It started last week. At first, it was just a few comments sprinkled seemingly at random into our daily conversations. Jill and I would be discussing the weather, or cheese, or what have you, and Jill would mention that chili sounded good. I would nod in agreement while saying something about the virtues of chili, and then I would return to the previous subject of discussion. But it soon became clear that Jill’s comments on the goodness of chili were not random acts of praise for a beloved American food – she wanted some chili.
I fancy myself something of an amateur cook, and when my wife expresses a desire for a particular dish, I try to rise to the occasion. So, I immediately consulted my culinary advisers – Alton Brown and Ina Garten (aka “The Barefoot Contessa”) – and I discovered that they both offered promising recipes. But which recipe should I choose? Since Jill and I are vegetarians and the recipes were meat-based, I went with the option that could be most easily adapted for herbivores. This was Garten’s recipe. But I wanted to incorporate something from Brown’s recipe too, so I decided to use his recipe for homemade chili powder. I substituted a few packages of Smart Ground veggie crumbles for the meat, added an extra three cups of chopped tomatoes, and the results were pretty good.
One word of caution – Brown’s recipe for homemade chili powder yields a strong product. Fortunately, I had the sense to use only one tablespoon of the stuff in my chili, though Garten’s recipe called for two tablespoons. (I reasoned that she assumed that people would be making her chili with store-bought chili powder, which is weaker than chili powder made from scratch.) Unfortunately, one tablespoon was still a little too strong. If you make Garten’s recipe using meat, then you might be able to get away with a full tablespoon of Brown’s chili powder, but I wouldn’t try it. Brown recommends that you start with less chili powder than you think you might need, and that you add more if this proves too little. Sage advice, my friends. (And yes, I did intend the pun on “sage”.)
So, where can you find the recipes by Brown and Garten? Here and here. If you enjoy cooking shows but haven’t yet seen “Good Eats”, then you should click on the first link even if you don’t plan on making chili any time soon. It is a veritable cornucopia of cooking-related entertainment.
What a fun post! Your love for Jill reminds me of John's love for me. If only more husbands were like you and John!
ReplyDeleteI love "Good Eats". We don't have cable anymore, but this is something that would be great to have on DVD. Very kid friendly, too.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby loves chili, too, but the meated kind. My "secret" ingredient is chipotle pepper in adobo sauce.
VERY sparingly, and then still it is often too hot for me.
I will be trying to come up with some chili for dinner tonight, so very timely post!
ReplyDeleteI was vegetarian a long time ago when I worked in a health food store and still was kind of a wannabe hippie, lol...however I don't eat alot of meat.
ReplyDeleteI am Dutch Indonesian so I was brought up with alot of tofu in recipes, and one thing that I love is tofu cutlets. I buy the extra firm tofu, slice into 1/2 inch thick slices, and deep fry them until golden brown. They are great with rice and fresh cucumbers, and I slice up fresh onions into soy sauce and pour the sauce over rice, cutlets and cucumbers (or tomatoes.... or both) yumyum! :)
That sounds delicious. I will definitely try it. I often make tofu myself. Do you know many Indonesian recipes?
ReplyDeleteI have only seen one Indonesian restaurant in my entire life, in Portland, Oregon, but I ate there several times, and it was delicious! I realize that Indonesia is a very large country, with many different ethnic groups, and probably many different regional cooking styles. I also realize that any one of these regional cooking styles will doubtless be altered in an American restaurant. Still, I have fond memories of that place.
Not many, hardly any, lol...my mom didn't like having me in the kitchen when I was young, it made her lose her train of what she was doing...she was a "pinch of this and dash of that" kind of cook, and needed to be "in the zone" so to speak, and I would throw her off and mess up her flow...sigh...I did make a chicken soup that came close to the chicken soup she used to make which includes lemon grass (fresh if you can get it) coconut milk, a little coriander, a chunk of fresh ginger, and a few red pepper flakes (I can't take hot, so I used very few, lol, you might like more)...I put chicken (but I think strips or cubes of tofu cutlets would work as a substitute), and onions, while cooking it, and serve over rice, and garnish with clear soybean noodles--(they look like glass, you don't have to include them), those Durky Fried Onions, chopped up celery, crumbled hard cooked eggs, and a squeeze of fresh lemon over the top. I let a Philippina woman I work with taste it, and she loved it.
DeleteChicken (or mock chicken soup) soup to warm the soul! Nothing (food-wise) beats it for me :)
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DeleteOh and I forgot: fresh soy bean sprouts and fresh cucumber (in thin strips like tiny french fries) also part of the fresh garnishes along with clear noodles, egg crumbles, chopped celery, and Durky onions ...(have the garnishes arranged on a serving platter, or in several little dishes on the table)
DeleteHave your soup over rice in your bowl, add the garnishes that you want, just a few of each, with Durky onions last over the top of your soup, then squeeze a lemon wedge over the top. Sooooo Deeeelicious! :)
I found an online recipe that's sort of close (there's alot of versions online, most of them don't include coconut milk, and come to think of it, my mom's didn't either, but I really liked it that way) this one calls for cumin...
DeleteI forgot to say that I put a little cumin in also, not too much! A little goes a long way, it's a very strong flavor that isn't good overdone, but it's the lemongrass and ginger that really makes the dish, the rest just add to the bouquet:
http://www.food.com/recipe/soto-ayam-indonesian-clear-chicken-soup-212823
Looked around the web a bit more and found this Indonesian girl making soto ayam (Indonesian Chicken soup) on video...you can make your own adjustments with using tofu if you like, and also adding coconut milk to the sayour (broth). She talks Malaysian so you just can watch to see how it is prepared...I understand a few words here and there like "bawang puti" is garlic "goreng" means fried, "sambal" is very hot Indonesian hot sauce paste (too much heat for me), and "wadjan" is Indonesian for wok. She had fried garlic and fried onions as garnishes, I've only used fried onions like the Durky onions. She used lime, my mom always used lemon, otherwise very similar.
DeleteI think if you use tofu cutlets instead of chicken you will still have an excellent flavored soup! :)
http://filipinorecipes.spotphilippineislands.com/2012/02/24/how-to-make-soto-ayam-indonesian-chicken-soup-filipino-food-recipes-2/
Philippina
ReplyDeleteI meant Filipina
Thanks so much Susan for the recipes and other info. I will definitely make the tofu cutlets and the soup soon.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I love fresh cumin and fresh lemongrass. I grind cumin seeds in a coffee grinder for fresh cumin - the freshly ground stuff is way superior to pre-packaged ground cumin. Our local Whole Foods allows customers to buy many ground spices in whatever quantities they want. This is great - instead of buying a whole container of, say, garlic powder, you can buy just what you need for the recipe you are making, usually for a couple of cents. The spices are pretty fresh, but I still like to grind my own whenever I can.