Rock it Slow Root Vegetable Stew

or veggie converter comfort food success

So, every year the following equations enter my kitchen: Jacket weather = comfort food  -and of course-  Comfort food = meat + starch.  This year we have added to the mix: meat = digestive chaos.  Thank you benevolent little dictator for this lovely gift.  But, what can you do?  You work with what life throws at you, or in my case - what an adorable baby girl threw at me.  Well I am not about to abandon my comfort food for a second year in a row so in the spirit of embracing changes I converted my favorite beef stew recipe, posted earlier this month, to a vegetarian comfort meal.  I can still tolerate meat based broths so I used a combination of beef base and vegetable base but if you are a full on veggie it is just as yummy with all vegetable base (and those newly named "flexitarians" in the foodie world will probably enjoy it with entirely beef base).  You can even add some beef stew meat if you like, just make sure to brown it first, but be warned that this makes a pretty full crock pot as it is so you may need to cut back elsewhere a bit.

Get ready for some comfort food goodness, brace yourself, here it comes...

3 medium to large golden potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 medium sized parsnips roughly diced
2 medium sized carrots roughly diced
1/2 large sweet onion diced
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
1-2 tbsp butter
4 cups vegetable or beef stock
1 cup red wine
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp parsley
salt & pepper
4 tsp cornstarch + 4 tsp water

Hardware: slow cooker, saute pan

1. Heat butter in a saute pan. Pour in the onions and saute for about 5 minutes, add the garlic and saute until the the garlic aroma fills the kitchen and onions are translucent (should only be a couple more minutes).

3. Dump the potatoes, vegetables and spices into the slow cooker.  Top with the onion and garlic mixture, add red wine, water, and beef broth. Stir well to combine so the flavors get all friendly together then cook on low for 6-8 hours.

4. Turn the slow cooker to high.  In a small bowl, blend 2 tbsp cornstarch with 1/4 cup water; stir into the stew and let simmer for a few minutes to thicken and integrate flavors. If needed, repeat the process again with the remaining 2 tbsp cornstarch. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.  Allow to cook for about 10 min for all the flavors to settle down then stir and serve.  Enjoy!