Vegan Freak
The book is supposed to cover the trials of being Vegan in a non-vegan world.
The other is a cooking book.
Vegan with a Vengeance
Gina also has a couple of vegan cookbooks that I will be looking through for recipes.
Back to the grind.
Laterz
Well sort of...
I don't think that any self respecting Texan would view what I call chili to be a "bowl of Texas red", too many vegetables and beans in there.
To me, it just isn't chili if it doesn't have beans in it. It is well a spicy spaghetti sauce, add some macaroni to it and you suddenly have goulash (minus the vegetables).
Unfortunately, I did what I always do when making chili, I just added the ingredients as I felt necessary, no real measuring again. But I did try to 'eyeball' the amount of stuff that I put in terms of standard measurements.
Here goes....
One 6 lb can of stewed tomatoes. If you have a big enough pot you can use the water/juice in the can too.
1 lb of ground meat (turkey or beef)
1-2 tablespoons of salt
1/2 tablespoon of coarsely ground black pepper
2 cups of diced green pepper (approx 2 medium sized green peppers)
1 diced medium onion (white or yellow, your preference)
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of black beans
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of paprika
4-5 cloves of garlic
3-5 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or enough to sufficiently cover the bottom of your pot)
2-3 large jalapeño peppers
Note: It is best to use the BIGGEST pot that you have. I should have checked the measurements of the one I used, but I can easily boil like 3 lbs of spaghetti pasta in the one I used.
Step 1.
Add the olive oil to the bottom of your pot. Crush or press the garlic and add to the pot. Allow this to cook for about a minute or two, you should be able to smell the garlic and the olive oil when it is ready to add the tomatoes.
Step 2.
Add approx 1/2 the tomatoes in the can to the pot. I usually try to cut them into quarters (sometimes they are small and just cut them in half). Add these to the pot. Once they have been added. Sprinkle on the salt. This will help break down the tomatoes as the cook. Allow this to cook for probably about 5 minutes or so. Then take the rest of the tomatoes and put them in a blender, you will need some of the water/juice from the can in the blender too. Then blitz the tomatoes into a soupy mixture, it actually will smell a little bit like tomato soup.
Step 3.
Add the blitzed tomato soupy mix to the pot and stir. This should fill your pot approx 1/2 - 3/4 of the way. Turn the heat down to medium and stir regularly.
Step 4.
Brown the meat. I usually add a little soy or Worcestershire sauce to the meat. Just because it gives it more of a brown look, when I doing turkey. I also tend to put some black pepper in with the meat, not a ton just enough to see that it is there. I also add a little cumin to the meat as well.
Step 5.
Add the meat to the pot. I usually just take a slotted spoon or a slotted spatula and put it straight from the pan into the pot. If the meat is extra greasy then you can drain it to your preference before adding it to the pot. Stir regularly
Step 6.
Add the spices pot. Stir regularly.
Step 7.
Add beans, corn, green pepper, and onion to the pot. When it comes to the onion, I usually don't put the whole diced onion, only about half of it or so. Me, I love onion. However, others don't always like it. Thus, keeping it on the side allows folks to add as much as they want per serving. Putting in at least 1/3 of the diced onion will however, provide plenty of onion flavor to the pot.
Step 8.
Time to add some spice. Wash the jalapeños. Then take and cut a 4 lengthwise slits in each jalapeño. The slits will allow the chili to permeate the pepper and release the flavor of the jalapeño, without killing the taste of chili (or the taste buds of those eating your chili).
If you know that the folks who will be eating your chili, prefer to taste almost nothing but that burning and lingering heat. Then dice those bad boys up and make sure the seeds find their way into the pot. I would almost recommend that you only dice up 2 jalapeños and throw them in, keeping the third a side garnish.
Honestly, though by adding the peppers in with the slits and allowing the whole mixture to simmer and come together for about 30 minutes the chili will have a nice bite to it that still allows you to enjoy the rest of the flavors in the pot.
Step 9.
Allow jalapeños to simmer in the pot for at least 30 minutes. Stir about every 10 minutes. Try to keep the jalapeños submerged in the chili. If you have time permitting, I would even simmer it for 45 minutes, this will definitely allow the flavors to all come together.
Step 10.
Remove the jalapeños, give them to someone who wants them or pitch them. Just don't touch your eyes. Burns worse than a face full of mesquite smoke.
Provide shredded cheese and onions for people to dress-up the chili as they see fit.
I would say that this recipe will feed at least 4 hungry folks, with a few servings left over.
Since the wife is away, I will be eating this stuff for the next 3 days straight and still have some left for when she comes home.
I find that drop biscuits go well with Chili. However, freshly made cornbread at the bottom of a bowl of chili is also quite tastey.
If red or yellow peppers are on sale I will buy some and throw them in, for extra color. The corn and black beans add a bit of a southwestern taste and look to the dish.
