Bread & Stew

The man was in the mood for stew for dinner, and wanted to cook it his way. He wasn't quite sure what he wanted. Off he trotted to the market to get some ingredients and inspiration. He found gorgeous pork shoulder and short ribs, and decided to skip the beef stew and instead boil up a pot of Mexican pork stew. There weren't any black beans in the larder, so he opened up a can of cannellini beans. Those would do.

The meat was seared on the stove and finished in the oven. Two hours of slow-cooking. The man did a final check on the pot and was pleased. He said it needed to reduce a little longer. He turned down the heat for the rest of the time set. Then we went out to walk the dog. When we returned, the stew was beautifully finished. The aroma of cooked meat and chillies permeated the whole flat. The dog sneezed when she came in. Oops. Opened the kitchen window for ten minutes to let out the smells.

We didn't feel like cooking up a pot of arroz rojo to go with the stew. It would have been nice, but I didn't want so much flavors going on. Didn't want plain basmati or brown rice either. I felt like it was a night for bread. Didn't need to buy additional bread. There was plenty of beautiful sourdough in the freezer and in the fridge. If we didn't finish them soon, we couldn't buy new ones. Heheheh.

Broke out three types of sourdough. Hahaha. Yes, I have that many loaves of bread in the freezer, and the fridge. There were slices of regular ones gifted by our neighbors, fig and walnut, and honey spelt from The Humble Ground. (I don't bake, and will never bother about it. So I buy from good bakers. That works for me.) The man took a chunk of cream cheese for the bread. I was like, huhhh? I thought he might have shaved off a few pieces of Beemster or gouda to go along. Ah well. I would skip cheese tonight.

The Mexican pork stew was delicious. It was hearty and gorgeously spicy. The man used dried chillies of ancho, pasilla and guajillo. Mmmmm. The breads complemented the stew perfectly. Hurrah. I was so pleased with a one-dish meal! Bread as carbs made my stomach very happy. What a splendid dinner!