Chili Dogs

My homemade Chili

One or two nights in advance:

- Measure out dry kidney beans (or any beans of your preference)

I did a mixture of kidney and Steuben yellow eye bean (an heirloom

variety used in baked beans)

The rule is to wash, soak in a lot of salty water, so keep adding salt

until it tastes like the ocean.

Some people don't add salt to their soaked beans, which is fine but I

think the beans taste a lot better if they absorb some salt.

After 12 hours or a day, and you're ready to boil these beans simply

dump all the water into a large pot and bring to a boil then simmer on

medium low until the beans are tender (adding more water if it steamed

off) I keep the lid slightly covered as if it's closed tightly it

overflows sometimes due to the starchiness.

This may take a few hours but once they are tender (be sure to check a

few to make sure all of them are cooked and not just a random one and

then you end up with hard beans) They should keep their shapes almost

but be nice and tender.

Alternatively if you want to skip this step and use canned beans that's

fine too but I think more people should be going back to dry beans,

they are creamy and I think it takes the whole dish to another level.

Preparing chili

Ingredients:

- 1 lb ground meat (I use beef but you can use turkey or chicken..)

- 2 1/2 to 3 cups precooked beans

- 1 Chopped onion

- 2 medium Chopped green bell pepper

- Tomato paste (few tbsps)

- 1 can pureed tomato

- 1 tbsp molasses

- Worsterchire sauce

- Salt & Black pepper to taste

- Ground cumin powder

Water

Oil

Directions: In a large heavy bottomed pan on medium high heat add oil, sautee onions and peppers until they are transluscient or slightly softened (but not burning)

Bring the heat up to high and brown the ground meat really well, you want to see brown bits in the pot (this is extra flavour)

Add tomato paste and fry it around, add can of tomato, season with salt and pepper, 3/4 tsp cumin powder or so, molasses, worstershire sauce, strained tomato puree and water.

Simmer on medium low until the meat and vegetables are so very tender, I left mine on the stove for 6 hours and kept adding more water to the pot as it boiled off (even though the lid was on)

In the last hour or so add the beans to the pot and let them absorb the yummy flavours and simmer together.

If making the chili dogs below immediately let the chili cool a bit before topping them.

Chili Dogs:

Ingredients:

- Your favourite hotdog (I used all beef)

- Hotdog buns (something basic from the supermarket)

- Your homemade Chili (cooled)

- Mayonaise

- Mustard (dijon or prepared yellow)

- Grated Cheddar cheese (we used old white cheddar)

- Chopped onions (according to preferance)

1. Set the oven on 350 and line a pan with foil.

2. Begin adding 1 tbsp of mayo to each bun and spreading it on the top

and bottom side.

3. Add a bit of the mustard to the bun and spread over the mayo.

4. At this point it's fun if someone is helping you because it's a bit

of an assembly line :) Put the hotdogs in the buns and lay in the

tray on the foil side by side.

5. Top each dog with a heaped serving of chili.

6. Sprinkle with cheese

7. Add chopped onion

Bake for 45 mins and serve immediately. These will be bubbling, the buns will be toasty on the outside and soft on the inside (due to the mayo tip) and the more tasty the chili is the better the flavour of the chili dog.

Fun toppings for serving:

- Pickled Jalapenos

- Chopped green onions

- Fresh Cilantro

- Homemade Guacamole (chopped tomato, avocado, red onion, cilantro, bit

of garlic, salt, cumin, drizzle of oil, squeeze of lime)

* Thanks to In The Wabe for the inspiration and to my sister for the use of some of her prep photos below

Awesome potatoes!

Love love love this recipe!! These are SO crispy that you'll be heard across the room munchin on these delicious potatoes with their yummy crispy skins.

Here's how it goes:

Boil your baby new potatoes in a nice big pot of salted water, once fork tender, strain and let cool, place in the fridge overnight.

The following day, chop then up in wedges or rings keep the skin on or remove it but it's crispy goodness. Toss with oil, salt/pepper or any seasonings you love and bake at 425 flipping them throughout so all sides are golden. I use convection which just cooks all sides in one shot.

Enjoy with your favorite dip, ketchup or a little vinegar and salt, a fresh herb dressing, cheese sauce or gravy!

For the dip I mixed together extra rich sour cream, a squeeze of lemon juice, some prepared horseradish paste, salt, chopped chives and let that sit in the fridge overnight as well for the flavours to blend.

A good instant soup for the flu

Went to bed last night with a bad bad headache that came on suddenly. Woke up at 5 AM, freezing, teeth chattering with a very very high fever. Thanksfully it went down in an hour and a half after some breathing exercises, a ton of blankets and a hot water bottle. Who knows, this may be the flu. Soup aways makes things better, sure I had some chicken in the fridge for a chicken noodle soup but when you’re too tired and hungry ramen does the job, especially a spicy korean ramen.
Threw some ginger and fresh turmeric root in the broth along with some bulbs of roasted garlic from the other day

Gözleme

These turkish snacks are absolutely delicious, I couldn't believe how delectable the dough was, tender and soft to work with, and the best part is that it's cooked in a skillet for just a few minutes!

Gozleme Dough

Ingredients

3 cups plain flour
2 tsp salt
7 g sachet dried yeast (3 tsp yeast)
1 tsp sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water

Mix the wet ingredients and let them proof 5 minutes until bubbly, add in mixed dry ingredients and knead until it's a nice smooth dough (10 mins in kitchen aid on 2 is good)

Divide in 8 portions and knead into a nice smooth ball, let them proof in an oiled dish covered until they spring back (can put them in the fridge overnight and let them come to room temp before rolling out)

Roll the dough out in a very thin rectangle and add your filling then fold over and seal sides rolling over.

Cook in an oiled skillet for 2-3 mins on each side. Serve with lemon wedges.

Recipe

Something different - tomato jam!

Let me tell you, I've honestly never heard of tomato jam before, but came upon this recipe and since I had loads of kitchen ripened roma tomatoes laying around I figured it was worth a shot. Normally I just toss the tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and let them slowly caramelize or "oven dry" then store it in the fridge to make a sauce, spread for pizza or even throw in a soup for some complex tomato flavour.

Back to the jam.. it's really delicious! Sticky sweet, slightly spicy from the jalapeños and ginger with some warmth from the spices like cinnamon and clove It's a great fall recipe I think and super easy to make, just throw all the ingredients in a pot and let it boil away, stirring every now and then.

Give it a try and let me know what you come up with! Right now I'm thinking of using it as a marinade/glaze on meats, maybe throwing a bit in a "fresh" stir fry for sweetness or topping a burger, use it as a dip or just smear a little goat cheese on your favourite bread and top it with those lovely jam. Yum!

Tomato Jam

1 1/2 pounds good ripe tomatoes (Roma are best), cored and coarsely chopped

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon fresh grated or minced ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1 jalapeño or other peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced, or red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste.

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan, Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.

2. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has consistency of thick jam, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, then cool and refrigerate until ready to use; this will keep at least a week.

Yield: About 1 pint.

Recipe I used, though there are many variations out there, I'm thinking a hint of tamarind would be nice in there for an indian twist.

NOTE: I blanched my tomatoes in boiled water very briefly then dunked them in cold ice water to remove the peels. Tomato and pepper peels are one of my biggest pet peeves in the world which is why I don't eat at any pizza place or order a tomato pasta dish at restaurants. I just think it's better to have a jam without peels in it because then you got those nice little candied pieces of tomato to savour.