Three Beautiful Things 03-16-2026: Swanson's Spicy Beef Broth, How Can I Reduce this Heat?, Delicious and MILDLY Spicy Family Dinner

 1. Yesterday when I wrote about the Irish stew I cooked Sunday evening for family dinner, I thought the problem with it having unwelcome heat was a pepper problem. 

Turned out not to be the case. 

I hoped to solve the pepper problem by adding more beef broth to the stew. 

So, I went to Yoke's and purchased another quart of beef broth and added a cup of it to the stew. It didn't seem to make much difference and I added another half a cup. 

Then I saw something on the box that caught my eye.

Oh no! Yesterday and today I'd purchased Swanson's SPICY beef broth. 

I didn't even know there was such a thing! 

So, sigh, my first move to reduce the spiciness of this Irish stew exacerbated the problem instead of beginning to solve it.

2. So, I wondered again: How can I cool down this stew?

One remedy I read about was to add more vegetables.

So I did: potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and green beans.

This remedy helped, but I still wanted it to be more bland. 

I'd read about adding water to a stew/soup to reduce spiciness, but I didn't want to dilute the flavor.

Then I thought, well, if water dilutes the flavor I can add more of the ingredients I've already used that boost the flavor of this stew.

I added a cup of water and then I surrendered. 

I let go.

I quit tasting the stew. 

I left it alone. 

I'd have cottage cheese and sour cream on the table as coolants, if necessary. Christy's pear and spinach leaf salad would help put out throat fires if necessary. So would Carol's soda bread. 

I also thought that this was such a vegetable rich stew that surely the flavors of the vegetables wouldn't be too compromised by a single cup of water. 

So, dinner time rolled around. I ladled out bowls of Irish stew to Christy, Carol, Paul, and Zoe. 

My stomach tightened. I could feel panic starting to rise up inside. 

Then I heard these words: 

"It's not that spicy."

"It's fine."

"It's really good."

I nearly collapsed on the floor, I was so relieved. 

That one cup of water and the added vegetables worked! 

3. We started tonight's dinner with a simple appetizer: I cut slices of Dubliner cheese and Carol brought the superb nut crackers she makes at home to go with the cheese. 

The stew recipe called for Guiness beer and I used non-alcoholic Guiness so that I could enjoy the beer I didn't use in the stew. Well, over appetizers, we all enjoyed a small glass of N/A Guiness with our cheese and crackers. 

We filed into the kitchen and, as I wrote above, ended the suspense as to whether the Irish stew was easily edible (it was!) and Christy's Irish Flag Salad and Carol's soda bread added to the excellence of this meal. 

Over the course of the evening we talked quite a bit about movies. I was the only family member who had not watched the Oscars ceremony, but we had quite a seminar on movies in 2026, movies and actors in the past, and on the Oscars telecast itself. 

We also talked about PEO geranium orders, Paul's brother and niece having been to Madison Square Garden to watch St. John's defeat UConn, and other things and had a fun time, animated by quite a bit of laughter, mostly around not being able to remember or pronounce names of people in the movie business and my deliriously funny struggles with cooking a simple Irish stew.