Notoriously Nice ®

Aaron's Chili

I got this recipe from a friend in Iowa about 20 years ago.  His son Aaron, a teenager at the time who loved to cook, created it.  The beauty of the recipe is that it is so easy to throw together yet so good.

Aaron's Chili

1 lb extra lean ground beef

1 qt tomato juice

1 can diced tomatoes (don't drain)

1 can chili beans*

1 can tomato paste

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 bell pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 jalapeño, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pkt chili seasoning

fresh cilantro to taste

Break up the ground beef into a 4 qt pot.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the onion and bell pepper are tender, 30-45 minutes.  That's it.

*chili beans are just pinto beans in a chili sauce.  If your store doesn't carry them a can of plain pinto beans will work.

Beluga Lentil Soup

I love lentils.  They are as low in fat and high in protein as beans but because they have less fiber they are easier to digest.  They don't need to be soaked and cook quickly - 30 minutes to an hour depending on their size.  Beluga lentils are black and very small, looking more like caviar than lentils.

I only had a quart of vegetable stock on hand and no chicken broth so this recipe makes less soup than I would normally make. You can double it if you want and you can use chicken broth in place of the vegetable stock.

Beluga Lentil Soup

½ cup onion, chopped

½ cup carrot, diced

½ cup bell pepper, diced

½ cup celery, diced

1 Tbs jalapeño, minced

2 tsp garlic, minced

1 qt vegetable stock (or chicken broth)

1 cup tomatoes, diced

⅔ cup Beluga lentils

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dry thyme

1 large boiling-type potato, cut into ½" cubes

a couple of dashes of hot sauce (or to taste)

1 Tbs fresh chives, chopped

½ Tbs fresh rosemary, chopped

2 tsp white wine vinegar

sea salt to taste

black pepper to taste

Put the onions, carrots, bell pepper, celery, jalapeño, and garlic in a microwavable container that has a loose-fitting lid along with a couple of tablespoons of water.  Nuke at 50% power for a few minutes at a time until softened.  Add a little extra water if necessary.  Alternatively you can soften them in oil in a skillet.

In a 2½- or 3-quart saucepan, add the vegetables, stock or broth, tomatoes, lentils, bay leaf, and thyme.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.  Add the potatoes, hot sauce, chives, rosemary, vinegar, salt, and pepper.  Simmer until the lentils and potatoes are tender (20 minutes should do it).

The next time I make this I'm going to use chicken broth instead of vegetable stock, just to see what the difference is.

It's as good as it looks

Last night's bean soup. It was also today's lunch.

I Love Soup

I particularly love bean soups.  My last soup was a mix of beans, lentils, and peas.  This time I went with a more conventional navy bean soup.  As usual, what I had in the fridge and the pantry determined what went in the soup.

1 lb dry navy beans (approximately 2 cups)

½ lb back bacon left over from the last soup, diced.  You can use ham or bacon.

2 qts fat-free, low sodium chicken stock (or reduced sodium vegetable stock)

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chopped celery

½ cup grated carrot

⅔ cup mashed potato flakes (I used a 2 oz package of Idahoan Original.)

1 bay leaf

½ tsp basil

1 tsp nutmeg

sea salt to taste

black pepper to taste

Put the beans in a large pot and cover with 2 to 3 qts of water.  Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, turn off the heat, cover, and let stand for an hour.  Drain and rinse.

Put the beans, ham, and stock into a large pot.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 90 minutes.

Put the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in a microwavable container that has a loose-fitting lid along with a couple of tablespoons of water.  Nuke at 50% power for a few minutes at a time until softened.  Add a little extra water if necessary.  Alternatively you can soften them in oil in a skillet.

Stir the vegetables and remaining ingredients into the soup and continue to simmer for 30 minutes or until the beans are soft.

Some navy bean recipes use mashed potatoes as a thickener.  Two problems with this are that you have to make mashed potatoes and mashed potatoes give the soup a mealy texture.  Instant mashed potatoes work great without the mealiness.  If you prefer to save a little money and use potatoes here’s a tip I learned accidentally.  When the soup is done allow it to cool.  Freeze it and then thaw it.  Evidently the freezing ruptures the potato cell walls that the cooking didn’t and the texture is much smoother.  Of course, this takes longer.

