Okay seriously t’is the season for some grounding, hearty goodness. With all the holiday craziness going on it’s really important to find some footing and keep ourselves stress free. What good are we when we are stressed anyway? I know I’m not my best self when under stress which is why I am making it my mission to breathe and meditate for at least 5 minutes every day.

You may be thinking, “I thought you do yoga everyday. Don’t you meditate too?” Well to be honest, I find meditation in various activities or moments in my day to day like cooking. That’s probably why my food tastes so good. Not to toot my own horn or anything. But I do need to take time to just sit in silence and just be. Let us take a moment to set an intention to breathe and be present this season. I vow to take 5 minutes each day to be silent and be present. How about you?

So! To keep in on this auspiciously awesome theme of keeping grounded with a super yummy stew recipe. I have to be honest, I experimented on this. This recipe may change over time and over the seasons but for now, for this particular season it was perfect. It is made with root vegetables (which are soooo in season right now) which are ultimately fabulous for grounding our energies. I hope you enjoy it with some friends and a glass of hearty dry red wine.

What You Need:

• 2 large organic jewel sweet potato, peeled and cubed 
• 2 large organic garnet sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 2 small organic red potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 cups organic mixed colorful carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 stalks of organic celery chopped
• 1 28-oz can organic san marzano tomatoes
• 5 sprigs of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 cup of fruity red wine (zinfandel works wonderfully here)
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon organic tomato paste
• 4 cups organic low sodium vegetable stock
• Sea Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• Optional: 2 tablespoons organic grassfed butter (to add at the end of the cooking process) or Earth Balance vegan butter. 
• Garnish: parsley

How You Make It:

1. Heat a large dutch oven (or soup pot) over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, shallots, garlic, celery and carrots. Cook until vegetables have softened and become slightly translucent (this means see through or clear). Season generously with sea salt and black pepper.
2. Toss in thyme, bay leaves and parsley and stir until evenly coated with oil. 
3. Add wine, scraping the bits of veggies off the bottom of the pan and let reduce by half (this will take 10-15 minutes).
4. Once wine has reduced, add stock, tomatoes (with the liquid) and potatoes.
5. Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for 30-40 minutes checking frequently for doneness.
6. After the potatoes are completely tender, turn off the heat and season with more sea salt and black pepper.
7. Serve warm over herbed mashed potatoes or a side of crusty sourdough bread and garnish generously with fresh parsley. 

Sop up the mouthwatering stew with a crusty bread (if not serving with mashed potatoes)

The best part about soups and stews are you can enjoy them for days. This really comes in handy during the holiday season. You know you don’t want to be slaving away making food when there are other things on your to do list.

Give this a try for your next dinner party and have a sexy chocolate dessert to compliment this entree.

Fallen Chocolate Cake: The perfect accompaniment to my stew

Peace, love and NO beef 😉

Guramrit