Good Ole Irish Stew

It’s  pretty strange, being Irish and all, that this is
my first time making irish stew….but living in
Houston I don’t have my mam or nanny to make it for
me so I tried it for the first time the other night
and it turned out pretty good!

Ingredients
pork stewing Meat (beef or lamb is more traditionally used but pork is all I had in the freezer)
4 carrots
2 sticks of celery
4 potatoes
beef stock
pinch of salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme
bay leaf
drop of soy sauce
splash of Worcestershire sauce
dried barley

Fry the pork and onions in a large pot until pork is browned.  Season and add a splash of
Worcestershire sauce.  Add celery, carrots, potatoes, barley and add the beef stock  (fill close to the top of the pot).
Season with  salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, a drop of soy sauce and add a bay leaf. Leave to simmer for
an hour (leave for longer if you wait that long!).  Discard the bay leaf and devour…

Extra Bits

♦I found dry pearl barley in an Asian supermarket off Sam Houston Parkway  ($o.80 a bag), this is my favourite
ingredient of a stew, it adds a real oathy, hearty taste.  There’s no need to soak it over night or quick  soak the
parley as they cook within the stew.
♦Garnish with fresh parsley.

Baked Potato

A baked potato is the perfect comfort food after a long rainy day. I baked the potatoes in the microwave to save on time so it’s quick to make as well as tasty.

Ingredients

2 potatoes
spring onions (chopped)
bacon (chopped)
3 tbsp of plain fat-free yogurt
pinch of salt and pepper
1 tbsp butter

Cut an x shape into the potatoes, wrap them in kitchen roll. and microwave for 4 minutes each. Let them
them stand for 5 minutes then wrap in foil to keep warm. I also placed them in the oven at a low temperature
to ensure that they would be piping hot.  Fry bacon bits until crispy  ( I added a dash of worcestershire sauce for
a meatier taste). Take potatoes out of the foil and butter.  Place bacon,  spring onions,  salt, pepper and yogurt on
top.  Enjoy!

Extra Bits
♦ Grate cheese on top of  the potato for an extra zing.
♦ An alternate topping would be to add  a dollop of chili to the jacket potato.