Serious Stew

What does a former vegetarian do with two kilos (that's four pounds!) of organic beef from her mother-in-law's farm defrosting in her fridge and no one here to chop it up for her?
She makes stew, especially considering the autumnal weather.
This beef was about to start haunting me, especially if I let it go to waste. I probably even knew the cow by name, though I didn't ask! So after a very unproductive morning of writing I donned an apron (I never wear an apron, but I've been getting lots of things on my belly lately, and I have so few tops that fit I couldn't bear another one getting stained) and consulted Neil Perry, Australian chef and cookbook writer extraordinaire.
Here's the recipe I've made, Perry's doubled with a few additions. Just in case you ever have a large piece of cow in your fridge:

Beef braised with Guinness

2 kilos (four pounds and a bit) beef, cut into 2cm (3/4 inch) pieces
1/2 cup olive oil
4 bay leaves (you're s'posed to use fresh but I didn't have a bay tree nearby)
2 brown onions, chopped
2 carrots, peeled & chopped
2 leeks, white part only, sliced thinly
2 potatoes, cubed
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 sprigs thyme
2 cups of Guinness
salt & pepper

Take the large chunk o' beef out of the fridge and eye it for about half an hour before getting out your plastic chopping board and most dangerous looking knife. Spend about half an hour chopping it up, with the dog salivating on your feet the entire time. Don't feed him the fatty bits you cut off, because you read somewhere that animal fat's no better for non-humans than it is for humans. End up with grumpy dog.
Season beef chunks with sea salt. Heat about half the oil in the largest saucepan you have over high heat. Add the bay leaves. When they start sizzlin, add about half your beef chunks and brown them. (Watch out for spitting fat near your face.) Remove and repeat with remaining beef. Remove, add remaining oil to the pan and cook the onions for ten minutes over low heat. That is, after you remember you were supposed to chop them. Do that first.
Return beef to the pan and add your carrots, leeks, taters, garlic, thyme, Guinness and two cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, put the lid on and let it simmer for an hour and a half. Then remove the lid and cook for another half hour. The beef should be very tender. Take out the bay leaves and thyme before serving, Neil recommends it with rice, potato puree (is that just a fancy way of saying mashed potato?) or polenta. Mmm. Stewy.
Freeze most of it because in five weeks or so, you're not going to be cooking much. Or sleeping much. But you will be eating plenty.