Chili for realz

I'm informally designating today as my one-year anniversary of hardcore cooking. Good friends and regular readers already know this story. So y'all can skip the next two paragraphs. Go on ahead, I'll never know.

Last August, I came home from a month of speech camp with massive anxiety. No job, no prospects, and badly banged-up self-esteem. I decided, if I wasn't going to be adding any income to the household, the least I could do was contribute work that would cut down our weekly expenses.

Hence, the cooking. For less than a hundred bucks a week we could both eat really, REALLY well. This year, as I'm about to re-enter the workforce, I'm feeling kind of angsty about where the time to cook will come from. Gotta work on my repertoire of things that re-heat well. Gotta do something, cuz the thought going back to takeout kinda disgusts me now.

Yep, I've turned into one of those a*hole food people.

One thing on the agenda is to make gallons -- literal gallons -- of chili. Right now, while tomatoes are cheap and taste perfect. Chili keeps well in the freezer for months, so the more I crank out, the more quick meals I'll have through the fall.

I know I've covered chili on this blog before, but I wanted to share the recipe with fresh tomatoes instead of canned. The process isn't substantially different. Just a little more prep but a lot more flavor. I don't know who invented chili, but bless their memory all the same.

Chili on the "For Real" (a.k.a. with fresh tomatoes)

What I used:

• 1/2 cup dry red kidney beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
• 8 or 9 medium tomatoes (I can't remember for sure -- say a pound pint* and a half)
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 large sweet yellow onion
• 1 medium green bell pepper
• 1 small red bell pepper
• 4 stalks celery
• 4 large garlic cloves
• Anaheim, serrano, and red and green jalapeno peppers
• 5-6 shakes mild green Tabasco sauce
• Cumin, parsley, cilantro, and cayenne
• Salt and pepper

Phew! Okay, so the first thing was to pre-cook the beans. Following the package directions, I let them go for a good hour before starting the chili prep proper. Next I put the ground beef on medium heat with some salt and pepper, and blanched my tomatoes.

In two batches, because I was using my big pot for the chili -- duh...

I was thinking the other day, I don't believe I've ever broken down my blanching philosophy. I bring the water to a good rolling boil, then carefully add the tomatoes (or peaches, or green beans, or whatever). Then I bring the water back up to boiling, and let it go for 3-5 minutes. For these tomatoes, I gave them the whole five. After that I fished them out with a slotted spoon and gently relocated them to a giant bowl of ice water.

While all that browning and boiling were going on, I was chopping up all the veggies except the hot peppers. Those go in later. Then I put the browned beef aside and drained most of the grease, using what was left to sweat down the veggies.

Oops. Over-drained the grease. No worries, just sprinkle in some olive oil.

You'll notice I used celery here, which falls outside my usual onion-bell pepper-garlic trinity. In this recipe it adds some much-needed moisture. Without the extra juice from canned tomatoes, that's a big bonus.

Once the onions started turning slightly transparent, I dumped in the beef and beans and reduced the heat to low.

The beans should be *almost* done at this point. Think al dente.

Next went in the tomatoes. Again, to conserve moisture, I peeled and shredded them right over the pot. That way all the drips ended up in the chili and not on the cutting board. I hope it goes without saying, I cut out and discarded the stems.

It was looking a little dry, so I added in a few ladles of the tomato-blanching water. Then I stuck a lid on all that and let it simmer while I diced up the spicy peppers.

L-R: 1/2 a serrano, 1 red jalapeno, 1 green jalapeno, and 1/4 Anaheim

I chucked those in the pot and added the Tabasco, cumin, parsley, and cilantro. Taste. Oddly not that spicy. So I added some cayenne. And a little more salt and black pepper.

Stick on the lid and it's ready to simmer.

Now my favorite part of chili making. Walk away. Go do other stuff. I mean, I do check on it from time to time, give it a stir and a taste, maybe adjust the seasoning. But the standing around, bent over a cutting board? That crap is over. I gave it an hour, maybe more. The biggest thing was making sure the beans were good and tender.

