Chili

This chili is great on a cool night, on a camp out, or for feeding a crowd.  The black lentils are a great substitute for ground meat. I made it for a soup pot-luck at church once and no one realized that it was meat-free, until I told them. 


Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup dry or 1 (15 oz) can black lentils*
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
10 oz frozen corn
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
3 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp dried basil
2 1/2 cups water*

*Reduce water to 1 1/4 cup if using canned lentils.

If using dry lentils, rinse lentils and remove any tag-alongs from the field (small rocks, etc).  Combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on high (I set it for 300) for about 4 hours.  It can also be cooked on a stove, camp stove or over the fire.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for about an hour for dry lentils or 1/2 hour for canned lentils.  Serve with rice and/or corn bread, guacamole, Bean Queso, etc.

Roasted Corn Salsa

The first time we visited Syracuse, it was to see if it was somewhere we would like to live.  For us, that meant visiting the Central New York Regional Market.  We had to see what was available from the local farms.  One of the trucks at the market was there primarily to promote the market and share a recipe made from what could be found at the market that day.  On the day of our first visit, it was Corn Salsa.  Wow!  It was delicious.  We picked up a copy of the recipe and somehow managed to keep track of it as we traveled home, packed, and moved.  I want to share it here because I think you'll enjoy it as much as we do and I figure it's only a matter of time before I lose the piece of paper with the recipe :-).

Corn Salsa

10 large ears corn, husked
Salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
8 vine-ripened tomatoes, about 1 pound total
1 cup diced red onion, 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup julienne fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Grill corn until light gold all over and cooked, about 12 minutes.  Let cool and cut off the kernels.  Discard the cobs.

Core the tomatoes and cut a small X on the bottom of each.  Place on the grill, X side down, away from direct heat.  Cover the grill and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften, but are not cooked all the way through, about 15 minutes.  Set aside until cool enough to handle, then peel.  Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise and squeeze out the juice.  Reserve the juices and chop the flesh.

Add the chopped tomatoes, reserved tomato juice, onions, basil and red wine vinegar to the corn.  Toss well.  Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt, pepper, and vinegar.

The recipe does call for some extra-virgin olive oil, but we leave it out and don't miss it.  We also thickly slice the red onion and grill it before chopping it and adding it to the salsa.

Serve on tacos/burritos, chips, cucumber chips, bell pepper scoops, etc.  We usually make a double batch and freeze the extra for later use.

Enjoy!

Pasta Sauce

This is a sauce I adapted from Rachel Ray's Tomato-Basil Sauce recipe and the Spaghetti Sauce recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.  To save time and money, I've started making this using the large cans of tomatoes from the local warehouse club (105 oz, I believe).  I just multiply the following recipe by 7.  This results in 20+ 3-cup containers in my freezer.  It's a basic tomato sauce that I add to depending on what is available, what's on sale, or whatever I feel like adding.

Pasta Sauce
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz)
1 cup broth
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
2 teaspoons dried basil (or to taste)
2 teaspoons dried oregano (or to taste)
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or to taste)
2 bay leaves

Saute onion and garlic.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer at least 20 minutes. Serve over pasta.

Adaptable Red Chili Sauce with Tomatoes

This is a very basic, versatile recipe from The Feast of Sante Fe.  We use this to cook chicken and pork.  We also dilute with 3/4-1 cup water and use it as an enchilada sauce.  It's a favorite at our house and I hope it is for you too.

Adaptable Red Chili Sauce with Tomatoes
2 pounds canned whole tomatoes, drained, or 2 cups canned crushed tomatoes packed in tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
4 Tbsp powdered red chili
1/2 small onion, peeled and cut into rough chunks
1/2-1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp oregano
salt and black pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and process until smooth.  Transfer to a saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring once or twice to prevent scorching, and cover the pan.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Use as a marinade, to moisten fillings, or dilute to use for enchiladas.

Personal note:  we didn't add the cayenne when we prepared this in our group.  Even the 1/2 tsp cayenne can make it quite spicy.  Use to taste.