Halloween Stew & Wrap

Don’t you feel warmer just looking at a hearty stew?  I know I do. 

My Grandma Capizzi made soups and stews weekly.  You never knew what glorious smell was going to greet you walking into the house on any winter’s day.  Growing up during the Great Depression, my grandmother could stretch a dollar so far it would squeak.  She knew how to make the best stock and always filled the broth with so many vegetables that you could eat it with a fork.  Her secret, she went to the grocery store everyday to search the “reduced rack” in the produce department.  Our soups and stew were never the same twice because her ingredients depended on what was on that rack.  It is funny, you rarely see those racks anymore.  It seems grocery stores might think people are too good for perfectly ripe produce. If it isn’t perfect looking, they don’t put it out.  It’s nearly impossible to buy a ripe avocado or plantain. She might add potato's, peppers, parsnips, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, corn, cabbage, onions, even turnips could turn up.  She had a giant pot that was always on the stove bubbling away.  It was so big, I am not sure how she could even see in it, being the petite little Italian lady she was.

My stew may not be as much of a mystery , but warm and bursting with flavor it is.  It contains a ton of fresh veggies.  Carrots, onions, celery, spinach, sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, butter beans, peas, carrots, corn, green beans, San Marzano tomatoes, better than bouillon base, bay leaves, and a little barley.  I also used a bit of a seitan as a beef substitute.  I tossed the seitan in flour, fried it in a teaspoon of olive oil, then added into the soup.  It did a wonderful job of thickening the broth to a stew consistency.  I could eat this everyday in the winter. 

Onto the wrap…

I had leftover Autumn Harvest Chick’n Salad so I used it as the filling for my wrap along with some Romaine lettuce.  This is the same wrap I made for Mya’s lunch.  I used a Flat-out light whole wheat wrap.  I spread out the lettuce and chick’n salad, then rolled it up like a jelly roll and sliced it at an angle.  It was so light and refreshing.  It was perfect with the stew.

Happy Halloween…don’t eat too much candy!!!!!!!!