Elk Steak Stew

Burrr! It's cold, windy and rainy today. Perfect day to cuddle up Ella and make some Elk steak stew! I received an excellent bottle of red wine from the nice store clerk the other day (mentioned in my nasturtium post)I always cook with wine I like to drink~ I would never use "cooking wine". We received the Elk in trade for fish (Tony didn't get an Elk this year) I don't cook with a recipe, my intuition is my guide, I just add a handful of this and a dash of that, so here is my description.
So I browned the Elk steak (3 firm shoulder steaks a little bigger than the size of your hand) in oil on the bottom of the pan (the secret to browning is, if the steak feels like it does not want to come off the bottom, don't turn it over, wait until it shrinks and dis attaches itself, then you can turn it)

Anything that grows in the ground is great for stew, I happened to have potatoes, carrots, onions- chop them in big chunks- use more veges than meat because they will shrink upon cooking- and add 1/2 the vegetables (no need to brown the veges, the steak gives plenty of browning flavor)~ red wine (the more the better) a little over half the bottle.

I added some water (you could use stalk) so you just cover the meat and vegetables, a large sprig of rosemary and a few bay leaves. I will let them simmer most of the day, toward the end of cooking, I will add the second half of the vegetables (so you get the best of both worlds, all the flavor of the veges you added earlier and that thickness of the cooked potatoes, plus the firmness of the vegetables you just added) A little sea salt and pepper if needed for seasoning....

Yum! Just the smell throughout the house is delish!