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
- LARGE glass of the red stuff
- 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
- Heat up a fry pan. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil, until they soften and become fragrant.
- Add meat, and brown on all sides to seal in those meaty juices.
- Place cooked onion, garlic, herbs and meat into your slow cooker bowl. Add the tin of tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, wine, sugar, and salt.
- 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).
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.
I really really really want a slow cooker – its looks like you can do anything with one!!! I’ve eaten so much mince over the past week I feel a bit like I might turn into a cow carcass BUT thinking about Spag Bol has restarted a mini craving!
Slow cookers are so good – especially during the week when you are working – come home + dinner has cooked itself. When I was pregnant I went back to eating meat, and all I was craving was MINCE. Spag Bol, meatballs, hamburgers, anything mincey 🙂
such a man meal for sure. I bet it did smell gooooood! slow cookers will do that.
ANYTHING in a slow cooker smells good – I’m sure you could put road kill in one, and the smell would make you hungry! (ewwwww) I’ll have to come up with a vego slow cooker meal soon 🙂
Ohh I want that slow cooker.
it’s so flippin’ stylish!
Love a good slow cooker meal – CD and I would both love this. Little one would too. Also need to remember the pile of clean laundry game. That does look like fun. Oh, and regarding the Lou’s Laddoos – 1 to 2 weeks, huh? Those wouldn’t last 2 hours in our fridge! Yum – I want.
Yeah, I laughed when I wrote that too… I think there are 2 laddoos left, and I made them 2 days ago (I’m actually shocked they lasted that long!) Clean laundry game = AWESOME, so funny I almost peed myself laughing (come on, pelvic floor muscles, I know you are still down there somewhere!) 🙂