At Last, The Chili

I put the chili on hold when My Beloved brought home surprise lobster rolls. I made the right decision, although the chili was good, too, the next night.

Cookiecrumb inspired me to make chili from scratch, something I have rarely done. My chili has usually been made from canned beans and tomato sauce, chili powder in a little glass jar, chopped onions and browned hamburger. In other words, I didn't make chili, I more or less assembled it.

This time, I soaked the black beans overnight, browned the hamburger (I wasn't inspired enough to start with whole meat), sautéed the onions, cooked the beans in homemade broths (beef, lamb), added chopped tomato and the red chile once the beans were tender, and ladled it into bowls two days later topped with Fritos, which are a guilty pleasure of mine.

It's superior chili, no doubt about it. The flavor of the peppers was mild, as I had been a little wimpy with the fresh chiles from Chilebrown, but the overall flavors were rich and deep. It tasted as I suppose chili is meant to taste, earthy and humble and inspired all at the same time. It's a whole different dish than my canned-and-bottled variety.

Am I being churlish to say that I'll probably go back to my old way? It's not just for the ease of preparation, either. Although it's not as authentic as this chili, I liked the lightness of flavors just a little bit better. I'm glad I tasted this as it taught me to be a little more adventurous with the spice, so it's all good, even if it did take two days from idea to chili bowl.

Chili from Chile(brown)

Was his blogging name the inspiration for this chili, or was it his and Ms. Goofy's gift of tomatoes and chili peppers? Or perhaps his helpful suggestions regarding the judicious use of said peppers? Guess it doesn't matter. What matters is the killer chili made from the products of his garden.

I halved and roasted some of his tomatoes in a slow oven (200 degrees) for about 10 hours, sprinkling them first with a little olive oil and sea salt. They were reduced to the Essence of Tomato by the time they came out.

The next day, the tomatoes were easy to slip out of their skins. In a big pot, I thoroughly browned a pound of Marin Sun Farms ground beef in batches so it really browned instead of grayed, added two chopped onions and two minced garlic cloves, a 16 ounce can of tomato sauce, two similar-sized cans of chili beans and three of Chilebrown's jalapeno chilis, finely chopped, and coarsely chopped the roasted tomatoes before adding them. Cooked it all together for three hours on low. Let it stand for two more hours. Reheated before serving with avocado slices on top and corn tortillas broken up for crunch.

We had to restrain ourselves from having thirds.

The roasted tomatoes gave the chili such a rich, deep flavor and the jalapenos lent just enough heat for us heat wimps. It was rich, mellow and quietly spicy, easily the best chili I have ever made. And the best part is that it made enough for tomorrow's lunch, as well, and possibly another dinner.

Thanks, Chilebrown, for the food and the inspiration.

Peach Futures

At this time of year, talented gardeners like Chilebrown and his wife, Ms. Goofy, have cornered the market on heirloom and cherry tomatoes, chili peppers and Gravenstein apples. You may think of him solely as a meat guy, but their tomato plants are in full production mode, their tree is dropping apples like crazy and the habanero peppers are blazing (literally and figuratively) along.

For newbie gardeners like me, however, the results are somewhat less impressive. You have heard my laments before so I won't repeat them; suffice it to say that when Chilebrown offered to trade me some current produce for future peaches, I jumped at the chance.

We met at the Catahoula Coffee Company and Roastery in Richmond to share a cup of coffee and to make the drop. Dr. Biggles showed up, too, a pleasant surprise, and helped us to break the ice. Meeting other bloggers is like first dates with people you met through the "personals" ads - they always choose somewhere safe and neutral first to size you up. The conversation turned immediately to (big surprise!) food, food and techniques for smoking food. I took away some great ideas, by the way - smoked onions! - what a concept!

And, during the course of the conversation, Chilebrown and Ms. Goofy laid on me a couple of weighty bags of produce from their garden, only some of which is pictured above!

The apples are already in a crisp, some of the tomatoes are roasting in the oven with the ripest ones set aside for salads this week, and the chili peppers are leering at me from the countertop, daring me to try them. I've got some pasture-raised ground beef in the freezer and some beans in the pantry; I think tomorrow I'm going to make chili, thanks to some truly talented gardeners.