ONE thing not to forget when cooking is to smile no matter how many onions you have to chop to make a mean pot of beef stew, chockful of potatoes, carrots, and green bell peppers.
Smile and the pot smiles with you. A good heart maketh a good pot stew.
It’s the end of a busy week, my nephews and nieces, and your Old Uncle has decided to forget his cares. There’s nothing like dirtying up a pristine kitchen as you create a hunky pot of stew.
On thing I will not forget. While doing so, I have decided to sprinkle in my heart some sugar to make the effort less of a chore. No monosodium glutamate for me; sugar is a fine substitute.
A dash of pepper should give my stew some character. We need some character out here. There are too many guys in white shirts and stiff-necked people walking around, carrying clipboards. What we need is some character.
A wacky man with a childish sense of humor, perhaps. Or maybe just a bearded artist with unwashed hair.
Or how about a woman who has forgotten to comb her hair, but smells like fresh cut roses?
Character, that’s what I need in my stew.
A can of tomato sauce is good for the health, while its sour taste is good for my stew, giving it a kick.
I’ve read that lycopean—I don’t even know how to spell lycopean—is good for the skin and acts as a security guard against cancer. Sour tastes perk up the appetite.
Who doesn’t love potatoes? As a kid I used to fight over every morsel with a brother of mine who also thought they were Earth’s gold.
One thing. It drove our mother crazy, but we were just boys.
Now carrots. Who doesn’t hate carrots? Rabbits, maybe? As a kid my brother and I used to fight as to who should get the least in carrot serving when our mother cooked menudo (a pork dish).
Yes, it drove her crazy, but we were just boys.
Today when I cook beef stew, I remember my mother. First, for her wisdom in serving us good and healthy food; and second, for her patience.
One thing. Patience you need when cooking beef stew. It takes time to soften the meat and just the perfect timing to cook the vegetables right.
Potatoes always make me smile because my brother and I fought over trivial matters. Now we know what to fight and stand for, and we agree on many things now.
Carrots make me pensive because I rejected it as a kid in my ignorance about what’s good for me. Now I know better and so I have learned to like the things in my life that may not be tasty, but are good for my soul.
And I’ve just spoken about many things, haven’t I? That’s why beef stew for me, when I cook of it, is not just a hearty pot. It’s a pot of memories.
