Today is Cinco de Mayo, a day that commemorates the Battle of Pueblo where the Mexican army defeated French forces. It’s a big thing for Mexico. I remembered briefly this morning when Facebook reminded me to wish one of my childhood friends a happy birthday. Then I promptly forgot. When I sat down to write this post, I realized what a funny coincidence it is that I am writing about a delicious chili recipe today. But yes, it’s completely a coincidence.

Meanwhile, if we have one more rainy day here in Connecticut, I might just start sprouting parsley from my hip. After a long and cold winter, all we really want to do is to get outside and play, plant and enjoy our yard. Instead, we have lots of rain, which seems to be encouraging weeds to sprout waist-high overnight (I kid you not!).

But if there is one meal that just screams of wanting to warm you up on a dreary, rainy day, it’s chili. Of course, with summer nudging around the corner, we only have a few more weeks (days?) before we need to trade hearty dishes for lighter, cooler fare.

This chili has a definite kick with the chipotle, but I think it’s more medium than hot. The kids? Well, they weren’t that thrilled with the heat but Shawn and I loved it. The chicken is a nice change up in this hearty, slightly spicy chili. Served over rice, this will fill your belly and leave you satisfied.

Chipotle Chicken Chili
serves 4-6

This chili has a moderate amount of heat, which should be ideal for most adults. If you want it to knock your socks off, add another chipotle pepper to the mix. However, if you are cooking for young children, this might be a little spicy, so I suggest cutting back a little on the chipotle (one pepper should be ok). As for the garnish — the cold tomatoes and smooth, creamy avocado take this delish chili and make it an OMG WOW!

2 tbsp canola oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and ends removed
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 chipotle peppers from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo (available in most supermarkets)
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken, cut into a 1″ dice
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with chilis
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed
1 15 oz can kidney beans, rinsed
salt (about 1 tsp — but to taste)
1 cup frozen corn

In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium heat.

Combine the onion (you may need to cut it in half or quarters), garlic and chipotle peppers in a food processor. Process until finely chopped and well combined. Add the mixture to the pot and cook, stirring occationally, for about five minutes until it dries a bit and thickens.

Add the chicken to the chipotle mixture and cook, tossing occationally, until the chicken is opaque on all sides and well coated. Add all of the tomatoes, along with the black beans, kidney beans and salt. Stir well. Lower the heat to low and cover. Let simmer for 1 1/2 – 2 hrs. The chili will thicken as it cooks, so try not to let it go longer than two hours.

Stir in the frozen corn (I used white shoepeg corn) and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes until corn is hot too.

To serve: Dish out the thick chili on a bed of rice. If desired, garnish with diced avocado, diced tomatoes and cheddar cheese.

It’s funny how things change as you get older . . . As a child and a teen, I used to jump with joy at the prospect of snow. There was so much fun from the falling flakes – snow days, sledding, snowball fights … But when I got up this morning and saw my trees white with a thick coat of snow, my first reaction wasn’t so positive. In fact, it came in the form of a disappointed groan. Not only did I have a day of shoveling to look forward to, but it also canceled my lunch plans. A good friend was coming to visit today . . . alas, that will have to wait a few weeks.

The positive? Shoveling didn’t take as long as I thought it would.

Anyway, what better day than a snow day to share an easy recipe for a low-fat and tasty stew. Now, this one does take a while to simmer, but it’s well worth the wait. The potatoes break down a lot in the slow simmer, releasing their starches to create a thick and comforting base. And the barbecue flavor is awesome. I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Barbecue sauce and it was fantastic. But any bottled sauce (or homemade, if you do that sort of thing) would work . . .

Eat this with a slice of thick, warm, fresh bread and a simple salad.

Barbecue Beef and Potato Stew
serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 – 1 lb stew beef, in one inch chunks
1 clove garlic, minced
3 small red potatoes (about 2-2 1/2 in diameter), diced into 1/2 inch chunks
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup water
1/3 cup barbecue sauce

In a small dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the beef and brown on all sides. Stir in garlic, potatoes, salt and pepper and mix well. Add water and barbecue sauce and mix well.

Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. (Hint: use a small burner so if condensation drips from your lid, like it did from mine, it won’t land on a hot burner and make an annoying racket — and a more annoying mess to clean off the stove).

I checked out a number of recipes before writing this one. Thank goodness everyone in the blogosphere is busy with tomato cooking now (and a lot are making gazpacho too) because it gave me a good selection of recipes to learn from. I also checked out a bunch of recipes from books in my personal library. As usual, I couldn’t find one that met all of my needs so I just started from scratch.

Anyway, here’s the skinny on gazpacho: it’s really refreshing. I wish I would have made it sooner as it would have been a perfect hot-summer-night dinner on the porch. Next year! The texture is somewhat like salsa, without the bite. Definitely good. Definitely worth it. Definitely a keeper.