Actually, forget what I just said. THIS is my favorite part of chili making...

You know, the eating.

We had some for dinner, and lunch the next day. The rest I stored in a freezer bag. I'll be super grateful to thaw that out, some chilly night this fall. (See what I did there? That joke's for my Dad.)

Yeah, it took a while, but most of that time was spent sitting on my butt. And it's so worth it, to have real-life-from-scratch chili! I bet this would be awesome in a crock pot too. If I had a crock pot. Are you listening, Santa?

I close, dear readers, by begging for your favorite freezable recipes. I've got two weeks until school starts and I need to do some hoarding. Recommendations?

Updated Aug. 10: Pints? Pounds? Whatever! Read what you write, girl.

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Multi-use tomato base & veggie (beef) soup

I gotta say, all this self-disclosure is promoting self-awareness. Specifically, I've realized that almost all of my cooking revolves around a fairly small bag of tricks. Onion, garlic, bell pepper, tomato: without those four veggies, we surely would starve!

Here's an example. This tomato base underpins everything from vegetable soup to meaty 5-alarm chili. What can't you create from this starter?

Tomato-based soup/sauce starter

• One pound ground beef (optional)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (for meat-free)
• Half a large sweet onion, diced
• Half a bulb of garlic, minced
• Half a green bell pepper
• 2 cans tomatoes (alternatively, 10-15 fresh tomatoes, blanched and peeled)
• 2 sticks of celery
• 2 or 3 green onions, chopped
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• Salt and black pepper

 The savory basics, plus...

You'll notice there's a piece of pablano on my cutting board but not on the list. What can I tell you? It was hanging around the fridge, not getting any fresher. I love this dish for clearing out veggies so they don't end up looking like science projects.

(Come to think of it, that last sentence made me sound really awful. Like, I would feed my family borderline spoiled shit. Which is so not the case. What I meant to say was, I wanted to use it before it turned questionable. You know, while still fit to eat.)

Back on topic: Brown a pound of ground beef in a saucepan. Drain the excess fat and set the meat aside in a shallow, towel-lined dish. Put the saucepan on medium to re-heat the remaining grease.

For no-meat sauce, skip the ground beef and just heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in the saucepan. Either way, the oil is good and hot when a shake of black pepper sizzles.

Dump in your onion and garlic and stir gently. Give them a couple of minutes, until the onion starts looking transparent. Just before it starts to brown and caramelize, add the green pepper and some salt.

About, this much green pepper

Sweat that down about 3 more minutes, then add all your tomatoes. In winter I always buy cans of whole tomatoes and use a small knife to kind of shred them. Blanch and peel fresh tomatoes, cut into wedges, and chuck them in -- juice, seeds, and all.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add salt and pepper, bay leaf, and celery sticks.

Yep just toss 'em in bloody mary style. 

Bring to a low boil. Depending what the final application will be, season. I add green onion, parsley and cilantro to almost everything; oregano and basil in Italian dishes; or chili powder and cumin for southwestern fare. This is also where I add spicy peppers: hot habaneros, medium jalapenos, and mild pablanos are my favorites.

Sharp eyes may notice there's no ground beef in the photo. That's because this batch was destined for a fabulous chicken Parmesan. But since we've come this far, why not try...

Easy vegetable (beef) soup

Here's an easy finish for the starter. Dump in lentils, peas, green beans, corn, carrots, okra -- any veg you like to eat. Or perhaps, any veg you need to use before it spoils. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and walk away. Stir and taste occasionally, adjusting the heat and seasoning as necessary.

Keep it simmering gently for at least a half an hour. Remember, though, dishes like this just taste better and better the longer they cook. So, my advice is to leave it on the stove until you just can't take it anymore. Come to think of it, this should be an excellent crock pot creation. Do the prep the night before, then dump in to simmer all day.

