The weather has turned cold.
And that always makes me yearn for warm foods. Rich, comforting stews that warm my hands as I cup my bowl and fill my tummy. For a moment I can forget that I feel cold, and instead be grateful for deeply nourishing, soul-satisfying foods.
You may already have a ‘go-to’ stew that you can make without even opening your recipe book. And if your kids are a little older, perhaps they know how to make it because it appears so regularly at your house. (If so, high five to you!).
Admittedly we have a few stews that rotate on our menu plan, but this iconic Mexican dish is certainly one of the more popular. Although it might sound fancy, it’s really a simple stew made by combining two comfort foods – beef and potatoes – into a stew and prepared in a Mexican way.
This recipe is one that my hubby grew up with. It was the way his Abuelita – his Mexican Grandmother who also lived on the same farm – frequently made a small amount of meat, either diced or minced, stretch to feed the frequent stream of visitors who visited her humble casa. For each extra person who arrived, she’d add an extra potato (hence the reason this recipe is known as Papas con Carne – Potatoes and Meat – and not the traditional name, Carne Guisada Con Papas).
It’s a meal that, when I serve, takes my hubby back to his childhood.
To the old wood stove where his beloved Abuelita spent most of her days. Forming masa into corn tortillas with her soft, brown hands, and keeping a careful eye on the pot of Mexican beans bubbling away gently.
He isn’t a man of many words. But when he does share his appreciation of me learning to cook the meals of his youth, it makes me happy.
And it makes me grateful for the opportunity to bless him in this simple way.
What about you? What meals do you prepare that your family really appreciate? Is there a memory that’s prompted when you make a particular dish? I’d love to hear your story based around a meal you love making.
Peri x
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