Next I mixed in carrots and potatoes, and turned off heat.

I was fortunate to have some vine ripened tomato, which I had sliced into layers, then diced. I probably used about a fourth to third cup. I stirred in tomato and two tablespoons of a reduced salt Japanese soy sauce. Note that I only warmed tomato. Less soy sauce also works.

If using pasta instead of potato and carrot, I am more generous with tomato, using all of a fist sized fruit.

I hesitate to use canned tomatoes, because of heavy handed use of sodium chloride and calcium chloride so common to prepared foods. I no longer use tomato sauce, whose making I consider to be extreme cruelty to vegetables.

That's it.

If you prefer, add a small amount of water, or enough to turn stew into a soup.

The only fat came from lean ground beef, and residual soy oil in tofu. This amount of fat, and food bulk, sufficed to satisfy my hunger until next day. Soy oil is relatively safe non saturated fat.

To completely omit meat, but still have food to chew on, use tempeh instead of tofu, roughly 2 to 6 ounces, to taste. The tempeh should be diced small.

I consider cooking to be an experimental art form. That means I am willing to get ideas from cook books and dining examples, but I am not bashful about changing proportions, playing with herbs and spices, or combining ideas from different sources. All good recipes were results of similar experimentation. Traditional recipes can have more fat and salt than healthful in mechanized societies, but usually are easy to update.

** Diet with FACTS, not MYTHS. **