Chili, Again

This spring we bought some Biggie Chili plants at Glick's with the idea in mind that come September we could try making chili with home grown.  Today's the day!  I worked with Biggie Chilies from the garden, mostly red at this time of year but with some green mixed in, yellow onions from the garden, diced Opalka tomatoes from the garden in place of canned, and a whole bulb of home grown garlic.   Based on the last batch, I reduced the cumin and cocoa this time around. 
 
For the chili:
300g red and green Biggie Chili peppers, sliced into strips about 2 inches long
389 g yellow onions, sliced into strips
35 g garlic (a whole bulb)
1/2 t ground cumin
1 t ground yellow mustard
1 t paprika
3 T oregano
1 T unsweetened cocoa
1 bay leaf
4 cloves, whole
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 stick cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
12 oz Vitamin Y
1152 g diced tomatoes
543 g cooked small red beans
47 g lime juice
1/2 t salt or to taste (added at least another 1/2 t "to taste")
1/4 t whole black peppercorns
1/4 t (heaping) whole cardamom seeds
1/4 t whole black mustard seeds
1 juniper berry


I heated the whole seeds, cinnamon stick, whole cloves, and bay leaf  in oil until the mustard popped (the cinnamon stick also uncurled), then added the dry spices and some beer to make a paste, cooked for a while, then added to the cooking peppers and onions. Diced tomatoes and cooked red beans were added last.  Did not use chicken or beef broth this time but added the rest of the beer for liquid then cooked down some. Flavors are blending really well but after sitting for 4 hours or so the heat has faded away, so this is a very flavorful but very mild batch.  Next time, better include some hotter peppers, like the Garden Salsa, or supplement with dried or ground red pepper. 

Pickled Peppers

From Facebook last year (2013):

Take 3 on the pickled pepper front today:  All of my reading says that if you want to store pickled peppers at room temp, you have to boil-can them or you risk botulism poisoning.

Take 1, I tried boil-canning and they came out with good flavor but bad texture - pure mush; I threw them out.

Take 2, I used cold brine and after a day refrigerated. These were good enough that I ate nearly a whole jar in one day yesterday but taste a little bit "raw".

So today, Take 3: I put the peppers in the jars then filled the jars with boiling brine, put on lids, and let them cool. These, too, I will refrigerate.  The yellow and orange rings on the right are Hungarian wax peppers - not too hot but a little zip due to the orange and red peppers in the mix (they get hotter as the yellow peppers progress through orange to red). The red and green on the left are pepperocini, hotter than the Hungarians but still eatable and a great addition to a sandwich. I still have salsa peppers, a long bright red, much hotter pepper, and Thai peppers, small red and green, very hot to do something with. For brine I used 50/50 white distilled vinegar and water with 1/2 cup per gallon Kosher salt.

Today's Update (September 2014):
The Take 3 peppers from last year worked really well.  We enjoyed them all year.  The Hungarian Wax Pepper rings were probably our faves; some bite but not too hot; nearest to the hot pepper rings from the store (or the Wawa breakfast hoagie!); very pretty with yellow, orange and red mixed colors.  Pepperocini rings were OK; hotter than the Hungarian Wax but thinner walled.  We are just about through our last jar from last year after putting these on sandwiches all winter.

This year we planted more Hungarian Wax and fewer Pepperocini.  But bad news!:  the "Hungarian Wax" we planted must have been mislabeled at the nursery because we got a large, elongated sweet red pepper from the plants.  Not a bad pepper (not as good as the Lady Bells for a sweet pepper, tho') but definitely not going to make pickled hot pepper rings.  We also planted Biggie Chillis and Garden Salsa peppers, so the other day I tried picking and pickling the red Biggie Chillis and

got three quarts.  They are GREAT!!!  Hotter than the Hungarian Wax but not too hot, bright red, and beautiful in the jar or on the sandwich, perfect size rings with a nice firm wall.   Will definitely do some more of these this year.

So, the recap on the method:
Cut the peppers into rings and remove seeds from the center of each ring.
Pack into jars; jiggle and press to get them really full.
Make a brine of 50/50 vinegar (I used white distilled) and water with 1/2 cup salt (I used Kosher) per gallon and bring to a boil.
Pour the boiling brine over the peppers in the jar; fill them all the way.
Put lids on and let the jars cool, then refrigerate.

These are not canned, per se, so your MUST REFRIGERATE to keep them. 

By the way, I did not wear gloves while cutting the peppers.  I was very careful not to touch my face or eyes until I had washed my hands.  Even so, TWO DAYS LATER I could still feel every part of my hands and the spots on my face which I had inadvertently touched when exposed to the warm water in the shower.  You could really hurt yourself with these peppers if you don't wear gloves!!!

