Oh, the wonders of my positive posting. Let me tell you of my wondrous new dish. I must begin by admitting that my dishes are few, and now that I’m off dairy, I am even more culinarily (yes, it is a word. now.) challenged. I have been trying to get dinner sorted during Z’s final nap of the day so it’s ready to eat just before the nightly wrestle of getting her into bed - because the faux wood walls of the trailer are not conducive to cooking activities after the Kraken is asleep.

What I would REALLY like is a slow cooker. I am so annoyed at myself for not buying an old 1970s one in the Rhyll Bazaar about a year ago. I picked it up and put it back and ummed and ahhed like an idiot. And now I mourn it. Anyway. The point of this whole thing is STEW!! I have made it three times over the last three weeks, and, man, two days ago - I totally nailed it. I would have paid to eat it (forgive my enthusing - my kitchen escapades are few). Oh. Admittedly, I didn’t make it up all by myself - I was inspired by this recipe.

SKIPPY STEW
1 zucchini
2 carrots
6 small, or 3 large potatoes
1 big sweet potato
a wodge of cauliflower
some green beans
a handful of black French lentils (one of my three recent innovations)
a handful of pearled barley (my second innovation)
red wine (my third, and best, innovation)
kangaroo steak cut into bites
an onion
a leek (if you want)
4 cloves of garlic
bay leaves (a fourth, forgotten innovation)
2 stock cubes (yeah - I have not ever got around to making my own stock. watch the purists pale.)

Chuck some oil in the bottom of a big pot (while you wish for a le creuset) then put in chopped up onion, garlic and leek. Cut up the kangaroo while the oniony things soften, give the cats a bit each, and put the rest in the pot - stir it now and again until it’s brown. Put in some wine. While that’s happening cut up the other vegies. If you don’t have heaps of time, put all the potatoes in the microwave and steam them until they are semi-cooked.

Wodge all the vegetables into the pot and marvel at it for a while. Then pour in your water/stock so your ingredients are still sticking out of the top. Add your lentils and barley. They will absorb some of the liquid, so you might need to add more, depending on how you like it. Oh! And put your bay leaves in as well. There. Tip some more wine in and put a lid on it. Leave it to simmer for maybe half an hour to an hour - however long it takes.

Then it should be all ready to be silently ladelled into bowls once the baby is finally asleep, or, more likely, as she grizzles in a tired manner at your feet while you scarf it down. It’s good with crusty bread. And it’s even better the next day. Yay! I am a CHEF!

*The title of this post refers to this, which you probably wouldn’t know unless you’re both OLD and live in AUSTRALIA.