The weather these past few weeks has made me envy the bears. Not The Bears, whose Super Bowl dreams ended over the weekend, despite a heroic effort from their third-string quarterback. (Wouldn't that have made a wonderful story if they had won?) No, I am envious of any animal who, once the weather turns nasty, gets to pack it in until spring hits.

But bears don't have mortgages or car payments or kids who need to be taken to school, guitar lessons and play dates. So instead I layer on the scarves and hats, try to remember to thaw out the frozen gloves in my son's backpack and turn to comfort food for warmth.

A hunk of crusty bread and some garlicky beef stew can get me through even the cruelest of winter wind chills. I've been tinkering with Mark Bittman's basic beef stew recipe for about a decade, since I first got my hands on his indispensable cookbook "How To Cook Everything." It's simple and straightforward, and doesn't require any difficult-to-find ingredients or advanced cooking techniques.

I love to make the stew on a Saturday afternoon, using the bacon grease from our traditional pancakes and bacon weekend breakfast to brown the meat. I'm in the "there's no such thing as too much garlic" camp, so I have quadrupled Bittman's garlic recommendation. I have also taken to adding mushrooms to the stew, since I think they add a nice flavor and texture.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter, bacon drippings, or extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic smashed and 4 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 - 2 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck or round cut into 1 inch chunks
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2-3 large onions cleaned and cut into eighths
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups more or less chicken, vegetable or beef stock or wine, or some combination thereof
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4-6 medium waxy potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
4 large carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 cup of fresh or frozen peas
8 ounces mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions
In a large dutch oven or deep skillet heat the oil, butter or bacon drippings over medium heat until it is hot. Throw in the crushed garlic clove and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute and then remove and discard the garlic.

Turn the heat up to medium high. Add the meat chunks to the skillet a few at a time, turning to brown well on all sides. Do not crowd or they will not brown properly; cook them in batches if necessary. Season the meat with salt and pepper as it cooks.

When all the meat is browned, remove it with a slotted spoon. Pour or spoon off most of the fat and turn the heat down to medium. Add the onions and saute until they are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the flour and stir well to coat, cooking for an additional 2 minutes. Add the stock and/or wine, bay leaf, thyme and meat and turn up the heat to bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and cover. Cook undisturbed for about 30 minutes.

Uncover the pot and give it a good stir. The mixture should be quite soupy. If it is not, add in a bit more stock or wine. Add in the potatoes and carrots and turn up the heat for a minute to bring the pot back to a boil. Turn it back down to low and cover again. Cook for another 30-60 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Saute the mushrooms in a small saucepan in some olive oil or butter for 4-5 minutes and set aside.

Add in the minced garlic, mushrooms and peas to the stew and stir. If you are pleased with the stew's consistency, simply heat on low for 5 more minutes to heat the peas and mushrooms through. If you want a thicker stew, remove the cover and turn up the heat. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and serve.

Jessica Webster leads the Food & Drink section for the AnnArbor.com community team. You can reach her at jessicawebster@annarbor.com.