# 220: Whatcha Got in the Fridge Stew
# 220: Whatcha Got in the Fridge Stew
It's just what it sounds like and was soooo good! Recipe included.
The Trip Home
Last week I was sunning myself…well actually shading myself…at a beach in the USVI with my sis. She’s lived there for thirty-five years and knows some great ones on her island. I do say shading as I was protecting my lily-white northwest skin from the sun and didn’t want to get a burn which would be so easy to do. After we arrived and got our gear out of the car, we walked onto the beach looking for little spots tucked under the trees and out of the sun to set up camp. We draped our towels over the backs of our beach chairs, took off our sandals and wraps, and settled in for an hour or so by the beautiful blue waters of the Caribbean with dips in the waves to stay cool and get some exercise. It was heaven for this confirmed north-westerner. After a week, I headed home, carrying my backpack and a few mosquito and no-see-um bites, too. They always find me no matter where I am.
The trip home was easy more or less—the easy part being that the planes all kept their doors on during the flights back to Seattle. I had the bulkhead on the aisle right behind first class and the seat next to me was empty, too. Great! I’ll just put on my airpods and listen to music or watch a movie and enjoy a “free” drink, I thought. I got through half of Oppenheimer while sipping one of those little bottles of Dewar’s whiskey, but found the movie to be a little too intense after such a carefree Caribbean visit so turned it off and settled for the mellow music I had downloaded onto my phone. So far so good…that is until my seatmate on the window side fairly leapt over me to get to the bathroom, not once, not twice, but upwards of ten times during the flight! It didn’t matter whether my eyes were closed or open. Each time they jumped up and over me abruptly before I could unbuckle my seatbelt and let them out, rushed down the aisle to the back of the plane and…well, I don’t really want to know what they were doing. Oh, and they were constantly blowing their nose and sneezing, too. I was very happy I had remembered to put a mask in my pack. Anyway, when we finally landed they said to me, well that was certainly a long flight. I couldn’t agree more but most likely for different reasons. As we waited for the plane to unload, I did suggest that perhaps they request an aisle seat the next time they flew, to which there was no response. I truly hope I didn’t offend them.
When I got home it was brrrr cold! The sun was out but snow was, and still is, down to the low part of the foothills below the Olympic Mountains. I wanted something grounding and nourishing to eat, looked in the freezer and found some leftover stew meat from last month’s Bake with Kate Zoom workshop. A warm bowl of stew sounded perfect.
I set the meat out to defrost on the counter and got the slow cooker out from the pantry. When the meat was soft enough, I cut it into 1” to 1 and 1/2” cubes, coated them in flour with a little paprika and S&P, and browned them in some oil. I looked in the fridge to see what else I had in the there that could join the sizzle. Mushrooms, carrots, celery, and leeks were all in good shape. There were also several jars of other likely candidates to add—one of leftover green enchilada sauce and adobo peppers in the other. Okay, now I was really in business!
I chopped everything up, added it to the meat, letting the leeks cook up a bit and get soft. Then I added some water and vegetable stock concentrate from a jar, a can of diced tomatoes, the green enchilada sauce and about four chopped up adobo peppers. I added a little more S&P, put the top on the slow cooker and set it on low to cook. How long you ask? Well, as it was now ten o’clock in the evening, I was tired and went to bed. That’s the beauty of slow cooking…you dump stuff into the pot, put the lid on, set the dial to low and walk away. Right?
When I got up in the morning…at least I think it was morning but I really couldn’t vouch for that as I was still on Caribbean time which is four hours ahead and the only clock I have in the house is the one on my oven…I padded into the kitchen, which was smelling delicious by the way, took the top off the slow cooker and dished myself up a bowl. Stew for breakfast? Heck ya!
By the way, I’d never made beef stew with green enchilada sauce and adobo peppers before but I’ll definitely be making it again.
There’s no place like home!
Enjoy!
