Stew and Soda Bread

Happy belated St. Patrick's Day! I made the soda bread from an Epicurious recipe (where else?), link at the bottom. And stew is Irish, right? I made this up as I went along, threw it all in the Crock Pot, and it was delicious! There's nothing like a wonderful meal that cooked all day while you're in class. Perhaps we'll move on soon from winter comfort foods to spring foods, but for now I'm still enjoying casseroles and stew! (Besides, who wants to eat stew in August when it's 95? Not I.)

Irish-inspired Beef Stew
1/2 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
dash of olive oil

2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 large button mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, whole or halved
2 dashes of olive oil (and/or bacon grease and/or butter)

4 red-skinned potatoes, chopped
2 or 3 bay leaves
a few heavy pinches of dried thyme
black pepper to taste
enough water to barely cover

2 forkfuls AP flour

Brown the first two ingredients together, add to Crock Pot. Brown next group of ingredients, add to Crock Pot. Add everything else except the flour, and cook until potatoes are soft-- a few hours. A few minutes before serving, ladle out some of the liquid into a cup, mix in the flour until no lumps remain, and stir the flour mixture back into the stew. Allow to cook for 5 minutes more, or until stew has thickened. Serve with Brown Butter Soda Bread and a good stout (more details on the beer end soon, I think).

(Blogger's being weird with the pictures today, I don't know why this one is rotated...)