For the love of food and geekery

Ok, so no recipe this week. (Just like last week – whoops.) Mostly because my gut’s been in all-out rebellion against anything nummy, and/or related to dairy. And the very thought of cooking makes it lurch.

(Nearly six months gluten-free, drinking lactose-free milk, and now my stomach’s all hissy because of dairy? ARRRRGH! CAPS LOCK CANNOT CONVEY THE FRUSTRATION!!)

So, while I’m on a self-imposed BRAT diet (banana, rice, applesauce, and toast), and eating homemade waffles and banana bread for every other meal because that’s the most that my stomach can tolerate, I have this lovely just begging me to use her.

Isn’t she pretty?

She comes from my great aunt, who was a…unique…woman. A bit shrewish at time, but an AMAZING cook. She made lefse so tender that it disintegrated on your tongue, made pies and cakes to die for, and all of it with this mixer. Even now, several years after her passing, my family still finds themselves comparing edibles to Aunt Grace’s. Even though barely half of us actually remember her anymore.

She died when I was in school (grad school? College? Who knows – my personal life at that time was/is a blur of neuroses), and when my folks helped the family clean out the estate, my mom came home with boxes of knick-knacks, a cabinet-style sewing machine from the 1920s, a bunch of chipped china, and then some. And I just so happened to be home when they came back.

Mom: Remember how you always complained about the hand-mixer? Ta-DA!

Me: …It’s nice but, where am I supposed to put it?

Mom: You’ve got a kitchen.

Me: With 24 cubic inches of counter space.*

Mom: In the cupboard then!

Me: I repeat my statement.

Mom: Then we’ll keep it here til you get enough space!

* Slight exaggeration, though not by much. That apartment was tiny!

And that’s where this old girl sat for years – collecting dust in my parents’ kitchen, occasionally getting pulled out to make whipped cream for holiday pie. Despite the chipped paint, she’s in great working order, and tackles anything that I throw into her beaters with the gusto of a high-school quarterback trying out for pro. Now that I finally have a decently-sized and -shaped kitchen, I can finally use her.

Except that I can’t eat normally right now.

*headdesk*

At least I have a few other things to keep me occupied. Like reading my stack of goodies from FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!!

Free Comic Book Day is the (un)official celebration of one of the most geeky of pastimes. Every year on the first Saturday of May, the major publishing houses (DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, etc.) give away free comics to anyone who steps into a comic book store. For this geek, it’s like Christmas in May. Not only can I get stuff from major titles (like Iron Man, Avengers, X-Men, etc.) without digging through back issues, but I can also find one-shots and teasers for upcoming series that I might not touch otherwise.

Plus, since the comics are free, I have no qualms about cutting out their splash pages and turning them into wall art.

Photographed on my bed because these must have the most reflective glass known to man. Or at least to me.

A two-pack of cheap metal frames from Michael’s, some acid-free artist paper cut down to size, some photocorners, and voila! No more boring wallspace!

This particular ‘set’ came from a sample of Jake the Dreaming, a YA illustrated novel. I don’t recall the plotline, but the art is so pretty! And a bit warped, which is probably why I like it so much. I also have this soft-spot for multi-media art and found items. (If you ever want on my good side, toss me some pretties by Dave McKean, and I am yours.)

Unfortunately, this year there weren’t many free comics left when I got there, and none had artwork as pretty. However, there was this one:

Shiny!

No cutting this one up. My Captain is getting framed full binding and all. Maybe right next to the Firefly Les Hommes set, once I order it. And once I find some wall space…

(Me, a fan of Nathan Fillion? Naaaaah.)

A stew by any other name…

Growing up, I always had problems telling the difference between soups and stews. My mom’s beef soup looked exactly like her beef stew, except that the soup had noodles. And her wild rice chicken ‘soup’ is thick enough to hold a spoon vertically. Same for every bowl of knoephla soup I’d ever had (all five). My grandmother’s ‘stew’ is a thin, watery broth with star-shaped noodles.

You can see the problem here.

When I got older and started getting interested in cooking (read: was forced into the kitchen by parents who didn’t want brownies as chewy as jerky), my folks would look at me weird when I pulled out the noodles to make beef stew.

And then my parents set me straight:

Soup: /n/ A culinary broth that contains large hunks of meat and vegetables that is served warm. May contain noodles or rice.

Stew: /n/ A culinary broth that contains large hunks of meat and vegetables that is served warm. Does not contain noodles or rice. Broth is often thicker than soup.

Unless your mother tells you otherwise.

See? Vastly different.

This recipe comes from the little cookbook that came with my 1970s crockpot. The same little cookbook that I had to beg, wheedle, and practically arm-wrestle my mother to surrender. My logic: ‘I only have two cookbooks, one that I can’t use because the recipes are worthless! You’d deprive your daughter of a decent cookbook, the very cookbook that came with the very crock that you bequeathed to her, all because you want one single recipe?!’

Daughterly guilt won out.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of stew beef (sirloin or round steak), cut into small-ish cubes
• 1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups celery, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups onion, diced
• 1 large can (1 lb, 12 oz.) of tomatoes, sliced
• 3-4  medium-size potatoes, peeled and cut into hunks
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking tapioca
• 1 whole clove, or 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• Mrs Dash, original spice blend (or garlic & herb)
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 can (12 oz.) of beer, or 1 1/2 cups of water (for GF)

Directions:

1. Trim fat from meat and slice into cubes about 1 inch to 1.5 inches.
2. Dump all ingredients into a 3 quart crock pot and mix thoroughly.
3. Cover and cook on low for 12 hours, or high for 5-6 hours. Stir periodically.

Makes about 8-10 servings.

Goes wonderfully with my garlic and cheese biscuits.