Inna Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Ok, so maybe it was not as dramatic as the title suggests, but this whole cooking business is not something I do a lot, my other half insists on cooking EVERY TIME, so I am about 10 years out of practice... He refused to do the diet with me, so I am left fending for myself for the next month or two and I am enjoying it to be honest, but its a learning curve... I attempted this recipe last night: http://meatified.com/beef-pumpkin-stew/ First off, I have no poblano peppers, so bell pepper it was, secondly, I couldn't find a tomato paste I would trust not to contain non compliant additives etc, so I just added chopped tomatoes, also, I only had homemade chicken stock... oh and I made my own pumpkin puree, that is to say I boiled butternut squash and squashed it... into a puree... close enough... and I used fresh garlic, as I have no powder... now that I list all this, it seems I did not follow this very closely when planning my meals... the biggest challenge was the fact that the amount of stock (32oz) seemed a lot, so even after about 30 minutes on high heat splattering all over the walls it still ended up as more of a soup than stew, I am not sure that this was because the stock jellified in the fridge, so maybe when it melted in the pan, it expanded... does that sound plausible? However, even though it did not look like the photo and probably did not taste anything as it is intended to taste, it was still very tasty, I enjoyed it, my mother enjoyed it and I enjoyed it again for breakfast and then lunch... going to make this again, and probably still not follow the recipe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted November 20, 2015 Moderators Share Posted November 20, 2015 To simmer means to adjust the heat so that what you are cooking is shimmering in the pot, not erupting like a volcano. I would not use anything like 32 ounces of stock to make this recipe unless I meant to call it soup. To make a stew, I might use 2-4 ounces of stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inna Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 To simmer means to adjust the heat so that what you are cooking is shimmering in the pot, not erupting like a volcano. I would not use anything like 32 ounces of stock to make this recipe unless I meant to call it soup. To make a stew, I might use 2-4 ounces of stock. Well, I had to keep it on high to get rid some of the liquid, lol! Recipe states 32oz of stock, that's ounces... right? to be fair, i should have judged myself: This looks like a LOT of stock... maybe add half? Maybe even less... silly mare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted November 20, 2015 Administrators Share Posted November 20, 2015 Eep, sorry, you'll never boil off enough liquid to turn a soup to a stew before you've completely destroyed it. Chances are the fresh tomatoes and the freshly made pumpkin gave off a lot of water which contributed to this. I just looked at the picture and for myself, the pictures even show it much "soupier" than I would personally prefer a stew. If you want to do it again with the same ingredients (ie, fresh tomatoes, fresh squash puree), I would just eyeball the amount of extra stock you use. Chances are you'll have plenty with the ingredients and not have to add much at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasbred Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Inna Thanks for brightening my day. Your post made me laugh. It sounds exactly like something I would do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inna Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 Eep, sorry, you'll never boil off enough liquid to turn a soup to a stew before you've completely destroyed it. Chances are the fresh tomatoes and the freshly made pumpkin gave off a lot of water which contributed to this. I just looked at the picture and for myself, the pictures even show it much "soupier" than I would personally prefer a stew. If you want to do it again with the same ingredients (ie, fresh tomatoes, fresh squash puree), I would just eyeball the amount of extra stock you use. Chances are you'll have plenty with the ingredients and not have to add much at all. This makes perfect sense to me now, thank you! I will just add in stock gradually next time (definitely making this again, probably next week!) Inna Thanks for brightening my day. Your post made me laugh. It sounds exactly like something I would do. xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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