Greetings, Steemit community!

I'd like to take this time to very briefly introduce myself and express my enthusiasm for finding out about Steemit and the opportunities that lie within, with a very simple, but special recipe I use to
cook for myself whenever I’m hungry and I need to eat at least 3 plates of something!

I’m interested in a wide range of topics, from travelling, exploring and solo camping to music, cooking, absurd, hardly-scientific experimenting, the arts and much more! So this is probably what you will be seeing from me in the future!

Now without any further delay I would like to share with you;

THE SPECIAL (BUT SIMPLE) SATURATING POTATO STEW RECIPE!

Preparation time:40-50 minutes

To begin with, you'd need a few ingredients, besides of course a pot, a stove and some water. (A good fireplace with some stable rocks would work as well if you want to do this one in the outdoors, but you would probably have to add some patience in as well.)
This stew can feed 3-4 people or even last you a few days if you will eat it by yourself.

The ingredients:

Quantity	Product
4 medium sized	Carrots
1 medium sized	Red onion (or regular works fine just as well)
3	cloves of garlic
3 medium sized	Red peppers
8-12 (depending on size)	Potatoes
A bit of	Sesame oil (or any kind of oil really except olive oil)
2-3	diced tomatoes (jarred ones work even better)
However much you prefer	Spring onions and/or Parsley

Now, I know what you're thinking.
"This is just a regular basic potato stew! AND IT'S VEGAN!"
But stop right there, because we are gonna do some spice magic in between each step and to top it off, nothing will stop you from adding some sautéed or boiled sliced chicken at the end!
And as far as my cooking goes, my future recipes will include ingredients from all groups of foods!

Now from the spice drawer, we're going to need the following things:

Product	Quantity
Salt (of course)	To your liking
Black pepper	to your liking
Turmeric	just below 1/3 teaspoon
Cumin seeds	2-3 teaspoons
Mustard seeds (optional)	2-3 teaspoons

Smoked red pepper (or regular) – 2-3 teaspoons
Rosemary(optional) | 1/2 teaspoon
Thyme | 1 teaspoon (or...)

Of course the quantities are my own personal preference and you can always switch between which spice will be the dominating one based on your own likings, though I advise against putting in too much turmeric or cumin seeds, unless you absolutely love cumin seeds just like me.
Wild thyme is a fabulous addition to potato stews and in this case also very functional, but I will share more on this below, where I'll let you in on a little secret to good aromatic stews and soups!

The preparation:

• First of what you'll want to do is cut the carrots whichever style fits your personality.

• Then come the onions and garlic following the same fate and I prefer them cut in small pieces.

It’s good to prepare and cut your ingredients beforehand, so you can relax and even smoke a cigar while you prepare your dish.

• In a medium(word of the day)-sized pot put in a small amount of sesame oil and then the cumin seeds(and/or the mustard seeds).
  Don't forget to turn on the stove at this point (around 6-7 if you use an electric stove and if you use a gas stove I bet you already have the intuition for the temperature) and wait for the rich aroma of the cumin seeds to start pouring into the air around.

• This is where you add the carrots first, to sauté a bit and after 2-3 minutes follow the onions and garlic.

• Add some salt, black pepper and turmeric for the onions and carrots specially and this will produce a flavor for them later.
  If you don't like sautéed food that much, add a little water and put a lid on the pot, so the ingredients can steam a bit.(lower the heat as well)

• After a while add the diced red peppers in as well.

• Alternatively, you can use a blender to make a red pepper and garlic paste and that also produces amazing taste! Just don’t forget to stir a bit more often in that case.

• Enjoy the soothing sounds of crackling vegetables in oil as you prepare your potatoes for the next step.

Cut your potatoes in to spoon sized bites like this and after you've stirred the other vegetables a bit in the pot, pour in some water just a bit above them. Then put in the potatoes.

• This is where you decide if you want to make this more of a soup or a stew.
  If the later, put in water just a bit above the potatoes.

• Wait for things to boil and prepare your belt of spices for action!
  First come in the salt and black pepper . Remember to use your nose for these, because everyone has a different tolerance toward these two spices in particular.

• After a little while unleash half of the smoked red pepper , because this and the cumin seeds are the main spices for me and they make the whole distinct taste of the whole dish (as well as the color). Why half?
  Because red pepper is a spice that burns easily and I prefer to add the other half near the end after the tomatoes.

Now earlier I told you some things about the wild thyme . This is the time for that to go in as well.
Or better yet -and here is the secret- add in a drop of wild thyme essential oil . Yes you read that right, essential oil !
But why? What's the benefit? Isn’t that poisonous? Are you an astrology mom?
Well for a start, no and no, but I am indeed fascinated by the mystical aspect of the heavenly bodies. As for the thyme essential oil, it has amazing benefits to it when used for cooking!(And not only!)

Firstly it adds a subtle aroma to the whole meal, but it doesn't really impact the taste too much. (just be very, very cautious with the dosing as the opposite might just occur!) I find a drop (or two if you really like) does the job just right. At first it might smell a lot, but the boiling water of the stew will diminish the odor in no time! The other amazing benefit of thyme essential oil in particular is it's quality to preserve meals for a longer time, effectively extending their fridge life and this is just great if you want to cook for days ahead!

Now back to the stew!

• At this point you should pull a potato out and see where it's at with it's boiling process. If you cut them small, they shouldn't take too long. If your fork goes in easily they are ready, but at this point they don't really have to be, because you want to now put in the sliced tomatoes and let them boil with the rest of the food for at least 10 minutes.

• Now is a good time to add your final preference of spices, namely the ones you would want to dominate in your dish.

• After 10 minutes have passed (and I do advise boiling on lower temperature with an almost closed lid, as the slower your food cooks the less of it's tasty magical aura escapes the pot), it's time to check the potatoes, as they are the main indicator of when the stew is ready.

If all is soft and enchantingly mushy, then rejoice in the fullness of your newly created gastronomical gem and offer a few words and vibes of love, as the food really appreciates this and instantly improves it's flavor by at least 20%. (Science)
If you want you can puree the stew just a little bit if you want it more thick.

• Finally add some sliced spring onions (and/or parsley if you want) to the stew or just in your plate separately and you are ready to begin your very short journey to saturation!
  (Adding some lemon fits in really good as well, but don't do it in the stew itself, but in your plate after.)

Well that's it from me for now, steemit! I'm glad to be here and although it’s really not much I hope you enjoy what I have for you in this post! : ) You can be sure that as I post more, my recipes will get more unique and exotic/traditional! See you and have a great day : )

You can follow me @firefruit