Beef stew

Sometimes the most basic recipes are the best, especially if you're making something for the first time.

I bought about 1 and a quarter pounds of beef stew meat from Fischer Farms, after accepting a stew sample at a stand this weekend, out in the crisp autumn air. It hit the spot. The woman at the stand said all she did was throw the meat into the crock pot with a little salt and pepper and let it cook.

So I bought some meat and threw it in the crock pot with some other ingredients this morning.

It was the first time I had made a beef stew, so I stuck to carrot, onion, garlic, and potato. It was perfect on a chilly day like today. Plus, I love it when the house smells yummy!

By the way, the Fischer Farms name may be familiar to you from this Vietnamese lemongrass beef recipe.

Beef stew (serves 5-6)

2 carrots, sliced

2 medium yellow potatoes, chopped, skins on

2 onions, quartered or in eighths

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1.5 cups or so of water (don't add all at once; add about half to start, then add the rest as you see fit during cooking time)

1.25 pounds of beef stew meat

salt and pepper, to taste

2 teaspoons cornstarch

optional: sprig of dried rosemary, 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence, or 2 teaspoons Simon and Garfunkel

optional: about a quarter pound of button mushrooms, sliced -- I'll be including those next time

1.) Put all ingredients in crock pot, stir, and cover.

2.) Cook for about 6 hours on low. Twenty minutes or so before the cooking time ends, stir the cornstarch into a tiny bit of water, and let it dissolve before adding it slowly into the crock pot. Stir, and allow the stew to finish cooking.

Today's food fact: When you think of Vitamin D, sunshine and milk generally come to mind, right? Well, other foods that contain Vitamin D, including salmon, mackerel, sardines, and eggs.