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Those Winter Warmers

This time of year is the perfect time to enjoy comfort food.

Not the nasty unhealthy, psychological type of food that is not good for you, but the real true physical warmth of a great home cooked meal.

Call it slow cooking, call it cheating, call it what you want, there is nothing better than a good old fashioned meal that Grandma made on the wood stove to warm every part of you.

Most of us haven't got a wood stove I know, but we do have the modern equivalent the crock pot or slow cooker.  These are fantastic for putting together a quick meal in the morning and letting it just roll through the day while you're at work.  Then you walk in, throw the oven on, whack in a loaf of garlic bread, or a soda loaf (see last week's blog) and in the time it takes to remove your shoes pop on your slippers and flick the switch on the heater - dinner is cooked.

This week's is one of my Grandma's recipes using some really basic ingredients but turning out an absolute treat.

Ingredients:

  • Oyster blade steak
  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • 1 can of tomato soup
  • 1 can of dry ginger ale
  • Potatoes
  • Carrots
OK the amounts are not real accurate. Granted.  But I cook from the heart, and it depends on whether you are single, a couple, or have to feed the 5000 on a Saturday night how much you need to add to the pot doesn't it?  Go with your heart, and your head will follow and you can always keep the left over soup for the next days lunch, or mix the extra dry ginger ale with some brandy while you're waiting for dinner.

Peel & slice the onions finely
If you're using real garlic, squish 3 cloves with the back of a knife on the board and then chop finely
Potatoes and carrots just rinse under the tap and then chop roughly into some nice big chunks. I don't peel anything as I figure we can do with the nutrients more than the compost heap.  Tastes a bit rustic, but it's yummy.

The steaks can be diced, or left whole.  Give them a quick fry off in a pan with some good olive oil, sprinkle them with salt & pepper & some paprika if you have it.

Now layer all the veges in the bottom of the casserole dish or the crock pot depending on what you're using.

Lay the meat on top of that. In the old days they called this a braise.  It's just layering.

Now pour over the tomato soup, a good condensed one, and don't add any liquid to it. And finally crack the dry ginger ale can or bottle and pour about 100-150ml over it. 

Turn on the crock pot and it will do its own thing, or you can pop it in the oven on 180C for about 90 minutes and it will be just as good.

Hope you like it.
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