Valentine's Blizzard

Brrr!! Yesterday we got 25 inches of snow all in one day. As you can imagine, many of the area businesses shut down early and the roads were an absolute mess. Blake (being the wonderful fiance that he is) let me drive his truck to work and he drove my car. Well, he barely made it home. There are "parking bans" here in Burlington which means that when the weather is bad, you are not allowed to park in the street. It took the neighbor across the street over 6 hours to get his cars moved from the street into the driveway. Blake helped him shovel, then pretty much the whole neighborhood was trying to help. At 11:00pm when I went to bed, they were still at it. Thankfully we didn't have any romantic Valentine's Day plans other than staying home and making a nice dinner. Although, on the news there were some people dining downtown who had skied to their dinner destination.
I am enjoying being home today, and decided to make a pot of stew. I got the recipe from one of my Moosewood Collective cookbooks, and it's pretty tasty stuff.

Tilghman Island Stew

3 T vegetable oil
2 c chopped onion
1 T minced garlic
4 bay leaves
2 t dried thyme
1 c sliced celery
2 T Old Bay Seasoning
1 1/2 c canned tomatoes with juice (14.5 ounce can)
4 c peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
6 c water or vegetable stock
4 c chopped kale
2 c stemmed and halved green beans
2 c fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 c chopped red bell pepper
2 c sliced zucchini
1 T soy sauce
2 T lemon juice
salt and pepper

Garnish: grated cheddar cheese and chopped parsley or scallions

Note: After chopping the sweet potatoes, immerse them in water right away to prevent discoloration. Drain before adding to the stew.

In a soup pot, warm the oil briefly on medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaves and thyme, then cover and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 c water to prevent sticking, if necessary. Add the celery and Old Bay Seasoning and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and water or vegetable stock. Increase the heat to a moderate boil. Stir in the kale and green beans. When the stew returns to a simmer, stir in the corn and cook until the green beans are just tender. Add the bell peppers and zucchini and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until all of the vegetables are tender. Stir in the soy sauce and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove and discard the bay leaves.

Serve topped with grated cheese and fresh parsley or scallions.