Eggs!

Marilyn is laying one egg almost every day.

I take it as a sign that she and Dan are healthy and happy and that brings me joy and peace.

We don't have space for any more birds, so we eat the eggs, rather than letting them grow to hatch, etc.

They are delicious, taste just like chicken eggs, actually, though they are much, much smaller.

 

Beef, Barley, and Old Bay Stew

It's cold, rainy, and windy, so I made a stew for dinner tonight.

I gathered what I had on hand and got creative.

This one scored a five out of five, because everyone in my family of five liked it, even my five year old!

That's really something!

Ingredients:
Grass-Fed Eye of Round, thawed and chopped.
Note: You could use a pound or two of stew beef instead.
Four celery sticks, chopped
One yellow onion, chopped
Three carrots, peeled and chopped
One green bell pepper, chopped
A heap of minced garlic, approx. 1/4 cup
Half a stick of butter
Homemade Beef Broth (approx. six cups)
Approx. 1 cup Barley
Approx. two tablespoons of Old Bay Seasoning
One bay leaf
Kosher salt to taste
Optional: Saltines

Steps
1. Chop everything.
2. Melt 1/4 of a stick of butter in a skillet and sauté the chopped onions, garlic, celery, pepper, and carrots.
3. Melt the other 1/4 stick of butter in a deep pot and brown the beef pieces.
4.  Once the beef is brown, combine everything in the deep pot, including the broth.
5. Add the barley, the Old Bay, bay leaf, and kosher salt to taste.
6. Simmer the stew until everything is tender, approx. 30 minutes.
7. Turn off the stove top and let stew sit until it is medium-hot.

Serve this with saltines.

Enjoy!