Summer Stew

It might not pretty up well for the camera, but let me assure you, this is one of the best meals I've made in quite awhile. And it's all thanks to three things: dumpstered stew meat, garden-fresh veggies, and Barbara Tropp's China Moon Cookbook.

I am obsessed with this cookbook, written by an Anglo woman who loved Chinese food and devoted her life to studying its complexities. Her recipes are lyric and complicated, and while cooking her food requires patience and heart (and a lot of hard-to-find ingredients), it is worth it. What I love best about her cooking is that all of her dishes rely heavily on pre-infused oils and vinegars, and pre-made spice mixes. So while you have to make a bunch of stuff that's inedible on its own before you get around to making the good stuff, once you've got this flavor arsenal behind you, whipping up a mind-blowing meal takes minutes.

This stew is made with dumpstered beef, homegrown garlic, onion, potato, and scallions, work-garden grown zucchini and bell pepper, and store bought carrot and mushrooms.