For those of you who steer clear of beans because of gastric distress, there’s hope.  You can try Beano but it’s not exactly cheap and I never found it to be that effective.  The best remedy is to make legumes a regular part of your diet.  After all, they are high in fiber and protein, low in fat, taste great, and can be used in a variety of ways.  Start with small amounts of the easier-to-digest kinds like limas, lentils, and split peas and gradually increase the amounts and work up to beans.  The microbes in your gut will adjust to handle them.

I'll never be much of a locavore

On the grocery shelves today:  pluots from Chile, melons from Guatemala and Honduras, cherries from Chile, blackberries and raspberries from Mexico, blueberries from Chile, grapes from Chile and Peru, asparagus from Peru, Campari tomatoes from Canada.

For those of you interested in global food issues check out the BBC World Service's January 5th podcast The Food Fight: Global or Local while it is still available for downloading.

New Year's Day Soup

All across the south today families are eating dishes that supposedly bring you good luck for the coming year.  I won't go into a detailed discussion of what those traditional foods are except to say that many involve pork of some sort (chops, bacon, ham, bbq) and some sort of greens (collards, cabbage, kale).  In addition lots of people eat Hoppin' John which, at a minimum consists of black-eyed peas and rice.  Over the years I've eaten my share of collards and Hoppin' John made with ham but in reality I'm not terribly fond of black-eyed peas.  To me they taste kind of muddy.

Since I like bean soup and since Briar sent me a box of goodies from Kalustyan's in New York that included a dry bean mix, I thought I'd use what ingredients I have in the house to make a soup that pays homage to the New Year's Day tradition.

Mike's New Year's Day Crock Pot Bean Soup

1 14 oz package of Kalustyan's Bean & Lentils Mix with Peas (2 cups) soaked overnight

2 qts fat-free, low sodium chicken stock

3 bay leaves

1 Tbs Kalustyan's All Purpose Seasoning (although any brand like Mrs. Dash will do)

1 large onion chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1/2 lb peppered, smoked pork loin (back or so-called Canadian bacon) diced

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

kale

sea salt to taste

Drain the beans and add to the crock pot.  Cover with the chicken stock.  Add the bay leaves and all-purpose seasoning.  Switch the pot to the Hi setting.  After 3 hours add the onion, garlic and pork.  Stir well.  After another 3 hours add the tomatoes.  Continue to cook until the beans are tender.  For my Crock Pot brand crock pot that was another 3 hours.  (Its Hi setting isn't all that hot and I had the thing filled to the rim).  When the beans are tender add the kale and continue cooking for 15 to 30 minutes.  I can't really give you an exact amount for the kale.  I stripped the leafy part from the thick mid-ribs and broke it into large pieces until it filled a 2 qt colander, rinsed it and added it to the soup.  I did that 4 times.  Finally add salt to your liking and serve with hot rolls and butter.

Even though I was making this up as I went along I have to admit that it's damn good.  I wouldn't hesitate serving it to company, which is the highest compliment that I can pay to a dish. In the future I'll try experimenting with my own blend of herbs instead of using the all-purpose kind, different kinds of beans, and I'll probably double the garlic.

Serves 6 to 8 depending on how big a bowl you prefer.

Did you miss me?

After a break of about six months, I think I'm ready to start blogging again.  Facebook and Twitter are fun, and sometimes useful, but there are times when I want to say more than the character limits allow.  I'm going to go back to basics and use this as just a personal online journal.  The old blog is still up at the old address and if I get the urge to rant about the morons in Washington, I'll do it there.  Please excuse the bare-bones design.  I'm design-impaired and Typepad has changed a lot of stuff on me.  One of these days I'll take the time to figure out what goes where.  Meanwhile set your bookmarks and readers, tell your friends, and enjoy.  I'll be back later this evening with a real post.