Beef stew in the slow cooker

I really like slow cookers. 

I also adore this recipe. This is the best beef stew I ever made, and one of few recipes in my book to feature very little garlic. Sometimes I add peas or sun-dried tomatoes. 

Amounts are approximate: adjust as desired. The only absolutely necessary ingredients are beef, beef stock, red wine, and cardamom. 

You may wish to add salt to taste at the end. I tend to under-salt and over-pepper, because I am old. 

Ingredients:

Beef roast cut into inch-size chunks (about a pound and a half) 

Carrots (1 package "baby" carrots)

Potatoes (several, red and/or golden)

1-2 cups pearl onions 

2 tablespoons pearled barley, if desired 

Olive oil 

Olive oil infused with orange oil, if you can get it

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil 

2-3 cups beef stock

1 cup dry red wine 

1/4 cup liquor - I prefer tequila or Irish whisky 

4 tablespoons dark soy sauce 

1-2 teaspoons ground cardamom 

2 teaspoon black pepper 

1 teaspoon salt 

3 cloves of garlic 

If the pearl onions are frozen, consider thawing them first. 

Turn slow cooker on high and coat bottom with good, extra virgin olive oil. (Save the orange for later.) Chop garlic fine and add it to the slow cooker, along with the barley, carrots, tequila, soy sauce, salt, pepper, cardamom, red wine, and enough beef stock to cover. 

Sear the beef in a skillet with the olive-orange oil on medium-high heat for a couple of minutes. Don't worry about browning every side, just get some color on it. Then transfer the beef to the slow cooker. 

Top the beef with potatoes; if they're large, cut them into chunks first. Golden and/or red potatoes are best. 

Finally, add the pearl onions and sesame oil, and cover with the rest of the beef stock. If everything isn’t covered, that’s fine, but immerse the onions and potatoes as best you can. 

Cover and set on high for about four hours, or high-then-low, if your slow cooker does that, for six-and-a-half-plus hours.