The best part? It’s super healthy – it’s practically all raw vegetables (and fruits, I guess) so it’s just a powerhouse of nutrients. Yay for healthiness!

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt (I used a sea salt/lavender blend from Williams-Sonoma)
4 ripe red tomatoes, diced
1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 shakes Louisiana hot sauce
fresh ground pepper, to taste

Pour balsamic vinegar in to a large mixing bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of your food processor, combine the sea salt and garlic. Pulse for 5-10 seconds. Add tomatoes (I did this in two batches since I use a mini food processor.). Pulse to desired consistency. Pour tomatoes into the bowl with the vinegar.

Combine the cucumber and red onion in the food processor (no need to clean between uses). Pulse to desired consistency. Pour cucumbers and red onion into the reserved bowl.

Combine the red and green pepper in the food processor. Pulse to the desired consistency. Add to the reserved bowl.

Pour Italian seasonings, olive oil, lemon juice, hot sauce and pepper into the bowl. Mix well.

Place the gazpacho in a sealed container and refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving.

Now, a few notes on preparation. This soup was super easy. I used a leftover roasted chicken carcass from the other day to make the stock. And meat from that leftover chicken went into the soup. To cut the carrots, a mandolin works great for quick and even cuts. The pasta is optional – my husband likes a lot so this is a pasta heavy dish, but you can use more or less.

And yes, it’s easy on the stomach.

5 1/2 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (preferably homemade)
3 large carrots, sliced
1 cup packed fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
2 cups diced chicken (cooked, from a roasted chicken)
1/2 cup small pasta such as dinatali (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine stocks and carrots in large pot and bring to a boil lower heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in herbs, chicken, salt and pepper and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30-45 minutes, until carrots are soft.

Raise heat and bring to a boil. Stir in pasta and cook according to package directions. Serve immediately.

Directly following dinner Thursday (yes, Thanksgiving dinner), I started making turkey stock with my leftover carcass from the turkey. After letting the stock cool all the way, I skimmed the fat from the top and seperated the broth into freezer bags for later use. I also reserved four cups of it to make some soup today.

Winter time is soup time. The cool weather and warm soup go hand-in-hand. I’ve been stressing trying to think of some delicious soup recipes to make so I can take some to work but ultimately this was a “hmm, what do I have leftover to use?” sort of recipe. It came together so well that I figured it would be a great thing to share for WHB.

One of the herbs used in this soup is sage, one of the few herbs that has a flavor that intensifies with drying. Go figure. But I still like fresh herbs over dried, and had leftovers from Thanksgiving. One interesting thing I learned recently about sage is that research has shown that sage may indeed improve short term memory and could aid in improved quality of life for Alzheimer patients (it might help counteract the causes of memory loss).

Back to the soup. This is a great for those nights were you want something filling that won’t bog you down. It’s also great for a quick and easy lunch to take to work and heat up.

4 cups turkey stock (or stock of your choice)
1 19 oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup baby portabella mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 large shallot (or two small-medium), sliced
1 generous tbsp. chopped fresh sage
1 generous tbsp. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 generous tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and stir together.

Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook 20 minutes.

Turn off heat and let sit 15-20 minutes, stirring once in a while.

Kale. Even the word is foreign to me. I grew up in a household where vegetables were of pretty simple varieties – corn, peas, green beans and the occasional zucchini. Brussels spouts were a delicacy and any lettuce other than iceberg was certainly special. I had a feeling there were more vegetables out there, but I couldn’t quite figure out what they were.

I’ve learned a lot since then. For instance, beet greens are not only edible but they really taste good as a bruschetta. And fiddlehead greens have a really unique taste and texture.

In any case, back to the kale. My husband loves Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana soup, so I decided to try making it at home. I searched the internet and found literally dozens of recipes for it. Each had things good and bad about them, so I used them as a guideline and drafted my own. It was received with rave reviews from both my husband and from the much harder to please stepson. It goes without saying that my son loved it.

ABOUT KALE:

Kale is a variety of cabbage. The kale I purchased had curly edged leaves, though there are other varieties with flat leaves and the such. Kale likes cooler weather and is grown widely in North America and Europe.

CHOOSING KALE:

Kale should have firm, deep green leaves that are free from spotting, wilting or discoloration.

STORING KALE:

Kale should be stored in cool places like the refrigator crisper drawer, while wrapped in a lightly moist paper towel and stored in a plastic bag. It can also be frozen fresh

Zuppa Toscana
Serves 6-8

4 cups water
4 cups chicken broth
3 large potatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 lb. spicy Italian sausage, browned and crumbled
1/2 lb. bacon, browned and crumbled
2 cups kale, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine the water, broth, potatoes, garlic, and onion into a pot. Cook over high heat until the potatoes are fork tender.

Stir in the sausage and bacon and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in kale and heavy cream and season with salt and pepper. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.

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This is my post for Weekend Herb Blogging. Check out Kalyn’s Kitchen on Sunday for the weekly roundup of interesting herb and veggie related posts.