cooking outside – take 2

from march 20--

it’s supposed to snow like crazy tonight and all day tomorrow. the first real winter we’ll have had this winter. but, today, it’s really quite pleasant out and i’ve been cooking outside again on the old stove outside the back door. this time, it was a batch of chili. not too hot. i can add chiu chow to my own bowl to make it hot and this way the kids’ll eat it. i’ve been adding wood all day to keep it simmering. and it’s going to be delicious this evening for supper.

julie’s chili recipe

2 medium onions, diced
4 fat cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
2 small chilis (fresh or dried—mine used to be fresh, but were now dry)
1 zucchini, grated
2 medium carrots, grated
good glug of olive oil

sauté until the onions start to soften and go clear

500 grams ground beef (that’s a pound to you)
1 beef bouillon cube
1 generous T of paprika
2 fresh bay leaves (i picked them off the bush)
salt & pepper

then, remove it all from the pan and add the ground beef to brown it.

add the onion mixture back to the ground beef once it’s browned.

2 cans of chopped tomatoes (mine had basil & oregano in them already)
1 can of beans (i used organic borlotti beans, since i don’t like kidney beans, but any beans you like would do—i’d have used black beans if i’d had them)

simmer several hours.

add one bar of 70% organic (of course) dark chocolate for richness, shortly before serving. this doesn’t really make it taste chocolately, it just gives it a rich depth that it otherwise lacks.

can (and probably should) be served over rice. you can offer yummies for people to add themselves...chopped red onion, pumpkin seeds, a dollop of creme fraiche (sour cream), grated cheese (that prima donna with the salty crystals in it would be great), just whatever you have and whatever sounds good. some diced avocado, perhaps?

i’m getting hungry, just writing this!!

and it’ll taste even better for having been cooked outside. i’m sure of it.