Hearty Brown Stew

Another oddly titled recipe from the McDougalls. It is simple, low fat and tasty. No exotic or hard to find ingredients.  The original recipe calls for ¼ cup tomato juice but I just threw in a chopped up tomato instead and that worked fine. Oh, and pardon my crappy photo of the end product. It tastes better than it looks. Honest!

What you will need:

1 onion, sliced (optional)

2 stalks celery, thickly sliced

2 carrots, thickly sliced

3 potatoes, cut into chunks

1 green bell capsicum, cut into strips (optional)

250g mushrooms, quartered

1 tomato, chopped

2 cloves of garlic (optional)

2 tbsp low sodium soy or tamari sauce

½ tbsp fresh grated ginger

½ tsp fried marjoram

½ tsp dried thyme

½ tsp paprika

3 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with ½ cup cold water

Method:

Combine all the ingredients except for the cornstarch mixture, in a large pot. Bring to boil and then lower heat. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened. Serve.

Beans and Things

This is an oddly titled recipe but not an oddly tasting meal. Easy, filling, tasty and low fat – like most of the McDougall recipes I have tried out so far. I like the inclusion of molasses in this. I am pretty new to this ingredient. It is rich in iron and gives this dish a full body flavour.  You can find top grade, organic molasses in health food shops.  I used Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Molasses. 

What you will need:

2 cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Small broccoli, chopped

Half cauliflower, chopped

1 onion, chopped (optional)

1 stick celery, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped

2 tbsp soy or tamari sauce

1 ½ tbsp molasses

Dash or two of paprika

Dash cayenne pepper

Few fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

Method:

Combine the beans and vegetables in a large bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl and then pour over the vegetables. Mix well and pour into a covered casserole dish. Bake for 1 hour. Serve as is or spoon into tortillas. Easy!