This particular stew I call "Costco Stew" because I bought the meat and veggies at Costco, meaning that when it was done, I had a HUUUGE pot of stew. Fed me, my wife, left some in the fridge, froze about a gallon, and took care packages of stew over to three different neighbors. You may want to cut my amounts by half unless you have a big enough stockpot in which to cook it.

This is a tasty stew with just enough spiciness that it doesn't overwhelm you, but it leaves your mouth warm after you swallow. It could almost be thought of as a chili. It's great with a good chunk of bread on a cold snowy day and helps you feel warm and full.

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So, this morning, I wanted to feed my 3-year-old waffles for breakfast, but we were out of toaster waffles and don't have a waffle iron. We do have a non-stick electric skillet, so I decided to try my hand at pancakes. Of course, my son has an egg allergy, so they had to be eggless. I found this pancake recipe, but I didn't have any vanilla, so I got creative and came up with something quite tasty.

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On the weekends, I like to pick up a few pounds of whatever meat is on special for under $3 a pound at the supermarket and either braise or stew it. Last weekend, I stewed some cubed boneless chuck roast in a mild red curry sauce with rum that ended up tasting almost like a beef bisque (which was a good thing... mmmmm). This weekend, I did a hearty pork stew with pork loin chops and it came out great.

I have a wife who is breastfeeding our new son, and I have an older a son who's closing in on 4 years old. Therefore hot and spicy is not really an option. I love it, but I'd be cooking for one. But you don't need to go hot and spicy to get "south of the border" flavors.

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After the discovery that Sara Lee was closing down Wilno Kosher Sausage Co., the makers of Wilno kosher salami, I complained on this blog about the fact that I'd been unable to find two things up here in Washington: Wilno salami and good pastrami.

I decided to do something about the second part (since Wilno's basically a moot point now) and ended up stumbling on a review for Barney's Pastrami in Everett, WA. The review practically glowed and Googling for more led me to a number of "best pastrami" raves. I decided to try it.

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