A REALLY SNAZZY CHILI AVEC LE BOEUF

Ingredients:



2 lbs ground sirloin
5 strips thickly sliced bacon cut into small pieces
2 tbsp canola oil for sautéing onion and garlic
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp salt
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 large sweet onion, torn in thumb-sized pieces
4 cloves garlic chopped
1 cup beef broth
2 cans 4 oz fire-roasted green chiles
1 can 15 oz pinto beans, drained
1 can 14.5 oz diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 can 15 oz tomato sauce
1 ½ cups sliced, bite-sized unpeeled carrots
2 tsp dried basil
3 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp cumin
3 tsp chili powder
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground ginger
1 knob butter (about 3 oz)
½ cup turbinado sugar
1 cup Pinot Noir, good quality. Pinot grape is healthiest of grapes.


Procedure:

(1) Render bacon, set aside, and get rid of bacon fat save for two tbls. (2) Brown beef in remaing bacon fat and when browned mix in Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper and put in pot. (3) Sauté onion until translucent and add garlic. When garlic vapors, put in pot. (4) Add bacon and the rest of ingredients and cook slowly until carrots are tender but not mushy.

A large jar of tomato and basil pasta sauce may be substituted for the cans of tomatoes. Adjustments can be made according to taste, but Worcestershire sauce, butter, bacon, and wine are essential.

A variant: roasted shoepeg corn. Dry contents of can of shoepeg corn, place on cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil, spray with oil, roast for twenty-five minutes at 400°, turning three or four times. Add to chili before serving.

Serve heated with small chunks of extra sharp cheddar, accompanied by glass of Pinot Noir and saltine crackers.

THE REV. DR. SMITH'S FAMOUS FISH CHOWDER

Ingredients:

1 lb good white fish, preferably true cod.
5 strips of thickly sliced, good quality hickory smoked bacon
1 medium sized Idaho potato
1 medium sweet onion
2 cans of evaporated milk
1 knob of butter
1 dash of red chili flakes
1 big pinch of flaked parmesan cheese
4 common crackers
1½ cups of chicken broth


Procedure:

1) Cut bacon in small pieces and fry until rendered and pour off half
of the fat. 2) Sauté onion in remaining fat and add crumbled crackers to absorb fat. Set aside. 3) Cut potato into small cubes, leaving the skin on. 4) Pour two cans of condescended milk and cubed potatoes in pot, add dash of red chili flakes and knob of butter, and cook on medium. 5) Poach fish in pan of chicken broth. When cooked, break fish into bite-sized pieces. 6) Combine all ingredients in pot and simmer until potatoes are somewhat soft. 7) Salt and pepper to taste.


Service:

Serve in a large soup bowl with large soup spoons along with toasted
buttered garlic bread or common crackers, a tossed salad, and a glass
of chardonnay or champagne.

VERY FANCY SLOWLY ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES










Ingredients

2 baskets of cherry tomatoes, one yellow and the other red
Salt to taste
2 tbl turbinado sugar
3 tbl extra virgin olive oil

2 tbl dried basil

Procedure

(1) Heat the oven to 300º. (2) Place tomatoes in a baking dish large enough to contain the tomatoes in a single layer. (3) Toss a mixture of olive oil, sugar, and salt with the tomatoes. (4) Place in oven for 40 minutes until the skins have shriveled and tomatoes have split. (5) Remove from oven and sprinkle with dried basil and place in the oven for five more minutes.

They will keep overnight if refrigerated.



Almond oil in place of olive oil is pricey and extravagantly luscious.

Photograph courtesy of Gretchen A. Smith
Bowl courtesy of Villeroy and Boch, Basket Pattern.

ABOVE THE RIM TUSCAN SOUP

Ingredients;

1 ½ lb Italian sweet sausage
1 large sweet onion
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch of kale or swiss chard
1 ½ cup of sliced carrots
6 cups chicken broth
3 14.5 ounce cans cannellini beans, drained.

Procedure:

(1) While the sausage is thawing, strip off the casing and then cut into bite-size pieces. Cook thoroughly until browned and set aside. (2) Chop onion and mince garlic and sauté onion and garlic in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan until translucent. (3) Boil carrots in honey and broth umtil al dente. (4) Add broth, beans, and sausage and simmer for 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. (4) Add washed and chopped kale or Swiss chard and carrots and simmer for five more minutes.

