I may be an imperfect cook but there are three categories of food that I seem to be able to improve each time that I prepare them. They are also the three that I would advise anyone who is learning to cook for the first time, to get to know well.

The palette of ingredients and spices for these three basics is wide. The three are, in no particular order of importance soup, stew and stir fries. There is a fourth S that can apply to all three, simple.

Stews, soups and stir fries are great slow cooker dishes or can be made fairly quickly with a little planning and preparation.

Basic beef Stew:

Ingredients;

1 lb stew beef, cubed

1 medium cooking onion, sliced

1 small turnip diced.

½ cabbage diced

1 cup cauliflower chopped

1 cup broccoli chopped

Sea salt and black pepper to taste.

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 hot pepper (optional)

1 tsp paprika (optional)

1 cup water

Preparation;

Put canola oil in large soup or stew pot

Turn heat on high

Add beef and onions

Cook until beef is browned

Add water

Cook ½ hour

Add more water and reduce heat to medium

Add turnip

Cook 15 minutes

Add remaining ingredients

Cook 20 minutes.

Add salt, pepper.

Add hot sauce and paprika if desired.

Serve.

This is a great cold weather meal but we enjoy it all year round. The vegetables will change depending upon what’s in season but taste like home no matter what you use.

Potatoes, about one cup diced, are an excellent addition to this dish. Pot barley, about ¼ cup added 30 minutes before the cooking time is done, is an alternative to potatoes.

My memories of stews waiting on the stove when I got hoem from school are awakened everytime I make this dish. The delightful smell fills the house and gets the appetite going. A French loaf suits this meal.