Not So Chilly, Chili: Part 2

Ok, so ever since I made my homemade chili (which wasn't 100% to my liking), I knew I had to make it again. Enter, tonight! And let me tell you, tonight's was fabulous!

Last chili was spicy, but this one was spiiiiicy! And we loved every second of it! I guess adding cayenne pepper, jalapeno peppers, hot chili powder and hot garlic (yes, you heard me correctly) will do that!

Here's a glimpse at some spicy garlic...I had to buy it when I saw it!

Not that different, but has a purple-y colour to it! So here's my new and improved chili recipe (the old one's tasty, too!)

And here are the essentials for the chili:

Some spices.

Some beans.

And tons of veggies.

Not So Chilly, Chili: Part 2
(Revenge of the chili)

Ingredients:
5-7 roasted tomatoes, diced + any additional diced canned tomatoes (I needed the canned!)
1/2 tsp oregano
1 medium sweet potato, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
4-5 medium mushrooms, diced
3/4 cup corn (frozen or fresh)
1 medium green pepper, diced
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic
4-6 jalapeno peppers, diced
1 can of red kidney beans, pinto beans and black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin
1tsp curry powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp hot chili powder
1-1½ cups of vegetable broth
Salt and pepper to taste


Garnishes:
Mock sour cream (greek yogurt + lime juice)
Shredded cheese
Avocado
Freshly chopped cilantro


And here's how you make it!


First, I started by roasting the tomatoes (drizzled with olive oil, put into the oven at 425 for 30 minutes)

Skins should just peel off the tomatoes...it's super easy. Dice those up!

Then, in a large pot over medium heat add those tomaters and oregano and cook for a few minutes (until juices run from tomatoes).

Then, add sweet potato, onion, jalapeno peppers, garlic, carrots and celery to zee pot!

To look like this:

Let them cook and mix for about 10 minutes (still, over medium heat).

Next, add the remaining veggies: green peppers, zucchini, corn, mushroom to the mix.

Plus, the spices and you have a nice medley.

There's a lot going on in the pot, so this is when you might need a little vegetable broth. Let these veggies cook for another 10 minutes, then, spill the beans...into the pot, I mean! =D

Mix up until it's all heated (another few minutes) and this is what you'll have:

Move to a serving bowl and garnish!

And enjoy...with a glass of wine!

Off to Vancouver tomorrow, but will have an interesting post when I'm back again!

It's A New Day

Have you ever heard this song by will.i.am? It's great! If you haven't heard it...then listen!! I think we should treat everyday like it's a new day! This song sticks out to me for 2 reasons:

1) We have to appreciate everyday...even when we think the day 'can't get any worse';
2) After Tyler and I were pronounced husband and wife, we had this song played.



Just make sure you take the time to stop...take a deep breath...and be happy you're here.

On that note, it may be a new day, but it's not a nice new day here. In all honesty, it hasn't been nice here for the past few days. So I took it upon myself to make chili a few nights ago. I decided to just go at it, add whatever and hope that it resembled chili. Guess what...it did!!! Loved every bite of it (and so did the hubby). Because I almost never have a camera available to me (Tyler takes it to work everyday to video golf swings), I make do with what I have -- my BlackBerry camera! Keep in mind: the chili tastes better than it looks (I have a whole new appreciation for good cameras. Man, can they make anything look good!)

Not So Chilly, Chili

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time:  30 minutes

Ingredients:

Spices:

• 1/4 tsp oregano


• 1/2 tsp cumin


• 1/2 tsp curry powder


• 1 tsp cayenne pepper


• 4-6 tbsp chili powder

Other remaining ingredients:

• 5 tomatoes, diced (you can remove peels if you like, I kept them on, but they will roll off on their own in chili)


• 1/2 sweet onion, diced


• 2 small carrots, diced


• 1 small zucchini, diced


• 1 medium sweet potato, diced (once again, your decision for skin on or off)


• 1 cob of corn, kernels removed


• 1 med green pepper, diced


• 1 stalk of celery, diced


• 2 cloves of garlic, minced


• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vegetable or chicken stock/broth


• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced


• 1 can each of red kidney beans, black beans and pinto beans, rinsed and drained


• Fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish


• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) In a large pot, add tomatoes and oregano. Cook over med-high heat for 5-10 minutes (or until tomatoes are tender and juices run)

2) Reduce heat to medium, add to pot: onions, carrots, celery, sweet potato, jalapeno, and garlic, and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

3) Add remaining vegetables (zucchini, corn, green pepper) along with remaining spices (the four C's: cumin, curry, cayenne and chili poweder),  cook for another 4-5 mins; at this time, if consistency is getting too thick with all the veggies, start adding broth/stock according to how runny or thick you want your chili to be

4) Add the beans to pot, continuing to cook until everything is well-heated.

