Stew Recipe to celebrate Spellbound at the halfway point

I wouldn't say several, but I've had some requests for the stew recipe, so in honor of Spellbound reaching the HALFWAY POINT sometime tomorrow (1,035 miles!!), here it is...though I don't use a recipe per se. Vegetarian version? I don't know, but certainly sweet potatoes, green bell peppers, black beans and more onion would be tasty.

First, chop your stew meat into pieces. Marinate about 1.5lb stew meat in third cup olive oil, 1 c. red wine, garlic. Cook 2-3 slices bacon (cut into small pieces). Remove bacon. Toss stew meat in flour (salt, pepper added). Brown meat in bacon drippings and some olive oil, in your stew pot - best to do half at a time. Add some garlic, 1/4 c. minced onion to all of the meat, stir. Add some paprika, thyme, oregano, 1/2 c. red wine, two 15-oz cans of V-8 juice, 1.5 c. water as needed, a few shakes of tobasco pepper sauce, and some chopped celery (1-2 stalks - if you don't like to eat celery, put in halved stalks and take out later). A tablespoon of brown sugar and pepper. Meanwhile, everything should have been kept at a simmer. Cover and simmer about 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally, adding water if needed. 20-30 minutes before done (meat tender), add carrots (2-3, chopped), potatoes (golden yukon or red hold up well, peeled), sliced mushrooms - chop them into hearty slices), frozen peas. Add salt as needed. To thicken more, add a few Tbs flour - put it into a small strainer and tap the side so that the fine flour falls into the pot, stir in. Continue to cook 30 minutes. Put the bacon back in. All of the herbs/spices can be adjusted to your taste.