Repair

Returning from my weekly lake swim, I noticed that my extremely ancient beach towel was fraying badly (much like me these last few weeks). Seams had given away to a Bohemian fringe which was starting to become noticeable as a cloud of blue fluff followed me to the car. Its January and the shops are still shouting about final reductions and filling my inbox with ‘come and get me’ offers but I’ve made a loose resolution to not but anything new, at least for this first month. More a kind of bloody minded resistance to consumerism that any sense of a new year start. Plus, I bought this towel decades ago, when I first left home, a mere youth, a head full of adventures and crippled by shyness. Faded by sun and a thousand or more washes, it’s naïve palm fringed sunset in shades of blue still fills my heart with dreams. I looked at the label, St Michael by M&S, definitely almost an antique.

 

Finding a crochet hook and needle, repairing this old friend became a smugly satisfying nightly task. A simple wave of an edge, strengthening where the seams had fully ripped and giving a new lease of life. It’s not perfect (crochet is not my best skill) but the odd slip of a stitch enhances the vintage homespun charm. No more fluff. I was even asked by a fellow swimmer where I had bought my ‘arty’ towel, aaah I said, just a shop on the high street.

 

Sidetracked by crochet and finishing in time for my next swim, meals have been easy one pan affairs, one pan or oven, both of which created a welcome warmth in the unheated kitchen. This simple stew was a deeply savoury effort, mainly intended to use up a stray can of Guinness but was so good, we ate it on repeat the following weekend. The plentiful leftovers turned into a comforting ragu, tossed through wholewheat pasta and showered with Parmesan.

 

A simple stew

(serves 4 or 2 with leftovers)

 

400g lean stewing beef

1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2-3 carrots, roughly chopped

1-2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped

1 onion, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed

A good pinch of dried chilli

1 tbsp tomato puree

Splash of white wine vinegar

1 can or bottle of Guinness

200g mushrooms

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Pre-heat the oven to 140 degrees (fan). Brown the beef in a tbsp of olive oil in a heavy lidded casserole dish and set aside, then fry the onion, celery and carrot until the onion is soft. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and return the beef to the pan, cook for another minute or two then add a splash of vinegar to the dish to loosen anything stuck at the bottom. Add the tomato puree and stir through then slowly add the Guinness (it will froth a little so take care) and finally stir in the mushrooms, season and bring to a simmer. Put the lid on the casserole and place it in the oven for around 2-2 and a half hours. Check occasionally to taste and stir.

 

For ultimate ease, add a couple of potatoes to the oven so they can bake slowly alongside the stew. Serves with the potatoes split open and buttered and perhaps a handful of dark green Savoy thinly shredded and cooked in a little more butter. If you held some back, that's dinner for tomorrow sorted too.