Beef and Dried Fruit Stew

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            FOOD FUNNY
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I have published this several times in the past, but it's always a
crowd pleaser so here it is again. Thanks to Michele Brown, a
chocolate lover in Virginia, for sending it this time.

Chocolate is a vegetable. Chocolate is derived from cacao beans.
Bean = vegetable. Sugar is derived from either sugar CANE or sugar
BEETS. Both are plants, which places them in the vegetable category.
Thus, chocolate is a vegetable.

To go one step further, chocolate candy bars also contain milk, which
is dairy. So candy bars are a health food.

Chocolate-covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries
all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it
too slowly.

The problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in a
hot car. The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.

Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge
off your appetite, and you'll eat less.

If I eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is that
a balanced diet? Don't they actually counteract each other?

Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look
younger. Therefore, you need to eat more chocolate.

Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today.
That way, at least you'll get one thing done.

A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of
calories in one place. Now, isn't that handy?

If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But
if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?

If not for chocolate, there would be no need for control top
pantyhose. An entire garment industry would be devastated. You can't
let that happen, can you?

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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Here is a simple yet exotic one-dish meal that features all four food
groups: fruits, vegetables, meats, and sauces.

Beef and Dried Fruit Stew

2 cups (500 ml) chopped dried fruits such
as apricots, peaches, pears, and prunes
2 cups (500 ml) warm water
Juice and finely chopped zest of 1 lemon
3 Tbs (45 ml) butter or olive oil
2 lbs (900 g) lean beef stew meat
2 tsp (10 ml) ground cinnamon
2 tsp (10 ml) curry powder
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 packages (10 oz, 280 g each) frozen spinach,
thawed and thoroughly drained
Boiled white rice

Combine the dried fruits, water, lemon juice and zest in a small bowl
and soak the fruit for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a
heavy pot over moderate heat and saute the beef until browned. Add
the fruit mixture, cinnamon, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Bring to
a boil and reduce the heat. Simmer tightly covered for 1 1/2 hours.
Add the spinach and cook an additional 30 minutes. Serve over rice.
Serves 4 to 6.
Received on Thu Apr 22 09:42:03 2004