There are times when I'm stressed so I cook. But then, there are times when I'm so stressed, that even cooking isn't an option. That is especially true right now because I cannot cook in my own kitchen. To put it simply:
The ceiling of the apartment next to us fell down two nights ago because the water main broke. We had no water that next morning. The idiot from upstairs, after realizing the water was turned off, left the faucet on with his drain clogged and flooded his apartment and into ours. We have now moved our bed, clothes, sofa and TV next door. I go in the other apt to wash up and cook, but the mold is starting to getting to me. My husband couldn't be in there for more than five min before he start to cough like mad. The hole in our ceiling is the size of a small table-top. They told us they won't get around to it for another week, possibly two.
So now, I have to cook in a kitchen that is filthy. It took me 15 minutes just to cleaned of the counter top (not including the rest of the place). I have to keep running outside because I had to hold my breath half the time.
For a day, I was exhausted, stressed to the max (finals time), and ready to order take out (gasp!!). Luckily, we went to a friend's house last night and watched Ratatouille. Not that the move is about cooking in a horrible place. But the motto "Anyone can cook" and the description of how different flavors can come together to create a symphony reignite my fire. Needless to say, I held my breath, ran into my house, grabbed the stuff I needed and brought it next door. Waiting for me, happily bubbling at home, is a large pot of elk.
Yes, elk. Some people are afraid of elk. Not because it is a huge animal that might kill you before you manage to shoot it. More that it is an acquired taste. When you get one, you get a LOT of it. It takes up your entire ice-box and sits there with no one to take it away from you. After the 3rd meal, you run out of ideas of what to do with it. Stew usually comes to mind, but the usual style of tomatoes, potatoes, celery and carrots simply gets boring. So, in my rushed attempt to raid my kitchen before I die of suffocation, I came up with following recipe....enjoy!!
Tropical Elk Stew
Equipment:
1 regular size crock pot.
1 large non-stick frying pan
Ingredients:
1-1/2 lb Elk roast (cut into large chunks)
1/4 cup Candied ginger (available in Asian markets) ... don't mistaken them with ginger candy.
1/2 Fresh pineapple with juice (or you can substitute with one 16 oz can of pineapple slices with juice)
3 to 4 Roma tomatoes (do NOT use the canned ones)
1 White or yellow onion (medium size) - cut into squares
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp Salt (more to taste)
1/2 tbsp Pepper (more to taste)
1 tsp Dried thyme
1 tsp Dried basil
1/4 tsp Ginger powder
1 tbsp Garlic (minced)
2 tbsp Light brown sugar
5 tbsp Butter (unsalted)
5 tbsp Flour
1 to 2 cups water
1 tsp Lemon juice.
1 tsp Lemon juice.
Directions:
1) Turn the crock pot to "HI", add olive oil, Worchestershire sauce, salt, pepper, thyme, basil, ginger powder, garlic and brown sugar. Stirred to make sure they are mixed and dispersed.
2) Cut the candied ginger in to small pieces and add to the pot.
3) Cut the pineapples and tomatoes into large chunks, set aside.
4) Coat the elk pieces with flour and tossed until there's a thin layer of flour covering each piece.
5) Melt butter in medium heat in a non-stick pan, turn heat up to "MED-HI" until butter starts to brown.
6) Add elk and cook until it starts to turn brown on the outside, turning the pieces to make sure all sides are cooked evenly, about 3 -4 minutes.
7) Drain the elk on a piece of paper towel, then add to the crock pot.
8) Add the pineapple (with juice), tomatoes, and onions to the crock pot. Stir to make sure everything is well-mixed. Make sure the spices at the bottom gets evenly mixed with the other ingredients.
9) Add 1 to 2 cups of water (enough that the water covers up about 3/4 of the ingredients). Do not add water till it is covering all the ingredients because it will be too soupy. Some of the ingredients will produce water as they cook.
10) Add lemon juice.
11) Cover and let cook for at least 4 hours on "HI" in the crock pot. If you make this overnight, then turn the crock pot to "LOW" and let it cook for up to 9 hours.
11) Cover and let cook for at least 4 hours on "HI" in the crock pot. If you make this overnight, then turn the crock pot to "LOW" and let it cook for up to 9 hours.
12) At the end, make sure you taste it to see if it needs more sugar, salt, pepper to your liking.
13) You can also make a roux by melting 3 tbsp of butter and adding 4 tbsp of flour under medium heat in a non-stick pan. Then slowly add some of the broth from the stew (a little at a time), to thin out the roux until it is thick, but creamy. Add the roux to the stew and mix immediately.
**I would serve it with rice or fresh bread. Absolute with some steamed veggies on the side too.
As I said before, I always have trouble writing exact recipe. I don't cook with exact measurements. But I hope that this is a good estimate. You can tweak it to your liking. Happy Cooking!!
