Category: Food

This was an experiment. I called it Krakatau because I had been reading Simon Winchester’s book about the eruption and explosion of Krakatoa a few days before I made this. I used the Dutch spelling. In spite of volcanic connotations, it is mildly spiced. I used red kidney beans, corn, beef chuck. I used dried beans which calls for extra preparation. I did not use a prepared chili powder. This recipe filled the pot, and will make enough for 8-10 people.

The first step is the beans. You can use one 28 oz (796 ml.) can of red kidney beans and one smaller can, rinsed and drained (two large cans would be too much).

The right amount of dried beans would be about one and half cups of dried beans.I have found that recipes that call for using dried beans in chilies in a crockpot don’t generally work. Even if you soak the beans first, the recipe will not work. Recipes that call for long cooking times may work, but with garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and some larger beans, especially kidney beans, even a long soaking isn’t enough. The beans should be partially cooked before the other ingredients go in. That why most crockpot chili recipes use canned beans.

I soaked the beans for about 12 hours. I changed the water a couple of times. I cooked the beans, covered in water, in the slow cooker for about 2 hours on high, which wasn’t enough. Next time I will try about 4-6 hours. Cooking dried beans isn’t hard, and the process is less convenient that using canned beans. I thought this would work if I got up early and cooked the beans while I had coffee and read for a few hours. I think it would have worked if I had cooked the beans longer before I moved on to next steps.

I removed the beans with a slotted spoon and emptied the fluid from the bottom of the crockpot. I rinsed the beans and put them back into the pot, still hot. I did not rinse the crockpot because it was hot and I did not want to risk cracking it – which is what will happen if you rinse a hot clay dish or pour a cool or lukewarm liquid into a hot crock. I let the liner cool off for a while before putting the beans back.

There is a meat and vegetable preparation stage. You can do this while the beans are cooking. I used a chuck steak, about 600 grams (one and a half pounds) but into fine pieces, trimming fat and sinew as I went. I used a red bell pepper and half a green bell pepper, seeded, rinsed, cut into small pieces. I used one onion, chopped fine, and one celery rib cut and chopped. I would add another onion. I used two jalapeno peppers, seeded, rinsed and diced fine – almost minced. I used about 5 cloves of garlic, minced.

Watch out for the jalapenos. Mincing them gets juicy and you might want to wear disposable rubber gloves. Pepper oil can get into the grain of your skin and doesn’t wash off that well.

When the beans have been pre-cooked and the meat and veggies are ready, it all goes together with tomatoes, corn and spices. Because of my concern about adding cool things, I took a extra care at this step. I heated the contents of a large (28 oz) can of crushed tomatoes in the microwave and stirred it into the beans. I added 2 cups of kernel corn. I used canned corn, which tends to come in 11 or 12 oz cans. You can use both cans, or you can use one can, or open the second can to get two cups and use the extra for something else (I like to stir it into salsa). Frozen corn would work instead, but heat it before adding it if the pot is already hot. I added the meat and fresh veggies after the tomatoes and corn. I just put them on top, and added the spices.

Spices – you could use from a teaspoon to tablespoon of commercial chili powder and add oregano, cumin, sage and cayenne to taste. A commercial chili powder is based on paprika, some ground chilis, and a little cumin and oregano. Many recipes call for extra spice. I didn’t have any chili powder and I improvised: one teaspoon of paprika, half teaspoon ground sage, half teaspoon ground cumin, half teaspoon dried oregano, quarter teaspoon cayenne. I had some dried chili peppers and I ground up a couple in a mortar and threw that in too. The result is custom chili powder. This was a mild mix.

I like to put in a shot of tequilla. I stirred it a lot to distribute the spices. This starts as sticky, dry mixture but gains fluid as the beans and vegetables cook. It should cook for about 8 hours to cook the meat. I needed to cook it longer to deal with the beans, but the answer for that is canned beans or longer preparation of dried beans.

Taking a break from my medical reminiscences, more recipes. Last Saturday, I made a gumbo with chicken, sausage and shrimp in my crockpot, which cooked while I skied. That’s one of the advantages of a crockpot for the way I live. I can spend some time on the food processing early in the day, turn on the pot, and have dinner ready after several hours away skiing or cycling.

Continue reading “January Gumbo – Crockpot”

This is another dish I made for my family’s pot-luck Christmas dinner. I had also made it for company in October. It’s basically green beans, but with a nice spicy bite. The spice may not please some guests. This recipe made enough to serve a good helping to most of about 25 guests.

I used frozen French cut beans, about two-thirds of a one kilogram bag. If you are cooking for a smaller party, or for family, there will left overs. If you make a half recipe, you may want to find another use for part of a can of diced tomatoes and half an onion.

Erik Dalmijn, my cousin from Holland and his wife Rite had given us a couple recipes which called for some herb and spice packets that I couldn’t find at the Dutch specialty store in East Kildonan. I searched the Web for options. There is a recipe on the Web – actually three or four versions of the same basic recipe under the name of Sambal Boontjes or Sambal Goreng Boontjes or Sambal Goreng Buncis. (Boontjes would a correct Dutch usage – a diminutive of beans). They all call for a one liter can of French cut beans. That’s not a common item in a Canadian grocery store; frozen beans worked fine. There are other some other versions, but this one is simple and fast, and it does not call for more than a couple of specialty ingredients.
A few ingredients may be obscure, but I think they are available in larger supermarkets. Some of the Westfair Superstores in Winnipeg are pretty good with ingredients for Oriental, Indonesian and Philippine cooking. You can use Laos powder, also called Galangal powder. That’s basically an aromatic ginger; regular powdered ginger will do. You need Sambal Oelek which is a wet paste made of crushed chili peppers. It’s essentially an Indonesian version, and there there are equivalents in Chinese and Indochinese cuisine. It’s wet and it’s crushed rather than pureed or ground. The recipe also calls for Kecap Manis (also sold as Kecap Sambal Manis) which is a sweet soy sauce. Regular soy will do.

