Before
Suzette went to work we went by to pick up my new Chuck Close portrait poster
of Obama at El Mirador and driving back home we decided to make a veal stew because
I had bought a parsnip and four rutabagas last Friday at Sprouts and because we
had potatoes and onions ($.99 for 10 lbs. and onions for $.99 for 4 lbs.) from Pro’s
Ranch Market.
When we got home and hung
the Obama poster, Suzette looked through the freezer and found a bag with about
½ lb. of veal stew meat and I thawed it.
The thing I like the best about the new Obama portrait is
the Mona Lisa pose, with Obama’s face facing right and his eyes appearing to look
leftward. I have taken a picture of the
portrait from the left to accentuate that leftward look. 
I went to the Law Library around noon and stopped at Lowe’s
for a 1 lb. bag of carrots ($.89) and two turnips ($1.25/lb.). I like Lowe’s newly remodeled store and it
new commitment to good quality fresh produce and to meeting the
competition at least half way on its pricing.
Around 3:30 p.m. I started the dish by cubing two onions and
4/5 lb. of rib eye steak ($5.99/lb. at Sprouts) and chopping five or six cloves of garlic and braising
them with the cubed ½ lb. of veal stew meat in a Le Creuset enameled casserole with
1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. butter until they took on color (note-I did not
flour the meat, because I wanted to see how the stew would taste un-thickened. I guess you could call this a lazy or simple
or natural approach.) Then I added the
two cubed potatoes, the cubed parsnip, two cubed rutabagas, three carrots and
the two turnips, four bay leaves, about 1 1/2 quarts of beef stock made with 1
beef bouillon cube (enough stock to fill the casserole to almost the top) and about
1 Tbsp. of sea salt and started cooking the stew covered at a low enough heat to
keep a lightly rolling boil.
I went to the garden and picked a handful of garlic plants,
five or six leaves of kale and a handful of sage and chopped them up and put
them into the pot.
At 5:30 p.m. I lay down and went to sleep until 7:00 p.m.
when Suzette arrived and when I tasted the stew. It was a bit flavorless, so I added four cubed
portabella mushrooms (Sprouts $3.99/lb.) and a few sprigs of dried tarragon, about
1 cup of PPI red wine and more salt and cooked this for an additional 30 to 45
minutes while I went to the basement for a bottle of 2007 Reserva Vina Equía
from Elciego, Rioja, Spain and put the baguette we bought at Bosque Bakery in
the oven to warm.
When Suzette was ready to eat, we each ladled stew into large
pasta bowls and poured the wine and tore hunks of baguette pieces and ate. I must say that the stew tasted better than the
kind one makes with flour because it tasted more natural, not being encumbered by
processed flour; perfect for a cold spring night.
After dinner I fetched the new wheel of French Brie from
Costco and we finished the wine with slices of buttered warm baguette slathered
with brie cheese.
I great, simple and delicious meal.
Bon Appétit
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