RIP Crock Pot

Last night I discovered that the lid to my beloved crock pot had broken.  It's ugly and old, brown and mustard yellow, but I loved that thing.  My mom gave it to me, after using it for years and years.  You see, it was given to her when she got married, in 1979.  It even had an insert so you could make crock pot bread! My mom used to make a loaf for my dad when he went on camping trips.  I grew up peeking through the glass lid to her unbelievably good corn bread stuffing at Thanksgiving.  And it has served me well the years that I used it.  Yesterday, I had planned on making a slow cook chili, but obviously had to change it to a not so slow cooked, on the stove rendition.  If you're using a crock pot, you can basically throw all the ingredients in and leave it.  Every time I make this chili it's a little different, but it is definitely my favorite! Feel free to change amounts/add things/omit things.  You really can't go wrong with this one. It would be delicious with left over turkey, or chicken!

Non Crock Pot White Bean Chili

Olive oil

Garlic! as much as you want.  I used 3 cloves

1 large onion, chopped

2 green peppers, chopped

White beans: I used 1 can of Cannellni, 1 can of Great Northern, 1 can of Navy and a cup of dried lentils

1 bag of sweet white corn

4 cups Veggie broth (I use Rapunzel Vegan Bouillon Cubes and water)

Cumin, to taste

Cayenne pepper, if you wish

S&P, to taste

Fresh Cilantro

In the large pot, sauté (side note, did you know sauté is French for "jump"? Make those veggies jump in the pan!) on medium heat the onions and add the green peppers with the Olive Oil until they start to soften.  Don't overdo it or your peppers will get mushy by the end.  When they are about ready, add the garlic, either chopped or squished through a garlic press.  You never want to add the garlic at the beginning, since it burns easily.  It only needs about 30 seconds in the pan.

Rinse the beans and add to the pot along with broth, add extra water if needed to cover the ingredients.  Lower the temperature to low, and cover the pot.  Be careful not to let the soup get to a rolling boil or you will risk breaking the bean skins and that can create a slimy texture.  Near the end, add the spices, salt and pepper (there is a lot of information out there about when to add salt and or acids to beans.  I'm privy to waiting until the end to add spices for canned beans.  Dry beans are a whole different beast) and the corn.  Let simmer for a few minutes longer.  Dish out, and top with, what else, fresh cilantro!

soup season!

This week I was introduced to the term "T.A.A." which stands for "Tiny Ass Apartment".  I don't particularly live in a tiny apartment (we have 5 bedrooms and 2 baths), so I think "T.A.K." is much more appropriate for my situation.  Our TINY ASS KITCHEN looks big because there is a table and chairs and room to walk around.  But look closer.  The oven is painfully small; a cookie sheet cannot fit sideways in it, and when placed lengthwise the oven door cannot shut all the way.  There is about 2 square feet of counter space, one 6 inch wide drawer and the dishwasher has to be used for storage.  We make it work, and I think professional organizers would be somewhat impressed at the ways in which we cram 3 people's kitchen belongings into such a tight space.

I tell you about my kitchen mostly for pity.  And also so that one day, when I have a large kitchen with 4 sinks, 2 islands and 3 ovens (ok, that might be a bit much) we can all look back and laugh about my T.A.K.  However, last night I made my first soup of the season and the size of my kitchen did not matter, as I was able to do everything on that 2 foot stretch of counter before throwing it into the big pot.  Which is one of the many reasons I absolutely LOVE soup.  And may I just say, last night's concoction was really. freaking. good. Evan looked at me at one point and said "I CAN'T EAT IT FAST ENOUGH!"

I got the recipe from 101 Cookbooks (a fantastic blog, by the way, especially for those of us on the vegetarian train) but I messed with it a bit. It is not a quick soup, as split peas take a while to soften up, but it was worth the wait- not to mention the strong curry smell wafting through the house was pretty wonderful!

Lentil & Split Pea Coconut Curry Soup

1 cup yellow split peas

1 cup red split lentils (masoor dal)

7 cups water

3 medium carrots, cut into small chunks

2 tablespoons fresh peeled and minced ginger

2 tablespoons curry powder

2 tablespoons butter or ghee (or, to be a vegan meal, you could use oil)

8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced

1/2 cup golden raisins (trust me, they are a key ingredient!)

1 6-oz can tomato paste

1 14-oz can coconut milk

2 teaspoons sea salt

Cayenne pepper, to taste

a ton of cilantro, chopped 

Rinse the peas and lentils until they no longer make murky water. Put them in a large pot with the water, and bring to a boil.  Add 1/4 of the ginger and the carrots, lower to a simmer and cover.  They'll take at least 30 minutes to soften up. 

In a small (dry!) pan, quickly toast the curry powder, but be careful not to burn it.  Just keep it over the heat long enough for it to become very aromatic.  Put the curry in a small bowl and set aside.  In the same pan, over medium heat, melt the butter (or ghee) and add most of the scallions (whatever is left will be for garnish), the rest of the ginger and the raisins.  Sauté for a few minutes, then add the tomato paste.  I ladled in a bit of the water from the simmering lentils and peas to help break up the paste.  Sauté for another minute or two.  

Add the curry to the tomato mixture, mix mix mix, and then (if your peas have softened up) add to the big pot, along with the coconut milk, cayenne pepper and the salt.  Let simmer uncovered for another 15 or 20 minutes.  It thickened up quite a bit during this time- if you like a thinner soup, just add more water.  Top with cilantro.  Unless you are a Cilantrophobe and think it tastes like soap.

For dessert, we had one of my favorite simple treats- plain vanilla ice cream, with a sprinkling of cinnamon, honey and a splash of milk in a mug.  Stir it up, and you have an exotic tasting mini milkshake!