By
Lorie
on
March 15, 2013
Zharkoe is a traditional Russian meat and potatoes stew. It’s a hearty dish, perfect for a cold day. We’ve been talking about making a stew this winter, and we finally did, right before the season ended. It was a whole day affair – going to the butcher shop, getting groceries (for the stew, the chicken stock we were also making, and for basic everyday stuff), cooking, and cleaning up. It was worth it, though. This is one of my favorites of all the dishes we make.
You can use any meat you prefer for Zharkoe – e.g. beef, pork, lamb, chicken. We asked the butcher what cut of beef would be good for stew. He recommended the chuck, a cut from the shoulder and neck. It has fat and attached to the bone. Our good butcher cut our beef in pieces for us, much appreciated, since we would need to use a saw for the bones if we were to do it at home.
As pictured below, we had to use to two pans. For a minute there, we were like – um, yeah, we don’t have a pan or pot big enough for this.
Zharkoe
Servings: 6-8
3 lbs. beef, cut in 3-4 inch pieces
3 tbsp. oil
4 small onions, sliced
3 cups water
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. salt
16 black peppercorns
5 medium-sized potatoes, cut in quarters
3 carrots, cut into thirds crosswise
– Set oven to broil. Add oil to the pan, then the meat. Broil the first side for 8-10 minutes. Turn the meat over and broil next side for 3-5 mins. (We weren’t religious with our broil times. The important thing was to get the meat nice and brown without charring it.)
– Turn the meat over again and put the sliced onions on top. Broil for another 2-3 minutes.
– Pour water into the pan and add bay leaves. Bring to a boil on the stove top, then lower heat and simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally. Add water (little by little) as needed. The liquid should be mostly covering other ingredients.
– Add salt, peppercorns, potatoes, and carrots. Simmer for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are done. Take out bay leaves before serving.
This a pretty heavy stew so it’s good with fresh cucumbers and scallions. But I enjoyed it the most with rice when we next had it for dinner. That’s my Filipino self in full form: stew + rice = mouth-watering good. George doesn’t agree.
This Zharkoe recipe is big and at first we thought we’ll make half next time. But we ended up having it for three dinners every other night, with just a small bowl left after. It seems like a good amount, and we’ll keep it as is.
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By
Lorie
on
March 10, 2013
I’m doing a week-in-review type of post, hoping that this will help organize my thoughts.
: I cleaned the fridge. Hurrah! This is a cause for celebration in a home where domestically challenged people live. I’m not even going to say when the last time this was done. Too embarrassing.
: Installed Ubuntu Linux on my old netbook. This thing has been collecting dust (and viruses) and I feel bad because it was really useful when I was a student. Here’s my chance to learn something new.
: It was nice to have a couple of snow days during the week…
: …and it was nice to have a sunny and clear weekend. I love the seasons and the changes they bring. We had a lot of snow this winter, and that’s the way it should be. Now I miss the green and the colors outside. I’m excited that spring is coming.
: Because of recent changes, I am now able to spend evenings and weekends with George. It’s such a luxury and I’m grateful. It’s hard to get used to a new routine so I made a daily schedule to have some kind of structure. I want to make good use of the free time I have now while there’s free time to be had.
: Getting some evening reading time. Good book, cozy couch and blanket, hot cup of tea – this is the life!
: After a week of sardine dinners (which I actually like just not too often) and buying dinner, it was good to have a home-cooked meal. We spent most of Saturday food shopping and cooking. We have beef stew and chicken stock to show for it. The stew will be enough for at least two more meals. Next time we’ll have to half the recipe; more than two nights of the same dinner can be too much. Chicken stock will be ready when we’re in the mood to make soup.
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By
Lorie
on
March 8, 2013
…for winter 2013.
Nice scene to wake up to.
Favorite jammies.
Apartment living in the city = no backyard, can’t play with snow
Keeping FDNY busy.
Perfect excuse for a cup of hot chocolate.
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By
Lorie
on
March 4, 2013
Welcome, March. You are one of my favorite months. Family birthdays are around the corner and spring is coming. I’ve been thinking about our container garden lately, and that I should start reading and taking notes about this year’s crops. We need a support for the tomato and we’re still trying to decide if we’re buying one or building our own.
Yesterday, I was surprised to see a tree already in bloom. Do they really start this early?
On Saturday, George and I spent the whole day driving around upstate New York. We saw parts of Dutchess and Ulster Counties in Hudson Valley, and Sullivan County in the Catskill Mountains. Hudson Valley has farming fields and rolling hills that must be very green during summer. The photo above was taken from an overlook on Route 44, in this section that goes through the Shawangunk Mountains (love the name). My favorite area is Livingston Manor, a picturesque town in the Catskills, where there’s a nice mix of wooded areas and open, rolling fields.
Sunday was pretty easy-going. Slow morning, then we spent the rest of the day at my parents’ in Jersey City. That’s one of my brothers ironing his work clothes :) We were just hanging out in the boys’ room, talked about nothing in particular, while I putzed around with the camera. I found my mom’s photo album collection and wanted to look through the albums but it was time to prepare Iron Boy’s advanced birthday dinner. We kept it simple: salad, mashed potatoes topped with shiitake mushrooms, and baked lamb chops.
Usually, Mama, George, and I work on the food prep and cooking, while the rest of the family keep us company. Sort of. A lot of times they watch TV. My parents have an open floor plan, the living room and the kitchen is this one big room and everyone can interact. I love it.
In the middle of dinner preparation, my youngest brother took a break from “studying” in his room and came to visit us in the kitchen. First thing he said: “Where’s the meat?”
Leftovers and…
Birthday pie. No, I didn’t make this. Store-bought blueberry pie. It was just alright. Dinner was a success, though. And as usual, we ended up going home later than we planned.
Later that night, I found this painting while putting our things away. It was left in the closet when we moved in and was forgotten until now. I worked in a nursing home a few years ago, and on my last day at the job, one of my patients gave this to me. A special gift and a treasured memory.
Grateful for the wonderful weekend and happy that March started off on a good note :)
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By
Lorie
on
March 1, 2013
Who likes to go the beach during winter? Me :) Sometimes I think I like it better than going in the summer when it’s hot, sticky, crowded, and loud. The same reason Times Square is one of my least favorite places in the city. But that’s another story for another post. Let’s just say I’m not very good with crowds.
George and I ventured out to the eastern part of the Bronx last weekend, where Orchard Beach is located just east of Pelham Bay Park. There are sports courts, playgrounds, picnic areas, and walking trails by the beach. There’s a huge parking lot that’s mostly empty in the winter and we saw a couple of guys running their RC cars. We hung around for a little while to watch, it was kinda cool. I wish I took pictures.
I’ve been to this beach in the summer time once. I believe we came, looked for a restroom, and left. Never again.
Although it’s not the prettiest beach around (I don’t think you can call any of the NYC beaches pretty), I like coming here when it’s quiet. Just enough people to make it pleasant and interesting, walking on the sand, looking at the water and the open sky, and bothering the sea gulls.
It was an overcast day and the sun only decided to come out when it was time to leave, then went right back into hiding. The day was subdued, which was nice because it just felt like a peaceful walk on the beach. Maybe another time we’ll catch Orchard Beach in a more vibrant mood.
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