I wrote in one of my recent posts about how difficult it was for me to talk about myself.  The immense trust that I need to feel in order to open up and how much easier it is to listen to other people and sympathize, offer advice or just simply listen.  I was struck again this week with it all when I received a request from a website called recipes.ca.
Recipes.ca is a site dedicated to canadians and their recipes.  You can join and add your own recipes, search for others and review the ones you've tried.  I add all of my recipes to the site and have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it and even having my recipes featured.  Last week they contacted me about being a featured cook, a 'foodstar' in fact.  Being the diva that I am [not], I said 'yes' and 'thank you' and 'flattered' and got handed [read: sent] a list of questions that I had to fill out.  Frozen.  In my tracks.  I am completely and utterly paralyzed.
I read the questions and to be honest they are pretty standard.  But I might want to be funny here and there or think of something super cool or come up with something truly unique... like... what?  What's my favourite kitchen gadget?  What?  I don't know.  My perfect meal?  god, really?  I haven't ever thought about that.  Should the answer be Mother Theresa or something?  I feel like maybe there's a magic answer that I'm missing.
I haven't even started to type out my answers.  I have to send them a message and tell them I'm still working on it.  That I haven't forgotten about them.  Here's the kicker though - after I've typed out all my super awesome, insightful, witty, intelligent answers then I have to submit my favourite recipe.  Like I have a favourite recipe.  My favourite recipe is whatever one I'm making today.  Seriously.  I need to retool that in my brain as my 'go-to' recipe or something.  It's just not going to make sense for me otherwise and then I'll get totally stuck on that too.


This is segueing rather awkwardly to this stroganoff recipe.  In fact, the recipe has nothing to do with any of the recipes.ca stuff except I made it today.  You might know me well enough by now to know that I have a habit of loading veggies where they might not otherwise be.  Hence the addition of beets.  The beets should be golden or chiogga beets unless you want the stroganoff to be a deep red instead of a lovely dark orange colour.  I did not add tomato to this recipe because once I tasted it without the tomato paste I thought it was more than fine without it.  The lemon was essential for me and we all thought that having the stroganoff with crusty garlic bread was a novelty [read: kid #2 pretty much only ate the garlic bread].

The outdoor dinner: complete with towels for placemats (everything else is in the laundry) and stroganoff on the right.  p.s. radishes do, in fact, taste pretty good with cheese and bread

Beef and Beet Stroganoff adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine
serves 4 - 6

1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cups golden beets, ends cut off, peeled where necessary (where little roots are growing) and diced into 1 inch cubes
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb Beef tips or stewing beef, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
4 cups mushrooms (I used button b/c that's what I had but cremini or wild would work well), thinly sliced
3 tbsp flour or corn starch
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp paprika
3/4 cup beef or vegetable broth (low sodium if possible)
1/4 cup sherry or white wine (optional: you can use extra broth instead)
1/4 cup cream
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
squeeze of lemon juice

2 tbsp fresh dill, coarsely chopped
sour cream for dolloping
Crusty Bread

Heat a heavy bottomed dutch oven over medium heat.  Add about 2 - 3 tbsp of butter or oil.  Add the onion and beets and cook for about 5 minutes.  Turn the heat down to medium low and continue to cook for another 8 minutes or until the beets are just beginning to soften.
Add the garlic and continue to cook for another 3 - 4 minutes.  Add in the beef and mushrooms and continue to cook until the meet browns.
Add in the beef and mushrooms and continue to cook until the meat browns.
Add the flour or corn starch, salt, sugar and paprika and mix well.
Add in about a 1/4 cup broth to the pot to keep things from sticking.  Make sure the scrape the bottom of the pot so that everything that's sticking comes off and the flavour is retained.
Add the sherry, cream and Worcestershire. Stir well and check the taste.  Add the squeeze of lemon juice.  Simmer at very low heat for about 25 minutes or until the beets are completely soft.
Remove to a serving dish and sprinkle with fresh dill.
Dollop each serving with a little sour cream.
Serve with egg noodles or crusty garlic bread.