Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew

With this winter being dominated by blizzards and single digit temperatures, hubby and I have been craving warm and hearty meals to stave off the bitter cold. So we turned to the most hearty items in our pantry; sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and carrots.

Once we made this stew we could not stop eating it. We started making variations and ultimately had this for lunch and/or dinner 5 times in one week. It is so versatile. You could probably make hundreds of variations on this stew and never get tired of it. So get started!

 

In a large pot, heat oil. Saute garlic and onion until soft. Add turmeric, paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and ginger and cook about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add sweet potatoes, carrots, and chickpeas and simmer for 35 minutes. Stir in kale and remover from heat. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve with couscous and garnish with cilantro and greek yogurt.  It's time to eat!

Stone Soup Chili

Every culture has their one pot magic dish. If you aren't familiar with the childrens tale "Stone Soup" I'll quickly fill you in. A young man claims to have a magic stone that makes broth. He puts it into a pot of boiling water and tricks people into adding things to the 'soup' until it becomes a hearty stew. And SHAZAM! You've got stone soup.

In America, our stone soup is chili. This American staple is a mish-mash of everything from beans to ketchup. Chili recipes across the country are as varied as the country itself. The recipe used for American expeditions in the 1800's consisted of dried beef, suet, dried chili peppers and salt, which were pounded together and left to dry into bricks which could then be boiled in pots on the trail.

Nowadays chili is a full fledged industry. Cookoffs and cookbooks revolve around this once low class dish. To honor chili's rise to fame, (and because I promised a friend a vegetarian recipe) today's recipes are Stone Soup Chili and Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Muffins.

You can certainly add ground meat to this recipe as I do from time to time. And every once in a while I throw all kinds of random veggies in there. It is pretty hard to mess up chili, so don't be afraid to get creative.

Stone Soup Chili

Ingredients

15.5 ounce can kidney beans, with juices
15.5 ounce can pink beans, drained (Substitute 1 lb ground turkey or beef if you like.)
28 ounces diced tomatoes
14 ounces tomato sauce
2 cups button mushrooms, quartered
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bell peppers, julienned
1 tbsp cumin
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp adobo sauce*
pinch of cinnamon
1 jalapeno, minced (optional)
shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

*You can purchase adobo chiles in sauce in the 'ethnic food' aisle of most grocery stores.

If you want to make this in a crock pot, simply saute onions, peppers and garlic (and meat if desired) and toss it all in. Cook on High for 4 hours.

Without a crock pot:

In a saute pan, saute onions, garlic and peppers on high heat for only about 3 or 4 minutes. Just enough to quickly carmelize them. In a large pot on medium heat, combine all ingredients except jalapeno and cheese. Stir well. Cover and let simmer for at least 1 hour. The longer you let it simmer, the more intense the flavor.

Garnish with jalapeno and cheddar or - my favorite - a dollop of greek yogurt.

Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup corn
1/2 cup diced jalapenos
3/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk milk, butter and egg. Using a rubber spatula, mix in remaining ingredients except cheese. Gently fold in cheese.

Pour into well greased muffin pan and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

*Don't use paper muffin cups. They will give the muffins a chewy texture and they don't pull away easily.





Ciao Bella! Southern Italian in your kitchen.

When I went to Italy, I probably ate enough food to sustain a small village. But my favorite Italian food experience was visiting a little restaurant in the middle of nowhere. These farm-based restaurants are called Agriturismo - a combination of the words for "agriculture" and "tourism" in Italian.

Starting in the 1950s and continuing through the 1970s, small scale farming in Italy became less profitable, and, as one might predict, farmers abandoned many farms to search for work in larger towns. But Italians value highly the traditions and produce of small scale production of food, and by 1985 a law defined Agriturismo, and many abandoned buildings and estates were restored, some for vacation homes, and many for agritourismo. These agritourismi allowed the small farmer to augment the income from the farm, and for vacationers to sample the bounty of a rural life in Italy.

There is rarely a menu, as they typically serve whatever is pulled from the garden that day. It is the freshest culinary experience I have ever had.

Parmesan Chicken Tartine

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, butterflied
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan
1 egg, beaten
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with chiles
6 ounces tomato paste
1 can (14 ounces) tomato sauce
1 cup fresh basil
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
2 tbsps dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 slices of provolone cheese
1 baguette
5 tbsps olive oil

In a large saucepan, heat 2 tbsps of olive oil. Saute garlic and onion until onion is transparent. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 15 minutes, until tomatoes break down. Add basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer for at least 45 minutes, stirring ocassionally.

In a large skillet, heat 3 tbsps olive oil on medium high heat. In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Dip chicken in egg and then coat with bread crumb mixture. Place chicken in the skillet and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through.

Slice the baguette and toast it in the oven or a toaster oven. Drizzle the bread with olive oil then place chicken on top of the bread and cover with a slice of provolone cheese. Pour hot tomato sauce over the chicken and top with a sprinkle of cheese and a couple pieces of fresh basil.

Mangia!