Week 52 -- Fresh Chili

Celebrating the end of the year with a chili chock full of fresh vegetables!

Next week's post will contain an announcement about the year 2019!

Fresh Chili

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
2 bell peppers, diced (we used one green and one orange)
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 mushrooms, chopped
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can light red kidney beans
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground chili
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Saute the garlic, onions, and bell pepper in a little water.
2. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, and 4 cups water.
3.  Add the beans and spices.  Let simmer about 30-45 minutes so flavors blend.

Makes about 4 servings.

Week 51 -- Noodle-y Oodle-y Soup

After a morning spent making cookies for a work cookie exchange, I was feeling nostalgic and ready for a low effort lunch.  I've been thinking lately about how, as kids, we ate a lot of Oodles of Noodles.  This soup is a more grown-up version but still not much work.  I used bean thread noodles, which are gluten free, but you could use ramen noodles if you wanted.

I wanted little bits of parsley in the soup like in a packaged soup, but I was out, so I used kale that I dehydrated and ground to flakes last summer.

It looks different from childhood,
but it's a lot healthier with the same fun of noodles.

Noodle-y Oodle-y Soup

2 servings of dry noodles (bean thread or your choice)
water to cover
1/4 tsp each sage, celery seed, savory, and turmeric
dash of black pepper
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/3 block extra-firm tofu, cubed
1/2 carrot, grated
1 Tbsp dried greens (parsley or kale)
miso to taste

1. Cook noodles according to package directions.  Drain off some water to leave desired amount for broth.
2.  Add seasonings, carrots, tofu, and greens. 
3.  Add miso to taste.

Makes two servings.

Week 50 -- Garden Vegetable

This is not an exciting soup, but it's a little taste of summer garden on a dark, snowy night.

I used home-canned tomato sauce, but you can substitute canned tomatoes.  The exact measurements aren't super important.

Lunch for the week!

Garden Vegetable Soup

1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, sliced or minced
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 yellow squash, quartered and sliced
8 oz. white button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups or 1 can cooked chickpeas
2 cups tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
3 cups water

1. Put all vegetables in crockpot or slow cooker.  Let cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Makes about 5 servings.

Week 49 -- Kik Alicha

Let me start by saying I know this is not authentic.  I do my best, but I am an American girl who has never been to Africa, though I have enjoyed this dish at many Ethiopian restaurants.  It is my favorite of all the Ethiopian stews. 

Kik Alicha is a mild but flavorful yellow split pea stew.  (Alichas are mild yellow stews, kik are yellow split peas; you can substitute lentils for messir alicha.)  It is traditionally served and eaten on a teff flatbread called injera.  I love injera.  It's one of my very favorite foods in the world.  One of the great tragedies of my cooking life is that I have never been able to make an acceptable injera, though it's not for lack of trying.  Thankfully, this stew is also great on its own or eaten with millet (although then you have to use a fork instead of just scooping it up with flatbread).

This weekend we didn't have to resort to eating it with forks.  Mom has been making wonderful red lentil flatbread that we knew was amazing for burritos, but now we know it can substitute for injera, also! 

Again, though this stew is great on its own, I like to make it with my second-favorite Ethiopian dish -- gomen.  It's easy to make.  Double the seasoning mixture and put half with your split peas and half with chopped and cooked greens.  I love it with collards, but spinach works, too.  You can start with fresh or frozen.

I should mention that I love making green split pea soup, but I find yellow split peas much more temperamental.  I always either scorch the bottom or boil over.  This time, my first try making them on an electric stove top, I managed to do both.  Be watchful.  Also, I've said it before, but it bears repeating.  Slice your ginger against the grain first, then mince it with the grain.  If you go with the grain first, you won't be able to mince it small enough.

Kik alicha with collard gomen on red lentil flatbread.

You can see in this picture how thick this stew is. 
It should be almost a porridge consistency.
The black flecks are the nigella sativa seeds.

Kik Alicha

1 pound dry yellow split peas, rinsed
6+ cups water
1/2 onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 inch ginger, minced
1/4 tsp turmeric
pinch black pepper
1/4 tsp nigella sativa (black cumin seeds), optional
1/4 tsp ajwain, optional
miso to taste

1. Put yellow split peas and water in a large stock pot.  Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.  Keep an eye on them and add water as needed.  Let simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours until tender to mushy.
2. In skillet, saute all seasoning ingredients in water.  Let cook down until soft and mushy.
3. Mix seasonings with split peas.  Taste for seasonings and add miso as desired.

Makes 4-6 servings.