For extra creaminess mash the contents of two of the cans of cannelloni beans.

Adjustments can be made for amounts of sausage, kale, and beans depending upon preferences.






This soup is great for an evening supper or lunch, especially with toasted, chewy French bread with butter and garlic salt and served with a sprinkling of shredded Parmesan or Swiss cheese.

OLGA JOHNSON'S BORSCH SOUP







Ingredients:



2-3 lbs of beef on the bone or half a chicken
2 medium bay leaves
5 large potatoes
1 large bowl of finely cut green cabbage
½ large onion, red or yellow
1 large or 2 medium carrots
1 medium-size tomato
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 medium-sized beet
1 tsp of olive or vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Making it:

(1) Put meat into a large pot, cover with cold water, and heat on high. (2) When water starts to boil, take off foam on top and reduce heat to low, making sure the water keeps simmering. (3) Add bay leaves. (4) Chop cabbage and add to pot in 40-60 minutes. (5) Cut potatoes and add to pot.

(6) Finely chop half onion and shred carrots. (7) Add oil to frying pan and heat oil on low. (8) When oil is heated, add onion and sauté until translucent. (9) Add shredded carrots, stirring until soft. (10) If preferred, butter may be added. (11) Add finely chopped tomato and can of tomato sauce. (12) Add shredded beet to pan and sauté for five more minutes. (13) Pour contents of frying pan into pot and keep cooking for 15-20 minutes, adding salt and pepper in last five minutes.

Olga Johnson lives in Flagstaff and is a native of Saratov in southern Russia. Her grandfather was one of the heroic band of soldiers who defended and never surrendered Saint Petersburg during WWII.

AN URBAN VERSION OF
DIANE SCANTLEBURY’S BUTTERNUT SQUASH, SWEET ONION, AND SAGE SOUP


4 14 oz cans Puréed Organic Butternut Squash
1 large sweet onion
2 tbsp sage
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
1 knob butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp garlic powder
1 shake red chili flakes (about six or seven flakes)
4 cups of chicken broth
1 can evaporated milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice onion in thin slices. Sauté onion along with sage in olive oil until onion is translucent. Combine onion and sage along with a cup of broth in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Place processed onion, sage, and broth in a large sauce pan along with puréed butternut squash, butter, turbinado sugar, garlic powder, chili flakes, and remaining 3 cups chicken broth.
Heat gently at a low medium, stirring occasionally for thirty minutes. Stir in evaporated milk for five minutes, and then stir in the vanilla. Let sit for a few minutes and then serve. May be refrigerated and even frozen.

A little more sage can be used as well as vanilla, depending upon taste.

A dash of freshly grated nutmeg adds a nice touch.

Diane Scantlebury, the original author of this adapted recipe, is a hydroponic and truck farmer at her Tickaboo Ranch on the Verde River near Camp Verde, Arizona. Well-educated, literate, culturally aware, she's politically astute and a great cook and farmer.

Gretchen and I ate the original version of this soup for the first time at a lunch in her kitchen. It was so good that we raced right home to make it for ourselves. The only hazard is cutting the butternut squash which must be done carefully lest the cook add his or her finger to the soup.

OLD GRINGO'S TORTILLA SOUP



Ingredients

1/3 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles, fire roasted
1 medium sweet onion, diced
3 carrots chopped
3 celery ribs chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/3 cup cilantro leaves chopped
1/3 cup kale chopped
1½ tsps chili powder
1½ tsps ground cumin
1 knob butter
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, drained
1 can (15 0z) diced tomatoes, fire roasted
5 corn tortillas, shredded
2 qts chicken stock
1 tsp pepper
2 large grilled chicken breasts, shredded

Procedures

Heat oil in large heavy saucepan and whisk in the flour. Lower heat and cook until browned, stirring constantly. Add diced green chiles, onion, carrots, celery, kale, garlic, cilantro, chili powder, and ground cumin. Cook 10 minutes, stirring. Add beans, shredded tortillas, chicken stock, sugar, tomatoes, and pepper. Bring to boil and cook on medium low for 30 minutes. Add shredded chicken and butter and continue cooking for 10 minutes or until carrots are done. Refrigerate all day or overnight to blend flavors.

Serving

Reheat, ladle into bowls, garnish with grated cheddar cheese, sliced avocado, and crisp tortilla chips.