Turkey and Three Bean Chili

Although I call this Turkey Chili, it started out as a vegetarian, bean-based chili, and it can revert back to that original form easily.*

It was back then that I discovered my "secret ingredient" for the base. The results I had been getting, while they had a great flavor, had a texture that was too much like baked beans. I didn't want to use tofu (more beans, really), but wanted to add something to the mix that would bulk out the texture, yet wouldn't make it taste like something else. What I eventually came up with was shredded carrots!

They're the right color, their naturally sweet flavor blends in perfectly with the savory cumin and coriander seasonings, the texture provides a perfect medium for the beans, and if they're grated finely enough, you're not really sure what they are. I once served a milder version of this at a party intending it to be for the adults, but all the children present chose it over soup with a sandwich. What a great way for kids to get their vegetables!

Eventually, meat crept its way in, and I made it for years using ground turkey (as it's photographed here). I've also made it with chicken, and although I'm not a big red-meat eater, there's no reason it wouldn't work with beef. I first tried making turkey chili with roast turkey one year when I had more than enough Thanksgiving leftovers for one person to use. The results were so good that henceforth, I've make a turkey with the intention of freezing a certain portion of it for later use in chili. Dark meat seems to give the best flavor.

A few notes about the spices. First, this is not a mild chili. If you want a milder one, I suggest starting with half the amounts here, and than adding a little at a time to taste, or only using chili powder, and leaving the other peppers out.

Second, I'm very picky about my spices, and they really do make a difference. I happen to love Penzeys, and I'm lucky enough to have one near to me; they ship anywhere here in the U.S. and some overseas locations. I also buy my spices whole when I'm able, and use a mortar and pestle (or you can use a little electric chopper/grinder) to grind them just before they go into the pot. Trust me, if you buy the large, inexpensive jars that they sell at the corner drug store, or use spices you've had in your cupboards for a while, you're going to get different results.

Last, the use of nutmeg with the turkey. I have no idea what inspired me to try this the first time, but I discovered that using a little nutmeg with ground turkey improves the taste incredibly. Since then, I always use it, regardless of what I'm making. One of the things I'm most often told about this dish is that it "doesn't take like turkey", and I'm sure that's why.


Turkey and Three Bean Chili


3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 lb. ground turkey, or cooked, roasted turkey, cut into 3/4" cubes* **
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large white onion, diced
1 lb. carrots, finely shredded
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 28 oz. cans crushed or diced tomatoes
1/2 tbsp. best quality chili powder (Penzeys has several heat levels, and I use "Regular")
1/2 tsp. ancho chili pepper
1/2 tsp. aleppo pepper
1/2 of a Guajillo pepper, including seeds, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp, oregano
1 15 oz. can yellow corn, drained (be sure to get a brand with no sugar added), or 1-1/2 cups frozen or fresh corn kernels
1 15 oz. can each of black, dark red, and light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Heat a large pot on medium high heat, add oil and cumin, and cook for a minute or so, until spice is fragrant. Add coriander, and cook a few seconds more, then add the turkey. Sprinkle turkey with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and cook well, taking care to insure that the meat is in fine pieces. When it's just about done, add onion and cook a few minutes, then add carrots and garlic, and saute about 5 minutes, until carrots are cooked.

Add tomatoes, and if mixture seems dry, about 1 cup of water. Sprinkle in the peppers, cinnamon and oregano, bring to simmer, and then cover and cook on low heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally. If you would like to make this in advance, it freezes well at this point, before the beans and corn are added.

Add corn and beans. Taste for seasonings at this point, and adjust as necessary. Cook on low heat, covered, for about an additional hour. Serve over piles of fluffy white rice, and sprinkle with jack cheese or queso if desired.

Enjoy.


** If using cooked, roasted turkey, add to other ingredients right after tomatoes.

* If you leave out the meat, either add another can of your favorite beans, or reduce the seasonings by about 25%.

Vegan Paella

I had a large potluck to attend a while back, and I was supposed to bring something Spanish-influenced. I dithered all week about what to bring, since I know little about Spanish food and didn't want to bring Tex-Mex. By that morning, I still hadn't decided, but I wasn't that concerned when I decided to take a late morning nap, since I had plenty of time... Next thing I knew, it was 3 PM, and I had two hours to shop, cook, and get myself ready!

Well, the only logical thing to do was to improvise with things I already had on hand. Quick perusal of a couple of cookbooks for ideas, and I decided a Spanish rice dish would fit the bill. But not a typical one - how about a paella? Essential ingredients: medium grain rice, saffron, garlic, sweet red peppers... check, check, check... Ok, what about the protein source? Not enough time to cook chicken, don't want to worry about shellfish allergies with frozen shrimp, many folks won't want to touch clams... why not beans? A vegan paella would keep well at room temperature, and be quite a bit more crowd-friendly. Thus it went, improvising as I went, to make this simple, quick, and tasty "vegan paella" that was a big hit:

This recipe is approximate, as it's from memory. Feel free to alter it to suit your own tastes, and what you have on hand.

Saute one med white onion, diced, on med high heat, in 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil for about two minutes. Add one sweet red pepper, and when onions just begin to toast slightly, turn heat down to low and add 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until garlic begins to soften, but do not toast it (add a few drops of water if necessary.)

Add 1-1/2 cups Spanish or Mexican style medium-grain rice. (You can substitute regular long grain rice, but then decrease liquids by about 1/4 cup, and reduce cooking time to 12 minutes.) Saute rice with the vegetables until it just begins to turn opaque. Add 3 cups of hot vegetable or chicken stock, some salt if the stock needs it, 1/4 tsp. crushed saffron threads, 1/4 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp. aleppo pepper flakes. If you have to use regular red pepper flakes instead, start with less and add to taste. This is not supposed to be a spicy dish.

