Beef Stew -- The Thread That Connects Every Version of Me

Week 450. Fall 2024. I am 41 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like cinnamon and falling leaves and this is my life. This is the life I built.

Brett came Wednesday. We sat on the porch and talked about nothing, and the nothing was perfect, the way nothing between siblings is always perfect — full of history, empty of agenda, the purest form of company.

Mason is 13 and navigating middle school with the quiet competence that has always been his way — focused, kind, certain of who he is in a way that took me thirty years to achieve.

Lily is 11 and riding horses with the fearlessness of someone who has never considered the possibility of falling.

I made beef stew this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.

Beef stew felt right this week — not because it was complicated or celebratory, but because it wasn’t. It was ordinary in the best possible way, the kind of meal that asks nothing of you except that you show up and stir. With Mason steady and Lily fearless and Brett on the porch and the house smelling like fall, I didn’t need extraordinary. I needed the food that has always been there, simmering quietly, holding the week together the way it always does.

Beef Stew

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 2 hrs | Total Time: 2 hrs 20 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine (or beef broth)
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Coat the beef. Toss beef cubes with flour, salt, and pepper until evenly coated. Shake off any excess flour.
2. Brown the beef. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the beef on all sides, about 3–4 minutes per batch. Transfer browned beef to a plate and set aside.
3. Sauté aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to the pot and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Deglaze. Pour in the red wine (or broth), scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Build the stew. Return the beef to the pot. Add beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.
6. Add vegetables. Stir in carrots, celery, and potatoes. Cover and continue simmering for 45–55 minutes, until beef is tender and vegetables are cooked through.
7. Finish and serve. Remove bay leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 32g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 680mg