Stromatolites. 90th Birthday, Kir Royale,

I first heard about stromatolites from Glenda Larke who is an author and friend now back living in her native country, Australia. I have always had trouble remembering the name and figured if I blogged about them I might remember. They are something like 3 billion years old and are the origin of oxygen, without which we humans would never have developed. They are still forming in places like Shark Bay in Western Australia. Their formation is quite complicated to explain so if you want to know about it, click on the link. There are other places in the world where stromatolites have formed and still exist today, but nowadays they are few and far between. It is incredible to think that if these stromatolites hadn't been pushing CO2 into the air for all that time, we wouldn't be around. What brought them to my current attention was watching Coast Australia which is a British programme shown regularly on TVO (Canadian TV). Tonight they were visiting Western Australia the home of Shark Bay and it's stromatolites. I have remembered what they are for years, but their name would not stick in my head, maybe this time it will.

Today we celebrate the 90th birthday of one of our bowling friends. She is an incredible woman and extremely active. She is always off somewhere for a visit and she bowls twice a week during the winter season. She has kids in Michigan so often goes there visiting plus going on all kinds of bus trips and to theatrical performances. We have ordered a cake and hope it can be slipped into the alley without her noticing it's arrival. Turns out we had a bit of a screw up on the time of bowling. Partly my fault, never thought to tell the caterer what time our bowling was and she didn't think to ask me. It is being made by the same woman who catered Matt's 80th a couple of years ago. I sent her the only photo I had of our friend but it wasn't good enough, sadly.

As many of you know, I usually drink a couple of glasses of bubbly on Sunday morning before lunch. However, yesterday I suddenly thought of Kir Royale and decided to make a champagne cocktail. All you do is add Cassis liqueur to the sparkling wine. Cassis is made from blackcurrents. It is one of those liqueurs made by monks in France (or it was). The label says it is produced by L'Abbé Françoise but whether that is still a true abbey any more, I don't know. Just googled. It would appear that that is just a label. The original Cassis was/is produced in Burgundy, France and these days is marketed as Crème de Cassis de Bourgogne. Nobody else is allowed to use that derivation. Same as champagne. It is not allowed to be marketed as champagne unless it is produced in Champagne, France. Well, wherever it is produced, and my label says it is definitely produced in France, it makes a damned good cocktail.

This should be an absolutely delicious dish by the look of the ingredients in particular. Nigella Lawson, a British chef, really knows her stuff. This is very similar to a recipe I have made for years. I will certainly be trying this version.

Spiced Beef in Red Wine

There is nothing to stop you from serving spiced beef in red wine at a dinner party, but proper cooking should not be undertaken only for company. I make a batch of the beef and, when it is cool, bag it up in single portions and put it in the freezer. It makes a great warming supper for nights when

you are lazing on a sofa watching television. Just because it's Wednesday, you need not have to resort to a bagel or grilled cheese for dinner.

2 slices bacon, roughly chopped
2 large onions, roughly chopped
2 large leeks, white and light-green parts only, roughly chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
½ cup fresh parsley
1/3 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ½ lbs chuck steak in 2-inch cubes
2 Tbs vegetable oil, or more as needed
pinch ground cloves
1 ½ cups red wine
2 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
3 star anise
1 Tbs light brown sugar

1. Working in batches in a food processor, process bacon, onions, leeks, carrots and parsley until finely chopped. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, and set aside. Place flour in a freezer bag or other plastic bag. Season with salt and pepper. Add steak cubes, seal bag, and shake until cubes are well coated.

2. Place a flameproof casserole dish over medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons oil. When hot, add beef in batches, turning until well seared on all sides. As beef is browned, transfer to a plate, and set aside.

3. If casserole dish is dry, add 1 tablespoon oil. Place over medium heat, and add bacon and vegetable mixture and ground cloves. Sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine wine, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, star anise and brown sugar. Place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. When vegetables have softened, pour liquid over vegetables.

4. Return beef to pan, and stir well. Bring to a boil, partly cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer gently until beef is tender, about 2 hours. Serve hot. If desired, stew may be cooked and then covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for a month.

Servings: 6

Author: Nigella Lawson
Source: The New York Times





Have a great day