Callie’s Venison Stew
Imagine a world where your destiny has already been decided…by your future self.
It’s Callie’s seventeenth birthday and, like everyone else, she’s eagerly awaiting her vision — a memory sent back in time to sculpt each citizen into the person they’re meant to be. A world-class swimmer. A renowned scientist.
Or in Callie’s case, a criminal.
For when she receives her vision, she sees the unthinkable: her future self murdering her gifted younger sister. In an instant, her dreams of becoming a Manual Chef, as well as life as she knows it, are dashed.
But when she runs away to Harmony, a primitive community in the wilderness, Callie has the opportunity to rebuild the shattered pieces of her life – and to return to a more basic form of cooking. In civilization, the majority of food comes straight from the Meal Assembler. In contrast, the residents of Harmony must prepare food by hand – not to mention skin their own protein and grow their own vegetables. Venison stew is the first dish Callie makes. This version of the recipe comes from my sister, Lana Hompluem, foodie extraordinare.
Ingredients:
3 strips bacon
2 lbs venison, (or beef stew meat/beef chuck roast) cut into chunks
1 whole large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 lb carrots diced into large chunks
4 medium to large potatoes, washed and diced in large chunks
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaf
2-4 fresh oregano sprigs
1 tsp salt
3 cups low sodium beef stock
1 cup water
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1. Cook bacon in medium frying pan.
2. Remove bacon and reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon grease.
3. Heat bacon grease to medium high and sear venison until deeply brown. Cook venison in portions, making sure not to overcrowd the pan.
4. Remove meat and put into large pot with a tight fitting lid. Chop bacon into small pieces and add to pot.
5. If the frying pan looks dry, add a little oil or butter as needed, and turn down heat to medium. Cook onions for 2 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (approximately 30 seconds to a minute).
6. Scrape onions and garlic into pot. Add bay leaf, oregano, Worcestershire, salt, beef stock, and water. Bring to boil.
7. Reduce heat to low, cover pot with tight-fitting lid, and simmer the stew for 1 ½- 2 hrs, or until meat is tender. Pot should simmer throughout, so check occasionally and adjust temperature as needed.
8. Add potatoes and carrots to the pot. Stir to combine and simmer for another 30 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are easily pierced by a fork.
9. Remove bay leaf and oregano sprigs from the stew. Add salt and pepper to taste.
10. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook for a minute, or until mixture is golden brown. Gradually whisk in 1 cup of stew liquid until smooth and bubbling. Stir mixture into stew and mix thoroughly to combine.
11. Cover stew and let simmer for another 10-20 minutes until thick.
12. Enjoy!!
Tip to avoid a gamey flavor in the venison: An hour or two before cooking, put venison in a shallow bowl and pour in cold milk until the meat is submerged. Refrigerate and let soak for 1- 2 hours. When finished, remove venison chunks and pat dry with paper towels. Discard milk, and proceed with recipe as instructed.
About Forget Tomorrow:
Imagine a world where your destiny has already been decided…by your future self.
It’s Callie’s seventeenth birthday and, like everyone else, she’s eagerly awaiting her vision―a memory sent back in time to sculpt each citizen into the person they’re meant to be. A world-class swimmer. A renowned scientist.
Or in Callie’s case, a criminal.
In her vision, she sees herself murdering her gifted younger sister. Before she can process what it means, Callie is arrested and placed in Limbo―a hellish prison for those destined to break the law. With the help of her childhood crush, Logan, a boy she hasn’t spoken to in five years, she escapes.
But on the run from her future, as well as the government, Callie sets in motion a chain of events that she hopes will change her fate. If not, she must figure out how to protect her sister from the biggest threat of all—Callie, herself.
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