BEN

It’s summer vacation for the kids but not for us. As every parent who works from home knows, the biggest challenge is trying to get all your work done in between taking the kids to various activities, making lunches and snacks and refereeing the multiple squabbles throughout the day.

Today was St. Jean Baptiste so it was tempting to take the day off but we have deadlines. I spent a good part of the morning catching up on accounting – paying bills online, recording expenses, filing receipts and printing invoices. Then while I worked on my manga stuff I watched the World Cup on the other computer. I wasn’t surprised to see Italy eliminated as they’d not been in good form leading up to the tournament and they weren’t aggressive enough in the first half.

I made a beef stew for supper as well as a creamed chicken recipe. The only downside to these hearty cozy meals is the time spent chopping vegetables, but the end result is worth it. I used Michael Smith’s beef stew recipe. He is excellent, I love everything in his new book. The coolest thing was finding out my Mom was also a fan. Here is the recipe:

Classic Beef Stew
Ingredients
2 pounds or so of stew beef
A sprinkle or two of sea salt and freshly ground pepper
A splash of vegetable oil
A few carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
A few stalks of celery, roughly chopped
A few potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
A few parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
A few onions, peeled and roughly chopped
1 turnip, peeled and roughly chopped
28-ounce can of whole tomatoes
½ bottle or so of hearty red wine
3 or 4 cups of homemade or canned beef stock or water
A few bay leaves
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary
Another sprinkle or two of salt and pepper

Chef Michael Smith's Classic Beef Stew

What you do
Preheat a large, thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.
Pat the beef dry with a clean towel, then cut it into large cubes and season it.
Add a splash of oil to the pot – enough to cover the bottom with a thin film – then toss in enough meat to form a single sizzling layer.
Sear the meat on every side until it is evenly browned. Be patient when you’re browning the meat; it takes a little time but it’s worth every minute. The caramelized flavours are the secret to a rich, hearty stew.
As the pieces brown, remove them from the pan, adding more oil and meat as needed. Once the meat is done, discard the remaining oil – but keep all the browned bits in the pan. They’ll add lots of flavour to the stew.
Put all the meat back into the pot and add half of the vegetables (reserve the other half). Add the tomatoes and enough wine and beef stock to just barely cover the works. Add the bay leaves and rosemary, and bring the pot to a simmer. Continue cooking until the meat is almost tender, about an hour, then add the remaining vegetables. Adding the vegetables in two batches allows the first to dissolve into the stew and the second to retain their shape, colour and texture. Continue simmering until the meat and veggies are tender, another 30 minutes or so. When the stew is tender, taste it and season as you like.

After supper we went to a park in the nearby city of Pointe-Claire to have some ice cream and watch the festivities. These mainly consisted of Air Bounce for the kids and a stage where musicians played traditional Quebec fare, all music to slap a couple of spoons on your knee. Daniel tried to embarrass Nicholas by dancing and slapping along while Nicholas edged away in horror. Then my brother-in-law and his family joined us to watch the fireworks.