Carrot/beet/veggie fritters

I discovered this recipe the first time I had about 15 pounds of carrots sitting in my fridge.  It fits Kate's requirements for being a full meal in one dish (protein, veggies, and a bit of carb), simple, quick, and  tasty to the point that the kids will eat them.  I've made them several times for dinner, lunch, or as a side dish.  Each time I've varied the veggies a bit.  The link to the original recipe is below.

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2014/03/17/recipe-carrot-fritters-yogurt-sauce/
It calls for cilantro, which for some reasons I've never had on hand (mainly because I've been skipping the veggie section of the store for the past couple months!).  It also calls for whole wheat flour, but I found the patties to be a bit heavy when I used only whole wheat, so now I do half white, half whole wheat.  Also, I was not a fan of the yogurt sauce, so I don't make that.

For the fritters

• 1 1/2 cups grated carrots or other veggies 
• My favorite combination so far was 4 small beets with the remaining volume made up by carrots, it was probably about 1/2 and 1/2 each.  
• I use the grating disc of my food processor to make short work of the carrots.  That disc has gotten more use this summer than all the years I've used a food processor combined.
• 1/2 c finely chopped raw kale (optional, but oh so good!)
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 c white flour
• ¼ cup diced onion (I just throw this through the food processor grater as well)
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 t ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Pinch cayenne (or black) pepper (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons water

Combine all the ingredients.  I like to mix the veggies together first, then toss with the dries, then stir the egg in at the end, but it's completely possible to just throw it all in to one bowl and mix once.  Cook in a little bit of oil on whatever you use to cook patties (I used our non-stick grill pan), using ~1/2 c per patty.  I find that they cook through a bit better if you press them to about 3/8 - 1/2" thick.  After the first side is browned a bit, flip over to cook the other side.  

We like to eat these plain, or with a bit of cream cheese and pickled jalepenos on top.  Will will put apple butter on them, but I think I would have to leave out the cumin and coriander to enjoy that.

I usually make a double recipe to feed all of us.  It fills us up, but we don't usually have much left over (though partly that's because I like them enough and they're healthy enough that I always eat too many of them).

I like the versatility of this recipe.  I've made it with all carrots; carrots, beets, and kale; and tonight I made it with zucchini and carrots.  I salted the zucchini, let it drain, and then squeezed it to get out a bunch of water first, then I omitted the addition of the water in the mixture.  They still turned out great.  I've never once had one of these fall apart on my griddle.  

-Maggie

One more zucchini note - bread!

One more note on zucchini:  in my never ending attempts to use up zucchini, I discovered that you can use pureed zucchini in place of water in bread and pizza dough recipes.  I usually shred mine in the food processor, then put the regular blade in to puree it, but I think a blender would work just as well.  I substitute about a pound of zucchini per pound of water (2 c water), maybe just a little extra zucchini.  It doesn't really change the flavor of the bread, but it adds all the nutrition of a zucchini.

Dad, I see you have drafts related to pickled peppers!  I can't wait to see them.  I just made a jar this past weekend, and went searching on the blog of a good recipe.  I've been eating them non-stop since Monday - mmmmm!

Zucchini butter

Hi Fam,
Our zucchini is coming to an end, a fact that I'm somewhat oddly sad about.  I guess I do love having an almost infinite supply of veggies without having to go to the store.  This recipe has helped us work through our zucchini this year.  It's super simple, and makes a tasty and healthy snack.

The link to the original recipe and the recipe itself are below.  I use a bunch of onion and garlic in place of the shallot and to add some more flavor.  I also discovered that if you're using a baseball bat-sized zucchini, you might want to peel it first.  If the peel is too thick, makes hard little pieces in your otherwise creamy butter.  he grater disc on a food processor is a great tool for grating the zucchini, but a good old box grater works just fine.

food52.com/recipes/23071-jennie-cook-s-zucchini-butter

Makes about 2 cups

• 2pounds zucchini or assorted summer squash (feel free to use less or add extra -- cooking times will vary)
• 1/4cup olive oil or butter
• 2minced shallots, garlic, or combination of both
• Salt and pepper

1. Coarsely grate the zucchini. Let it drain in a colander for 3 to 4 minutes or until you are ready to begin cooking. To hasten cooking time, squeeze the water out of the zucchini by wringing it in a clean cloth towel.
2. In a deep skillet, heat the olive oil/butter. Sauté the shallots or garlic briefly. Add the zucchini and toss. Cook and stir over medium to medium-high heat until the zucchini reaches a spreadable consistency, about 15 minutes. If you scorch the bottom, turn the flame down! (And scrape those delicious bits into the butter for added flavor -- you can splash in a little water to help deglaze the pan.) The zucchini will hold its bright green color and slowly caramelize into a nice vegetable jam.
3. Enjoy on toast, or as a side dish all summer long!