Category: Dinner

Warming Winter Chili

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Whats better on a cool winter day than a nice hot bowl chili. I am a big believer in comfort food and eating things seasonally. When winter arrives all I want to eat are soups, stews and chili’s. They are filling and keep you warm through the evening.

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Ingredients

  • 4 slices of bacon
  • 600g ground beef
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1/2 jalapeño (whole if you like it spicier)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 28 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 16 oz can of tomato sauce
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 can corn
  • 1-2 cups of water (I honestly just use the can of tomato sauce and add as much water as I think is necessary)
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp chili powder
  • 4 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • pepper to taste
  • juice of 1 lime

Instructions

  1. slice up the bacon. Heat large pot on high heat. Once pan is heated add bacon. allow bacon to cook (about 5 mins). Once bacon is cooked remove from pan.
  2. If the bottom of the pan is dry add a little more olive oil. Add onions and peppers and allow to soften. once softened, add garlic. I like to add the garlic a little later so it doesn’t get burned. Allow to cook for a few more minutes. Until fragrant.
  3. Add the can of tomatoes, the tomato sauce, black beans, corn and water to the mixture. Mix together. Add brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Combine. Bring to a boil, then lower the temperature to medium low and allow to simmer for 1 to 2 hours.
  4. Before you are ready to serve, add the lime juice to the chilli and stir in. Allow to simmer for another 5 mins. Its ready to serve!
  5. Add a little cheese on top and you are ready to eat.

Thai Squash + Sweet Potato Soup

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Soup always feels like a fall or winter sort of meal. It warms the whole house as it stews on the stovetop. As an Edmontonian the spring time isn’t always filled with sunshine and flowers. It’s mostly cool with a usual chance of a snowstorm. So as May was nearing I felt it was important to get a hot soup on the menu.

Soups are amazing because you can create different kinds just by adding whats in the fridge. Jeremie and I had a mishap earlier in the week with some vegetarian enchiladas. The recipe called for squash, sweet potato and other ingredients but as we took our first bite we were troubled to find it was made from inferno chili powder. It was too hot for us. I like to think I can handle some heat but I couldn’t manage to finish the enchiladas. Good news was I have a friend who came by and devoured them for me. He is a spice machine. Long story short… I had squash and sweet potato left over in the fridge. I thought the flavours would pair well with a thai palette. Mostly because I love Thai food.

This recipe is super easy to make and doesn’t take too long. Thats what I love about soup, they are complex with tons of favour but are so simple to make.

lessonsofthyme-thaisoup-6Coconut Rice:

1 can full fat coconut milk
1 cup of water
1 cup of Jasmine Rice

Soup:

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 inch of ginger, grated
2 carrots, diced
1 cup butternut squash, cubed
1 cup sweet potato, cubed
3 1/2 cups of chicken or veggie stock
1 can full fat coconut milk
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp red Thai curry paste
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup cilantro
1 tsp basil (dried) or 1/4 cup fresh basil

Garnish with peanuts, avocado, and cilantro

Instructions:

  1. Wash rice! washing the rice is an important step that should never be skipped. It removes the starchy-ness of the rice and cooks and tastes better. Add coconut milk, water and rice to a medium saucepan, set stove top to medium high heat, cover and allow to come to a boil. Once the rice has boiled I usually like to turn down the temperature as to not burn the bottom or overflow the pot. You can leave this bubbling away for about 20 minutes.
  2. In a large soup pot add coconut oil and allow it to melt. Add onions, garlic, ginger and carrots to the oil and allow to soften. Try not to burn the garlic.
  3. Add the sweet potatoes, squash and chicken stock to the pot and bring to a boil. reduce heat and allow to simmer until tender. about 15 mins
  4. I have a handheld immersion blender so I used that to blend the soup but if you don’t have one of those you can use a blender or food processor. Blend until soup is smooth.
  5. Add coconut milk, peanut butter, curry paste, fish sauce, and lime juice to soup and blend together. Let this simmer for another 5 minutes. Add cilantro and basil and stir.
  6. Laddle the soup into bowls, scoop a bit of rice on top, add a few slices of avacado, and garnish with a few crushed peanuts and fresh cilantro.