I Call It "Chili" but it Does Not Answer Me

2022-06-13 12:14

No matter what I call it, it's not going to come when I call. The tomato products were all "No Salt Added," though the sodium content was still there - just not as much. I alternated thoughts - Did I add enough tomato sauce? - Should I open a second can of diced tomatoes? - Is there too much liquid, will I need a thickener? Ultimately, I went with what brung me.

As you may be able to tell, the end result is thick enough and with good coverage of all the ingredients. The next concern was heat. Just four tiny chili peppers from my garden (they are hot!) and four medium-sized jalapeño peppers. There was more sweet pepper in the mix than hot. I think I took care of the issue with some generous shakes of habanero powder. Now the fear is whether it'll need to be diluted to be eaten.

Bok Choy is Chinese cabbage. I do not usually add cabbage to chili, but I had a head that desperately needed to be consumed. When I washed it - you have to wash them, they have farm detritus - I threw away a third that was too wilted or discolored to use. When it's fresh, I use everything, even the leaves.

Onions. I used up all the minced garlic I had, caramelizing the garlic, red onions, and Vidalia onions together in extra virgin olive oil, first step of the process. I don't remember the last time I bought red onions. Not in 2021 or 2022 for sure. I've got a baker's dozen green onions in my gardens - I could have harvested a few. But I figured 3/4 pound was enough and the jalapeño peppers took care of the green. Hot peppers, red and green. Sweet peppers, orange. Red tomatoes. Yellow onions (caramelized, anyway). White bok choy. No blue, no purple. The purple super-hots aren't ripe and anyway, they turn red. 6.4 pounds of very colorful chili. I still have leftovers from last week.

Cooking is fun, and easy to endure.

Clean-up sucks.

2022-06-13 13:24 - Next time, chop the bok choy finer than the other ingredients.