Caitríona Redmond: How to make my summer beef stew

Plus: "My first port of call when I'm in a rage is to start cleaning, and there is never going to be a kitchen as clean as a kitchen that has been rage-cleaned."

Summer Beef Stew.

When I talk about being organised in the kitchen and at home, I talk about the tools that I use; the methods are the tricks to get the household under control. 

I haven't always been this organised. Nowadays, organisation comes easy to me because it's baked into (you’ll excuse the pun) who I am. And I have evolved over time.

I am forever grateful to the moment of epiphany when I realised that I was imminently capable of organising the household and saving money, only if I used the skills that I already had. 

Up until that point, I had been living a chaotic, disorganised life, which was costing me far too much money that I couldn't afford.

If you had opened the hidey-hole at the top of the fridge freezer, you would have seen seven or eight boxes of ice cube bags. 

Every time I went to the shops, I felt that I needed some, and then I bought them without checking that I already had ice cube bags at home. Under the sink, there were three to four packages of pot scrub sponges. 

The crisper drawer in the bottom of the fridge was always full. Not only was it always full, but it was always packed to the gills, and everything in the bottom of the drawer slowly rotted away.

I would buy a whole chicken to roast, then serve up the two breasts and discard the rest straight into the black bin. Leftovers inevitably got scraped into the black bin.

The freezer was crammed full of convenience foods. In fact, in the supermarket the other day, I picked up a bag of a particular brand of chicken nuggets that we liked over 15 years ago and my husband and I both shuddered looking at them!

Looking back, I think about all the wasted food, and it makes me feel sick. That was money I was scraping into the bin.

To be honest, if I had been more self-aware about it, then I could have saved more money to insulate us from financial hardship later on down the line. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Taking control of our finances and the state of the kitchen was the single most powerful thing I did for myself.

When so much of the rest of my life felt like it was running out of control, knowing exactly what we were spending and wasting made me feel better about myself.

For me, taking control of the finances was as much about taking control of my life as it was combating the financial difficulties, we found ourselves in. I wish I had taken control earlier.

I can't change that, but I hope you will learn from my experience. I'm still meticulously counting the bags at the top of the fridge, but I used up the scrubbing sponges a long time ago.

Home truths

Hand in hand with taking control of your life comes frustration. We all encounter barriers every day that can build up a head of steam internally. Thankfully, the kitchen is a fantastic space in which to vent your frustrations in a safe manner.

Kitchen terms can be violent sometimes; have you ever tried whisking or beating, or maybe chopping? My first port of call when I'm in a rage is to start cleaning, and there is never going to be a kitchen as clean as a kitchen that has been rage-cleaned. 

Next, there's bread to be kneaded, and plenty of vegetables to chop. There is a modern Greek custom where plates are smashed at celebrations. 

While this strikes me as a very expensive way to get rid of your emotions, it sounds incredibly satisfying.

Putting your effort and your energy into getting out your frustrations and rage in the kitchen has a dual purpose. 

By the time you scrub the kitchen clean, knead some dough, chop some vegetables, you will have made at least one loaf of bread and possibly prepared a dinner, all of which will ultimately save you money. 

Who’d have thought that getting angry in the kitchen has a purpose?

Summer Beef Stew

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond 

Using the slow cooker over the summer months reduces time spent in a warm kitchen!

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 5 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 5 hours 15 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 500g stewing beef

• 2 onions, chopped

• 3 sticks of celery, chopped

• 3 carrots, roughly chopped

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 tin of chickpeas

• Salt

• Pepper

• 150ml water

Method

1. Add all the ingredients to a slow cooker, making sure not to forget the water from the tinned chickpeas as this will help to naturally thicken your stew.

2. Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 5-6 hours. Serve with mash or rice.