June 5th, 2012
By Craig Fear
The defrosted stew meat had been sitting in my fridge for five days. I’d planned on making the stew this past weekend but got sidetracked. It was now Tuesday and it was now or never.
And by “now” I meant in the next 15 minutes before I had to meet with clients. After that, this very pricey, grass-fed stew meat would surely rot in my fridge as my schedule was chock full for the rest of the week.
I knew I didn’t have time to pull out a recipe book or be specific with measurements or ingredients.
So I whipped out the old “whatever, good enough” method of cooking.
It went like this:
In a mad rush, I chopped up an onion, some potatoes and threw them in the crockpot. I really wanted more onions but only had one. And I’m not a big fan of potatoes in stews but didn’t have any other vegetables around. Whatever, good enough.
I wanted garlic but wasn’t sure how many cloves to put in. I quickly peeled 6 cloves.
Whatever, good enough.
I wanted to brown the beef but didn’t have time. So I threw it in unbrowned.
Whatever, good enough
I wanted beef stock but didn’t have any. So I threw in some frozen chicken stock from the freezer.
Guess what I said?
I wanted a good quality red wine but didn’t have any. So I threw in a junky pinot noir I had lying around. I had no idea how much wine to throw in so I went with the “more is better than not enough” philosophy.
Let’s say it together…”WHATEVER, GOOD ENOUGH!”
I turned the crockpot to “high” and raced out the door.
Four hours later I came home to the most delicious tasting stew I’ve ever made. Was it luck? Maybe.
But it doesn’t matter. The point is that modern life is crazy. Sometimes we can plan great meals and sometimes we just gotta say, “Whatever, good enough” and hope for the best.
Photo credit: Whatever buttons by jelene on Flickr
Hi, my name is Craig Fear. And yes, that 's my real last name. Welcome to Fearless Eating, my blog about traditional foods where I dismantle common food myths and help you eat, well... fearlessly!
I'm also a certified Nutritional Therapist as well as a GAPS certified practitioner. My practice, Pioneer Valley Nutritional Therapy, is located in Northampton, Massachusetts.
I really enjoyed reading this! goodenough!
Sounds delish! Next time you should invite me over!
[...] went with my “whatever, good enough” method. This is a method I use when I don’t have every exact ingredient and will either leave things [...]
Loved this!
That is pretty much my entire cooking method. Throw stuff in a pot til it either looks right or smells good, and call it dinner. I’ve come up with some of my best chicken “recipes” that way. Not that I have a clue how much of what goes in it. It’s kinda like a handful of this, two shakes of that, a big pile of these, and however many chicken thighs are in the package, plus whatever herb is ready to be picked in the garden. Is it ever the same twice? No, but it’s always good. I laughed while reading this post… this is so the type of thing that happens to me.
I have done this SOO many times! Loved reading this
Sometimes “good” food is food that’s just eaten in the right place/time. The best scones I’ve ever had were the ones I made with, cough, margarine and Land O Lakes non-dairy creamer. Cooking brunch with three friends, lingering over the meal, not wanting to break the spell. Surely, I have had better pastry in my life, but none that I remember like those fake-fat scones.