Beef Chuck Stew with Oyster Mushrooms

This past weekend was wonderful, on Friday I got to go to the opening of PNCA's new building where they served delicious food and drinks, and I hung out with some of my best lady friends at a semi new bar called Church.  Church has really delicious food, I got the falafel bowl and it was only $8!  Then on Sunday we went out mushroom hunting with our friends, we intended to get morels but it is still a little too early.  We did end up with some delicious oyster mushrooms (pictured below) and spent the day playing around in the forest.  In other news I just started reading North: The new Nordic cuisine of Iceland, it is a really interesting book that also talks a lot about the history of culture in Iceland.  I would recommend reading it if you are looking for a fun new food book.  Onto the recipe the beef chuck I used in the recipe came from my wonderful friend's family farm and the mushrooms we foraged ourselves!  Enjoy!

Serves 6

The Ingredients
3 lbs beef chuck roast
4 cups of beef stock
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups baby carrots
2 small potatoes, cubed
3 celery stalks, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon of paprika
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon each dried rosemary, basil, and oregano


The Process
1.  Place meat into crockpot. Add liquids, stir in spices, then all other ingredients expect for the oyster mushrooms.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  Then add oyster mushrooms and cook for 1 more hour.