First home cooked meal ⁽ᶦⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ⁿᵉʷ ʰᵒᵘˢᵉ⁾

Lets begin with the first holes I've put in any wall in the new abode.
I'm not even sure where I got this, but I've had it for several years.
I disdain using disposable products as much as I can, preferring to use cloth that can be washed as opposed to paper or plastic that is used then discarded. ^{That roll of Paper Towel I bought 2 yrs ago, just to show how little I use it)}

This was a flank steak or something, I bought on discount and froze. There were holes in the plastic that I hadn't noticed, so this cut was severely freezer burned, and rather than try to cook it as a single entre, I decided to make it stew meat.

After I quickly thawed it, I put it on this napkin, that had been damaged in the "Bleach Incident".
I covered the meat, then ROLLED it up in the cloth so I could squ-a-WEEZE the water and blood out of it.
My cousin Julia Child ^{joking of course} taught me that to properly brown the meat, it must be dry.
Then I proceeded to cut it into smaller pieces than you normally get when you purchase stew beef. Input some bacon fat to fry it.

^{(there was a lot more than this)}

editors note, all this time I was also washing another load of clothes, one of the most bittersweet joys of homeownership

I bought this "mortar and pestle" on Amazon almost 2 yrs ago. My niece, with whom I used to live, asks me every time she sees it "Do you really USE that thing?" why yes, yes I do Michele.

I have a twist grinder such as you'd put on your table, but this was so much more satisfying
It is made of Granite, like my new countertops.
You may think that is a lot of black pepper, and it is, but so far I am not noticing and extreme or even noticeable HEAT, but the flavor is exquisite. So far only one un-ground peppercorn found.
but I digress
I tossed in my usual kitchen sink of ingredients