I came on the computer today and realized that I hadn't posted a blog in a while... What with a new job, kids going to visit with their dad, school and the change of seasons... And last night's stew was just sooo good.
A friend of mine works for the departement of agriculture, and over the last few days has brought me potatoes. They were testing potatoes and the ones that passed were good to use. Except, well, there is too much. So even after everyone takes a fair share, there is some left over that needs to be destroyed. I'm glad that my friend thought of us. I have over 20 lbs of Russet potatoes and 20 lbs of Chieftan potatoes. Thank you Daniel! I'll certainly share this bounty with others.
So over the next little while, I'll be working with potato recipes. Last night was the first... Chicken stew. Money has been tight around here for the last little while, what with school starting up and the kids hitting a growth spurt like I haven't seen in a while. I'll get paid soon, but in the meantime, my pantry is getting kinda bare. (The Lord does provide for us doesn't He? I mean I'm running out of food, then a friend comes along with over 40 lbs of potatoes! The Lord IS good - All the time! Praise God!!! :D )
So my stew was made with what was on hand. I started with an onion that I roughly chopped into 3/4 inch squares. I sautéed that for a few minutes in some butter. I pulled the skin of four chicken legs and threw that into the pot. I added two and a half liters of water, and started to let that simmer. Meanwhile I peeled some russet potatoes, probably enough to fill my litre measuring cup once diced, washed them and cut them into 3/4 inch cubes. I added that to the water. I asked my sous-chef, M., to get me some thyme from the garden to add to the stew. Then I added a bay leaf, about a half dozen peppercorns, three carrots that had been diced, and a bit of condensed vegetable broth. As the stew simmered, I skimmed the foam off of it - I wanted a clear and clean broth. A bit over an hour later... I had a wonderous stew. Now I had to pull the chicken meat off of the bones, add the meat to the stew and serve.
The kids ate it up. Here I thought I had made an industrial size stew for my family, and I barely made enough! The kids weren't hungry when we got up from the table... I just don't have my leftovers for lunch today.
I wonder what I'll do with potatoes for supper today. hmmm.... If you have any good potato recipes please forward them. I'll hold a potato festival on October 3rd. Please pass the word along, and we'll have lots of excellent potato recipes next week!