Stir all together, then add 1 can drained garbanzo beans, 1/4 c. brined capers and 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley. If I had artichokes on hand, they would have been a marvelous addition, as would green peas (frozen work just fine). Cover and simmer on very low heat for 15 minutes, and do not uncover during this time. The rice should be al dente, and will continue to soften a bit as it sits covered. If it's very dry, you can add a little more liquid, but not more than a tablespoon or two, or the rice will get too soft.

I'd let it wait another 15 minutes or so before I serve it, and it stayed hot in a covered container for nearly 2 hours.

Herb-Crusted Roast Pork Loin with Sauerkraut

When I was young, my mother made pork roast with the sauerkraut baked along with the meat. Family lore has it that the first time she made it, she misunderstood the instructions given to her, and she and my Dad liked the result so much that she always did it that way henceforth. I love the way that baking the sauerkraut mellows it a bit, yet still adds a bit of nice tartness to the meat. In this version, we get additional tang from the addition of a mustard, herb and black peppercorn crust.

A roast is hardly what comes to mind when I think of thrifty eating, but when I was looking recently to make dinner for guests and I saw a bone-in loin for $1.19/lb., it turned out to be an economical choice, indeed. It fed four generously, and leftovers went on to become sandwiches, an addition to homemade spaghetti sauce, and the remnants and bones the base for a bean soup. This could have easily served 8 people. I wish I had a photo of this one, because it really was lovely!


1/4 cup spicy brown or country style prepared mustard
1/2 tbsp. dried mustard
1 tsp. powdered bay leaf
1 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped (or dried, and soaked in hot water for a bit to rehydrate)
2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 6-8 lb. loin of pork, bone in (you can use boneless, but you'll need to look up and alter the cooking time)

2 tbsp. black peppercorns, coarsely ground
1 32 oz. refrigerated bag of sauerkraut

Mix together the first 6 ingredients. If necessary, trim extra fat off meat. (Most meat departments sell them very well-trimmed these days.) Rub mustard mixture all over pork roast, and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or in the refrigerator for 1 to 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain sauerkraut, and spread a layer over the bottom of the roasting pan, large enough to make a base on which to place the meat. Take remaining peppercorns, and carefully spread them all over the coated roast, taking care to cover all areas evenly. If necessary, add a little more mustard so that the peppercorns stick. You may have some peppercorns left over, depending on the surface area of the roast. Set roast on the sauerkraut, bone side down.

Put meat into oven and then turn temperature down to 350 degrees. Roast for 20-25 minutes per pound, until meat thermometer in the center of the roast registers 155 degrees, or up to 165 if you prefer it well-done. Let rest 10 minutes before carving.

Enjoy.

Wild and Brown Rice Pilaf

When I was young, and just learning to cook for myself, I often took cues from popular items from the supermarket shelves. One such thing that I discovered was Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice. But, concerned about unhealthy ingredients even back then, I would make it with only a portion of the flavor pack they provided, which was full of salt, sugar, and other unnecessary chemicals. I then started substituting herbs from my own shelf, and soon realized that I was paying a couple of dollars for what amounted to about a cup of rice, and knew I could do better.

Wild rice was a pretty esoteric item back then, I had to go to a gourmet store to find it, and it was expensive, but still quite affordable compared to the tiny amount that you got in the packaged mix. I still liked using parboiled rice at the time, so I would buy the large bags of Uncle Ben's. I played around with the herb blend, and learned to use stock instead of water for a richer taste.

Over the years, this has become one of the basic dishes in my repertoire. Onions and mushrooms have become a standard additions, and celery if it's on hand. If you like mushrooms, add some dried porcinis to the stock for a really rich flavor. It's easy to make this into a main dish by adding a little chicken or other leftover meat (or tofu), and it can make a great poultry stuffing. In fact, I even add it to the bread mixture that I use to stuff my Thanksgiving turkey. Mixed bread and rice sounds odd, but it really works well.

Eventually, other kinds of rice found their way into the markets, and into my kitchen. These days, I'm most likely to use brown rice, but basmati, jasmine, and short-grain Spanish rice all work well with this. This recipe adapts well to all of them, and it can translate to a risotto quite easily.


1/2 cup wild rice, rinsed and drained
1- 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 medium white onion, chopped finely
1 stalk celery, with leaves, chopped finely
4 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic (optional)

1-1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock**
1 cup water
1 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
1-1/2 tsp. dried poultry seasoning*
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
salt to taste
1 cup of brown (or your favorite) rice**

Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a small saucepan. Add wild rice, and cook for about 1/2 hour, until kernels start to pop open, but before they're thoroughly soft. Drain and set aside. (Note: Some wild rice directions have you use a smaller amount of water and allow it all to be absorbed. You may use this method if you prefer, but it will be a much heavier and earthy flavor.)

Heat a medium-sized saucepan, then add oil, onions and celery. Sauté until nearly soft, add the mushrooms and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the stock, water and seasonings and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, turn down the heat, cover, and simmer on low until 6 minutes before the cooking time is done. Stir in the drained wild rice, and continue to cook covered for 6 more minutes. When the cooking time is done, remove from heat, but leave the lid on and do not stir for at least 5 minutes before serving. (This is important for a light and fluffy rice.)

Enjoy.


** Different types of rices vary quite a bit in the amount of liquid they require and the amount of time they need to cook. Follow the recommended amounts and the cooking time on the package of whatever rice you use, less a couple of tablespoons of water to compensate for the moisture in the vegetables.

* I use Penzeys Bouquet Garni blend, but you can use a powdered blend such as Bell's Seasoning with good results. If you use fresh herbs, double the quantity.