Start with onion and garlic. One medium onion for the full recipe, diced. Two or three cloves of garlic, crushed. Fry the onion and garlic in cooking oil of choice in a skillet or wok. Use about 2 tablespoons of oil. I would turn the heat down after the oil is hot and sauté slowly. Turn the heat down before the next step.

Add 1 teaspoon of Laos or ginger, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and one tablespoon of Sambal Oelek to the onions and garlic in the skillet. The sugar will carmelize and things will burn if you aren’t careful. This only needs to be fried for about a minute. Then add a can (14 oz) of diced tomatoes, stir to blend and bring mixture to a boil. If you are not keen on hot spice, cut down on the Sambal.

After the sauce is boiling, add 3 tablespoons of Kecap Manis, and add beans. The sauce will flavour anywhere from half a kilogram to three quarters of kilogram of beans. Heat the beans thoroughly, and it’s ready to serve.

This is tasty. I made it for my family’s pot luck Christmas dinner. Leeks are a popular ingredient in many Dutch and Dutch-Indonesian dishes and apparently in some Scots dishes, but they don’t seem to be called for in too many recipes. The name also provides endless amusement for plumbers and beer drinkers.
Cooking leeks means a trip to a store with a big produce section, because the local Safeway may not have them. I have also noticed that the size of leeks varies. I found some monsters when I was cooking for company in October. I think the typical recipe assumes a more modest leek.

Continue reading “Buttered Leeks”

This is a crockpot recipe, adapted from a recipe for Mongolian mixed meat stew. I made it a few weeks ago. It’s tasty, meaty, but not greasy. Once again, Claire suggested the title. She asked me if Mongolian stew had camel. I’m not sure what makes this recipe Mongolian.

Continue reading “Camel Stew”

In the course of making a crockpot jambalaya, I wondered if I should add file powder. I searched gumbo file and jambalaya and found the basic definitions and several recipe sites. Both dishes are classified as cajun or creole recipes within Southern US and Caribbean recipe classifications.

Continue reading “Cajun Recipes”

No dogs are harmed in making this chili. It uses pork, and it’s based on a recipe in one of Mable Hoffman’s books, called Black and White chili because it uses black and white beans. The basic recipe is kind of bland and I have adapted it. Claire asked about Dalmations when I mentioned it. It has a bit of heat, but is basically mild. Very tasty though.
It’s a crockpot recipe and would have to be adapted for stovetop cooking. It uses canned beans, which is simpler than soaking and cooking dried beans. There is some processing at the beginning, and then it cooks at the low heat setting for 6 hours.

Continue reading “Dalmation Chili, v. 1.0, Crockpot”

There is a meadowlark on the Beaudry Park sign. I made this chili after deciding not to paddle in the early winter ice floes on the Assiniboine River on sunny, windy day in November. I started with someone else’s recipe, but I changed so much that I can report this as my own experiment that turned out well. I would change a few things so don’t follow each step unless you have read through to the end. On the question of spices, you may want it hotter or less spicy.

I made it in a 5 quart dutch oven. It is heavy on the tomatoes, light on the beans, spiced for flavour rather than for raw burning power. The quantities filled the pot. I was cooking with a view to freezing some for quick meals later. I served Claire (not yet a vegan) and myself and had enough leftovers to fill 4 25 oz (750 ml) plastic containers. I would say this should be enough, with chips and bread on the side, to make 8-10 hearty servings or perhaps a dozen smaller servings.

I used:

• 2 large onions,
• 1 large red bell pepper,
• 1 large green bell pepper,
• 2 jalapeno peppers,
• 6 medium-large cloves of garlic.

I chopped the onion and the bell peppers into smallish pieces – under an inch. I think I could have cut the onions and bell peppers smaller, down to chunks the size of kidney beans, but the idea is to make the pieces small, not necessarily to dice it fine. I minced the garlic and chopped the jalapeno peppers finely.

I heated some canola oil in the dutch oven and began to sauté the fresh vegetables. I gave it a couple of minutes before adding the meat. I used:
1 pound (400 grams) of ground pork, and 1 pound (400 grams) of lean ground beef. I had to stir this a lot to get all the meat down on the bottom, and to keep breaking up the meat into smaller chunks. After the meat was browned and broken up, and onions were soft. I deglazed with most of a can of beer, and added two 28 ounce cans of diced tomatoes. I added spices and flavour ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons store-bought chili powder
• a shot of tequila;
• 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper;
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cayenne
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce;

I simmered for about 45 minutes – before adding beans. I added a 28 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained, and kept simmering until I had reduced the liquid down to a thick soup. I added a cup or a cup and half of fresh mushrooms washed and sliced.

I served it with grated cheese, tortilla chips and some bread to sop up the juices.

I found this to be juicy , and it needed a long time simmering to reduce the liquid. I would probably do a couple things differently. I think a can of beer – about a cup and a half was too much, and I would use a little less than a cup. The diced tomatoes have a lot of juice. Two cans made about 7 cups. I might use one large can, or one large and one smaller (the 12 or 14 oz size. I might use two cans whole tomatoes and chop them by hand, or fresh tomatoes – maybe 4 cups. I think I could use a medium can of tomato sauce instead of one of the cans of diced tomatoes. I think it needs to be juicy at the beginning.

I would use more beans. I would probably add a 24 or 28 oz can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained, at the same stage I added the black beans. I think the mushrooms were optional. I could use less, especially if there were more beans. They don’t need to cook that long so they can go in much later than the rest of the ingrediants.