cooking

Today I made a pot of Brewer Stew. This is an invention of my own with two main influences. Several years ago, at the tomato festival, a guy made something he called wild man stew which I liked a lot. And Buzz Hoagland makes a rather different stew that's also excellent. Mine is a sort of synthesis of the two. My recipe is rather simple: fill a big pot about half full with water. Throw in two pounds of italian sausage (I use links that I cook for a while; then remove, cut into slices, and then throw back in), diced potatoes, carrots, and sliced mushrooms to basically fill the pot. Season with pepper, salt, two bay leaves, and rather a lot of red wine. This is why I call it "Brewer Stew" because if you're drinking beer, what else are you going to do with the wine?

After it simmers for a couple of hours, it's ready to eat. And so am I.

I was supposed to go the fitness club this morning with Lucy, but overslept. To make it up to her, I fixed omelets for each of us. I fixed Lucy what she requested -- a cheese omelet -- but I made a special omelet for myself.

When Alisa and I lived in Kalamazoo, there was a great little restaurant named Maggie's near campus that made a couple of great, unique breakfast dishes. My favorite was always the Mexican Omelet. Here is my omage to it:

Beat two eggs and pour into a small, pre-heated, buttered teflon skillet. Cover with a plate on medium heat until mostly firm, flip, and grate a little colby longhorn over the eggs, lay on several pieces of thinly sliced chicken (I used peppered turkey), grate a little more cheese over the top. Once the cheese is melted, fold (in half, if thick, or turn two edges in to enclose the contents). Spoon on salsa and sprinkle with jalapeños. (And cilantro!)