to today’s models?) Viper cooked the stew on low for 2 hours, then added in potatoes, and cooked for another hour.  He added the grated carrot about 30 minutes before he was ready to eat – they were grated, and cook quickly.  Alternatively, just cut the carrots in chunks, and add at the same time as potatoes.  Basically, keep peeking and tasting, and serve up when you are happy (slow cookers are awesome).

peeking

Season with freshly ground black pepper.

Serve as is, sprinkled with some fresh herbs (basil, parsley etc) , with crusty, chewy french bread or a rustic sourdough.

You can add any other vegetables you like to this – mushrooms would be great – or serve with a side dish of steamed greens.  Sweet potato or pumpkin would be good alternatives to the potato.

Viper wanted to keep it very masculine in the “meat + potato” realm.  Whatever.

Viper says that the key to a good appliance is the ability to ‘peek’ in.  That’s why he loves the slow cooker, he can peek (and taste) and peek (and taste) all the way through the cooking process.  He also enjoys peeking at baking bread in our bread maker (if you are looking to purchase one of these, it MUST have a little window in the top, for optimum peeking, advises Viper).  He even goes to the extreme of admitting to love a good peek inside the washing machine during a cycle (?)

He’s a strange creature, our Viper, but his Spag Bol Stew did smell INCREDIBLE, even to a hungry little vego.