Gaston Beef Stew

From The Joy of Cooking

 

Brown Rice

Bring to a boil at least four cups of water for every cup of brown rice you plan to cook. Exact measurements are not necessary. 

Rinse the rice in a colander for 30 seconds. 

Boil, uncovered, on medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, 

Remove from heat, pour rice and water into colander, let drain for 10 seconds. 

Put the rice back into the pot, away from the burner, cover tightly for 10 minutes. 

Fluff with a fork, add salt as needed. 

It took me so many years to learn this simple method.

Blueberry Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze

1 cup of butter, room temperature

1 - 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt or buttermilk, or a combination of any of these)

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 - 2/3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 - 1/2 cups blueberries

Mix first six ingredients in a stand mixer, beat well. Sift the flour and baking powder onto the creamed mixture. Don't mix it in yet. 

Carefully pour the blueberries on top of the flour, Gentle stir with a spoon until the blueberries are covered with flour (this will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Then stir all together until well mixed. 

Prepare the bundt pan. Use a piece of waxed paper to grease the pan, even if it has a non-stick coating. I use coconut oil. Pour out any excess oil. Dust the interior of the pan with granulated sugar. Don't forget the center column. Pour out excess sugar. I like using sugar rather that a dusting of flour, because the flour looks unattractive on the surface of the cake. Sugar, on the other hand, gives the cake's crust a bit of crunch. 

Spoon the batter into the pan, smoothing out the top. Bake at 350 F. for 45 minutes or until done. Remove pan from oven, let it rest on a rack for 15 minutes. Gently slide a spatula down the sides to loosen the cake, cover the pan with a serving plate and turn the whole thing over, releasing the cake. Let cool completely. 

Drizzle with Lemon Glaze: 1 - 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tbl. lemon juice, 1 tsp. vanilla. Stir well, add a tiny bit of milk to make the glaze liquid enough to pour.

Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

Note: This makes a pretty acidic sauce. To lessen the bite, take a small amount of this sauce and add some plain chocolate syrup to taste. 

Drizzle over vanilla ice cream; or over watermelon and feta cheese chunks for a cool salad. Also good over fresh berries. 

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark chocolate, broken into pieces

Combine the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan, stir to dissolve sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vinegar has been reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir in chocolate pieces until dissolved. Serve warm or store in refrigerator in a covered jar.