taste of fall: hearty chili and corn bread

Hearty Chili and Corn Bread

I love chili in the Fall. I find myself making it once a week. It's especially hearty with a hunk of corn bread in the middle... all slathered with butter. 

You can adjust the heat. I will sometimes add a little more red pepper flakes when I want to feel the heat. You can add less for children who might be a bit more heat sensitive.

Enjoy!  

Chili Ingredients:

1 pound dried kidney beans, soaked, cooked

1 pound grass-fed ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

6 cups beef stock

1 28 oz can organic fire roasted tomatoes, diced

1 TBSP chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Prepare beans as directed. Make sure they are soaked in filtered water for 18-24 hours to help neutralize phytates. Drain water and cook.

In a large stock pot, cook beef and onion together. Add celery and garlic, sautée for 3-4 minutes.

Add spices, stir well.

Add tomatoes and stock.

Bring to a boil and then simmer with the lid on for at least an hour. I let mine simmer for several hours before serving so that the spices incorporate nicely into the stock for that rich flavor.

Corn Bread Ingredients:

2 cups cornmeal (use organic to minimize GMO exposure)

¼ cup whole wheat flour 

1 TBSP sucanat

½ TBSP baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp baking soda

2 eggs

1 cup milk (I like to use coconut milk)

½ cup coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Grease an 8x8 baking dish with butter or coconut oil and set aside.

In large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. 

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk and oil. 

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just moistened.

Pour into baking dish. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

taste of fall: cream of mushroom soup

Cream of Mushroom Soup

So, you need to head over to Frugality and Crunchiness with Christy to find out the details of this fabulous Cream of Mushroom Soup. We made it for lunch this afternoon, and let me tell you, it was a hit!
We substituted the wheat flour/corn starch for Arrowroot to thicken it, and I added a smidge of nutmeg because I love nutmeg in cream soups. Other than that, we made it the same. Now, there are no more excuses to buy that canned cream soup full of additives when you have this nourishing recipe to base them off of!

beef stock

If you want to read about the nutritional and healing aspects of stock, here's a good place to start.

This recipe is taken directly from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions - a must read for anyone learning about traditional food preparation.

Beef Stock

about 4 pounds beef marrow and knuckle bones
1 calves foot, cut into pieces (optional)
3 pounds meaty rib or neck bones
4 or more quarts cold filtered water
1/2 cup vinegar
3 onions, coarsely chopped
3 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
several sprigs of fresh thyme, tied together
1 teaspoon dried green peppercorns, crushed
l bunch parsley

Place the knuckle and marrow bones and optional calves foot in a very large pot with vinegar and cover with water. Let stand for one hour. Meanwhile, place the meaty bones in a roasting pan and brown at 350 degrees in the oven. When well browned, add to the pot along with the vegetables. Pour the fat out of the roasting pan, add cold water to the pan, set over a high flame and bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen up coagulated juices. Add this liquid to the pot. Add additional water, if necessary, to cover the bones; but the liquid should come no higher than within one inch of the rim of the pot, as the volume expands slightly during cooking. Bring to a boil. A large amount of scum will come to the top, and it is important to remove this with a spoon. After you have skimmed, reduce heat and add the thyme and crushed peppercorns.

Simmered for 36 hours

Simmer stock for at least 12 and as long as 72 hours. Just before finishing, add the parsley and simmer another 10 minutes. You will now have a pot of rather repulsive-looking brown liquid containing globs of gelatinous and fatty material. It doesn't even smell particularly good. But don't despair. 

After straining you will have a delicious and nourishing clear broth that forms the basis for many other recipes.

Freshly strained leftovers for the dog!

Remove bones with tongs or a slotted spoon. Strain the stock into a large bowl. Let cool in the refrigerator and remove the congealed fat that rises to the top. Transfer to smaller containers and to the freezer for long-term storage.

Your end result: Stock! (the fat has not been skimmed yet in this photo) 

I use the left-over fat for other recipes. It can be frozen easily. I then pull the meat off the bones (it falls off) and give that to our lucky dog! She's small so there is enough meat to cover several days of feeding.

chicken stock

If you want to read about the nutritional and healing aspects of stock, here's a good place to start.


This recipe is taken directly from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions - a must read for anyone learning about traditional food preparation.

Chicken Stock

1 whole free-range chicken or 2 to 3 pounds of bony chicken parts, such as necks, backs, breastbones and wings*
gizzards from one chicken (optional)
2-4 chicken feet (optional)
4 quarts cold filtered water
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
1 bunch parsley

Stew Hen

*Note: Farm-raised, free-range chickens give the best results. Many battery-raised chickens will not produce stock that gels.

Chicken feet

If you are using a whole chicken, cut off the wings and remove the neck, fat glands and the gizzards from the cavity. Cut chicken parts into several pieces. (If you are using a whole chicken, remove the neck and wings and cut them into several pieces.) 

Sitting in filtered water with vinegar for 1 hour

Place chicken or chicken pieces in a large stainless steel pot with water, vinegar and all vegetables except parsley. Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour. Bring to a boil, and remove scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6 to 8 hours. The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavorful it will be. About 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add parsley. This will impart additional mineral ions to the broth.

Remove whole chicken or pieces with a slotted spoon. If you are using a whole chicken, let cool and remove chicken meat from the carcass. Reserve for other uses, such as chicken salads, enchiladas, sandwiches or curries. Strain the stock into a large bowl and reserve in your refrigerator until the fat rises to the top and congeals. Skim off this fat and reserve the stock in covered containers in your refrigerator or freezer.

taste of fall: nourishing squash soup

I'm always looking for ways to get more stocks and broths into my family. I put it in almost everything! Here's a delicious squash soup I make using my homemade chicken stock. It has all the tastes of fall! This is wonderful to eat alongside most any meal all winter long. It also freezes very nicely!

¼ cup butter or coconut oil

½ butternut squash

½ spaghetti squash

3 cloves garlic freshly crushed

1 inch cube of fresh ginger chopped

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp curry powder

½ tsp nutmeg

6 cups homemade chicken stock or broth 

Coconut milk, raw milk cream or cultured sour cream, kefir or Greek style yogurt for garnish.

First, cut spaghetti squash in half length wise. Remove seeds (leave skin on while baking). Place upside down and bake on cookie sheet at 350 for 1 hour.

Next, cut butternut squash in half, remove seeds and skin, cube.

Melt butter inside stockpot and add cubed butternut squash.

Sautee for 10-15 minutes.

Add:

Cooked spaghetti squash half (skin removed)

Garlic cloves

Ginger

Salt

Pepper

Nutmeg

Curry

Chicken Stock

Cook on medium/low for an hour or so, stirring every so often, until butternut squash is soft. Then, use a stick blender and blend until smooth.

Continue simmering the soup on low until you are ready to serve. Sometimes I will let it simmer on the stove top for several hours and it gets nice and thick.

When you are ready to serve, place in bowl and top with your choice of either coconut milk,  Greek-style yogurt, cultured raw milk or cream (kefir) or sour cream along with a dash of nutmeg for garnish.

Out of this world delicious and very nourishing during the winter months.