Beef Stew with Fresh Vegetables

Best served with cornbread!

2 lbs stew beef
1 tsp salt
2 cups diced carrots
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups diced potatoes
1 onion diced
2 tablespoons flour
black pepper to taste

Rinse the beef under cold running water. Put in a pot with the salt and onions. Mix these ingredients and cover with water to 1 inch higher than the meat. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cook slowly, covered, for 1-1/2 hours or until the meat is tender when pierced with a fork. Add the potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cover the pot again and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add a little hot water if necessary to keep the ingredients covered.

To thicken the stew, make a paste by combining the flour with 1/2 cup water (mixing them well) and stir the paste into the ingredients in the pot a little at a time, using only as much as need to make a stew as thick as you like it. Add pepper and cover the pot. Let the stew sit for 15 minutes to ripen the flavor.

Serves 8.