5) Add salt and pepper to taste

6) Move to a serving bowl and top with fresh cilantro

This really is hearty and makes you feel good with all the veggies you get to enjoy in it. I had leftovers for a few days after. It's a great recipe to make if you do want leftovers, then there's plenty to freeze and save for another day!

I've been thinking a lot about goals, which is why I even made a tab for them, and how important it is to stick to them!

One of my goals was to cook with a new fruit or vegetable each week, and this week, I have decided to use fennel!

Do you know any good recipes that use this ingredient?

Know what your goals are. Write them somewhere, where you can look at them everyday. The only way to make them happen is to be consistent with them, by keeping them fresh in your mind and vision. Happy Sunday!

What are your goals for the week? Month? Year?

Make The Most Of The Day!

So, like my post said earlier...let's make today as fun as yesterday...I think I'm succeeding. I took it eaaasy this morning (oops), then decided that I needed to get out of the house and do something!!! Also, I needed to pick up a few more things for dinner tonight. I knew I couldn't just make a quick trip to the grocery store then come home, so I geared up and made my way to the running trail.

This is trail is awesome! Lately I've become a picky runner; don't really enjoy running on pavement or in hilly areas (which is nearly impossible to avoid...I live in BC!!!). So, this awesome trail I mentioned is:
1) Not pavement
2) Not hilly

So it wins in my books!! It's awesome, too, because it marks the distance you run/bike/etc every 0.5 km, so it's nice being able to keep track of the distance you go. I kinda like to challenge myself, in the sense that if I ran a certain distance before then I definitely wanna try and beat that previous distance. This could get tough the more and more that distance increases!!! So anyways, I knew that one of the last times I ran the trail, I ran 7 km, so I had to beat that.

In enters the tough part...I didn't even feeeeeel like running when I first drove to the trail. So right there, I thought I would not beat my previous distance. I'm sure other runner's can relate, that once you start running and getting in your groove, you realize that you actually can go for longer than you thought. Good news is that I beat my distance...I made it to 8!!! 8km plus a few new blisters!

So I then came home and had in my mind that I wanted to make some sort of avocado salad. I LOVE spice, so I knew that I didn't just want to make a regular...I wanted some heat! So, here's what I came up with:

Avocado Salad (with a kick)!!

• 1-2 avocados, diced (I used 1 and 1/2 since it's all I had)


• 1/3 cup red pepper, diced


• juice from 1/2 a lemon


• 1/3 cup red onion, diced


• 1/4 - 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped (now, I loooove cilantro, so I added at least 1/2 cup)


• 1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and minced finely


• 1 tomato, deseeded and diced (deseeded so it doesn't make the salad really runny)


• 1 clove of garlic, finely minced


• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (depending on your liking for spicy foods!)


• a pinch of salt and pepper

Mix it all around and there you have it!!

I think I'll continue onto making a raw pasta sauce and some homemade larabars, since the weather doesn't seem to be cooperating with me today this week! Until my next need to blog, take care!

Hot, Hot, Heat!

Within the past year I have acquired a strong liking for spicy foods. I mean, so hot your lips are burning, kind of spice. I always like a challenge, and spicy foods do just that. How, you ask? Well, you're always challenging yourself to go hotter and hotter, which is exactly what I do when I'm making a spicy recipe. I guess overtime your tolerance to spice strengthens, so I keep on challenging myself!!

Also, I like the metabolic reaction the body has to spice, which is probably what made me begin eating it in the first place! Eating spicy foods increases your metabolism, which encourages your body to process foods more quickly, and that can mean one good thing - weight loss! I know spicy foods don't agree with everyone, but even incorporating a bit here and there might help you develop some sort of tolerance to a bit of heat!

Where to find spice: some great ways to add a little spice to your meals (even the simplest of meals) can be made through adding crushed chili flakes, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and peppers (jalapeno, serrano, banana, chipotle, etc), just to name a few. You could also add simple items like hot sauce/tabasco or any pre-made hot items in a can/bottle (I love chipotle peppers in adobe sauce).

How to add spice when cooking: I like to keep things simple and add them in places that don't complicate anything. Try making a spicy sauce for your meat next time (ex: pork tenderloin). I like to sprinkle crushed chili flakes into my mac 'n' cheese. Make a 'spicy butter' to put on your corn, instead of just using plain butter. Add a few chili peppers to your next batch of homemade guacamole. Or even grill up a few hot peppers on the bbq by adding a dollop of extra-virgin olive oil to the outside. Just be creative!

If those ideas don't work for you, then try your own creative ideas and have fun with food, because ultimately that's what it comes down to. If you don't experiment and make food exciting, then start now!!