Making mirepoix (meer-pwah) seems to be the fundamental skill for every self-respecting cooks. Alas and unashamed, I am not one. Then came the day, Wife far away, I thought to make myself a hearty soup. What was that flavor-base with a French sounding name? Google came through with both the right word and the general instructions. (This is a fine application of voice-based searching. “Alexa, how to make mye-roe-qua?” “To make mirepoix, you start with…”
I first chopped one onion, finely. Then I eyeballed carrots and celery to roughly half in volume. Turned on the stove and throw in onions and carrots and started to sweat them. When the onion became translucent, I threw in celery and garlic (just because) and simply stir them once in a while until the celery was soft. This completed the mirepoix, a flavor and aromatic base.
I needed a meal. So I poured water to cover, threw in tomato, potato, and tofu. Boiled them for about 10 minutes, threw in some pre-cooked beef, added chopped basil, and I had a stew. Hearty and delicious.