Last, add a little cooked pasta or rice, and serve over cornbread or crackers.

The accidental 5-alarm

Frantic to waste as little food as possible before we depart, I decided on a big batch of chili!

Preface: For me, chili is one of those dishes I make when I need to use up some ingredients. What follows isn't so much a recipe, as a recap.

I started by dicing:

• One medium sweet yellow onion
• Half a bulb of garlic
• 2 or 3 chili peppers we bought this summer and dried

 Notice I got rid of that sepia. Getting more camera-savvy all the time!

WARNING: This is too much dried chili!! The pile looked about right, based on my usual amount of fresh hot peppers. But, hello! Dried spices have a more concentrated flavor. I should know this. Sometimes I am such a dimwit.

Once the chopping was done, I browned a pound of ground beef with a bit of salt and pepper in my chili pot. Doug helpfully drained off most of the grease (as always -- I'm so spoiled), and then I put the beef aside in a shallow, paper-towel lined dish.

Next, I dumped in the onion and garlic, with a touch of salt and pepper, of course. The small amount of oil left is perfect for sweating. Stir occasionally until the onion starts to turn transparent.

Notice I've apparently NOT mastered holding the camera still. Dammit.

At this point I dumped the ground beef back into the pot. Here's the grease stain it left behind. Eww...

Glad that's not in my chili!

(Note: That gross-looking black shit on the right is where the paint is chipped off my stove. I'm a sanitary cook, I swear.)

In the summertime, this is where I would add about 6-10 diced tomatoes (depending on size) with their juice. Unfortunately, winter tomatoes are both expensive and flavor-impaired. Instead I added a big can of whole cooked tomatoes, also with their juice, and cut into quarters.

This is where I added the beans too. Sometimes I use beans from a can, but last night I got ambitious and used dry ones. Granted, these had to soak overnight and then cook for like an hour and a half before I even started the chili. But I like their flavor and texture better. Canned or dried, I dump them in liquid and all.

Now begins the seasoning, all to taste.

• Salt and pepper
• Cilantro
• Cumin (be generous with this; it's what makes chili taste like chili)
• Chili powder or finely chopped chili peppers (remember, dried peppers are hotter!)
• Parsley

Most times I also add some green Tabasco, but not tonight. Mercifully I tasted the chili and it nearly lit me on fire. Oops... Good thing we like it spicy 'round here. I put in a spoonful of honey to try and cut down the heat. Which, if I'm honest, didn't really help much.

Add a little water if the chili looks too dry. Then turn the heat way down, stick a lid on the pot, and walk away for at least a half-hour. The longer it simmers the better it tastes. Also important, the longer you plan to simmer the more liquid you need to add. I tend to barely cover the ingredients with water and let the whole mess go for at least two or three hours, stirring occasionally.

This batch is so hot, Satan is sweatin'.

Simmer and stir, simmer and stir, until the liquid is reduced and it's as thick as you like it. Some folks swear by a roux for thickening, but I tend to screw those up something awful. Patience and time will get you the thickness, without the flour (which I swear hurts the taste).

Taste the chili periodically to adjust the seasoning. After about 2 hours I tasted my accidental 5-alarm and found it needed more salt and parsley. Also, I couldn't resist adding the green Tobasco anyway. Since all I had put in were chili peppers, the spiciness was only hitting the back of my throat. Green Tobasco stimulates the tip of the tongue, and I missed that sensation. It really didn't add that much heat, considering.

There's a secret step at the end that I ain't posting on the interwebs. But if you ask me real nice I might share it privately!

For full-on "Misty" style, put some fresh cornbread in a bowl, add a ladle of chili, and top with cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Taking this picture before digging in = impressive restraint

(Also delicious with crackers, tortilla chips, hot dogs, pasta, etc.)

NOTE: Those dairy items actually go a long way toward toning down a too-hot chili. Mine was damn-near con queso, but it was gooooood...