Summertime means okra...and tomatoes, of course

Summertime means many things to many people. For me it means a little break from the regular craziness of life, lazier mornings, lemon meringue pie, heirloom tomatoes and other gloriously fresh vegetables...like okra! Being from Southeast Texas, cajun foods were as much a part of growing up as Mexican/Tex Mex and Southern specialties. One of my favorites, any time of year, but especially in the summer, is okra and tomatoes. This is a great staple to have in your repertoire and makes an amazing side dish or a filling sumptuous dinner. (Last night we ate it like a stew over steamed rice.) (PS...if you've read this far, there's a HUGE secret I'm going to share in this recipe....read on....)

Now, all this talk of fresh vegetables is great, but I do have to complain about the okra this year. It's terrible here in Ohio. I passed on offerings at the West Side Market and the generic grocery store and opted for frozen okra this time around. Frozen vegetables add convenience to any meal and when you throw in fresh market finds with them, it's very hard to tell the difference.

If you live in an area where the okra is a beautiful bright green and nice and firm, not shriveled up and all brown, try making it fresh and see if, after you've prepped the okras, you don't wish you hadn't just used the frozen in the first place. The main problem that most people have with okra is the slimy texture that occurs when it is cooked. You can eliminate this sliminess if you prep the fresh okra by slicing and blanching (boil in salted water for 3-4 minutes and submerge into an ice water bath to stop the cooking). Your slime will be left behind in the water. You can also spread your slices on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake the okra at 325degrees for 10-12 minutes. This will slightly dehydrate your okra and prevent it from sliming up on you. Of course, if you want to forgoe all of that, you can just buy frozen like I did a few days ago.

Your basic okra and tomatoes is just that with a blend of trinity and a few choice seasonings. When I make this dish, I try to use as much color as possible: red onion and gold bell pepper for instance. The intensity of flavors comes right out with the acidity of the tomato and the dish just looks that much more attractive. Many add meat to their okra and tomatoes such as andouille or any smoked sausage. If you have access to tasso (a beef roast seasoned with cajun spices, smoked down to about 1/4 its original weight to intensify flavors), it would make a great base starter, but the secret I share below adds as much flavor and keeps your dish vegetarian.

OKRA AND TOMATOES!

STEP 1:

• 1-2 T cooking oil (I like canola...EVOO works just as well)
• 2-4 T tomato paste (about half a can...and here's a huge secret to my flavor base that adds an exceptional layer to ANY sauce...especially tomato based sauces)
• In a medium to large saucepot (with lid) bring the oil up to a medium high heat. Add your tomato paste, being very careful of the hot oil, and whisk it around. Leave it alone and you're going to almost let it burn to the bottom of the pot. I can't tell you how long to cook it exactly because your pot and heat source are going to vary from mine, but you want the paste to darken in color and start to break down. You'll also find an AMAZINGLY GLORIOUS smell coming from the kitchen. If you go too far with it, you will start to get a slightly burning smell. It's just before THAT POINT that you want to drop your heat to a medium-low.
• THIS SECRET IS GOOD FOR ANY TOMATO BASED SAUCE. IT WILL ADD DEPTH AND ENORMOUS FLAVOR.

STEP 2:

• 1 medium red onion (diced)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic (diced)
• 2-3 ribs of celery (finely diced)
• 1 large yellow bell pepper (coarsely chopped)
• Add the onions to the tomato paste base and mix well, stirring up all the beautiful color and flavor. Give the onions 2-3 minutes to cook down, and add your garlic. Cook until the garlic just starts to smell aromatic (about a minute). Add the celery and bell pepper together. Stir together and season with about 1T of your favorite seasoning blend. (I prefer TexJoy: low sodium/no MSG). Allow the blend of vegetables to cook for 3-5 minutes and while they are cooking....
• Coarsely chop up a large red tomato. This is a great use of tomatoes that have become a little soft and over-ripe. Add this tomato to your pot. If you have several large tomatoes to use and they have a great intense flavor with a summer sweetness, keep chopping and adding until you've balanced your pot equally with tomatoes and trinity. If you don't have the fresh tomatoes, the canned ones work just as well. I usually use one large can of diced tomatoes. (You'll have the option with the canned tomatoes of selecting chopped with assorted herbs, onions, etc. Use whatever you think is going to work best for you. This past week I used chopped tomatoes with peppers/onions/basil already chopped in. It adds another layer of flavor and you have the chunks of fresh tomato to help brighten the intensity of the flavor.)
• Allow these flavors to blend and come together for 5-7 minutes.

STEP 3:

• Add your okra. In a 5 quart pot I use 2 pounds (or 2, 16 oz bags of frozen okra)
• Stir well to blend everything together. Cover and drop to a low heat. You want things to simmer together over the coarse of an hour or so and you want them to simmer slowly. If you give it too much heat, things will begin to stick to the bottom of your pot and you'll end up burning everything. (Good thing to note when reheating this dish, too...heat low and slow.) If you should accidentally burn the okra and tomatoes you have two options: You can try to placate your guests with biscuits and liquor to kill the burned flavor, or you can lie and tell them it's "blackened 'cause it's cajun" and that it's supposed to taste slightly burned, but trust me and try not to burn it in the first place.
• Allow the pot to simmer over low heat for an hour or longer. With a dish like this you can walk away and let it get better with time. Visit it occasionally to stir and savor the beautiful smells coming from the pot.

A successful pot of okra and tomatoes is rich and satisfying! Try it over steamed rice with a big chunk of cornbread or as a side to any meat dish. It has the intesity to stand up to beef and a brightness that will add flavor to fish and chicken. Just make sure you have biscuits to sop up all the goodness that's left on the plate!

May your eats be delicious and your dining divine!!

Ashley...XOXO

Chili...Texas Style...at least in my part of Texas

TEXAS CHILI!! Great to warm you up and keep you thinking of home and all the ones you love during the long winter months, but absolutely IMPERATIVE for hot dog weather. Summer is upon us and I will usually have a pot of chili in the fridge ready to go at a moment's notice. Last night we enjoyed it with spaghetti (Cincinatti style...this picture isn't a great representation but it was pretty good.)

Now, why chili on the first blog?? I've given my first post lots of thought. This post is dedicated to a couple of things: first, my heart really does belong to Texas and the food of Texas; secondly, this first post is dedicated to my eldest niece Abigail who is venturing out on her own for the first time in her life. Abi, who just moved into new apartment, is not the cook in the family. She once called her mother because she was trying to boil water and was afraid she had burned it. With the fear that she would starve first and foremost, or even worse, burn down her new apartment, we discussed that she needed to learn how to cook SOMETHING and that chili was a great staple to have in one's repertoire. A pot of chili can be thrown together in little time with great results, and usually with things you have on hand. It's a great way to get rid of leftovers, and as Michael will tell you, I HATE LEFTOVERS! I've also never really written down the actual recipe I use for chili so I thought it was a good way to take care of that, too.

Two big questions arise in the arena of chili: how thick do you like it? and do you add beans? As I enjoy mine topping hot dogs, brats, and Fritos I like it very thick, full of flavor and YES, I like to add beans. I usually add 3-5 different beans depending on what I have on hand and how much room there is in the pot.

The basics begin with your meat. I love to use leftover anything to base my chili. The end cut of a slow roasted brisket, shredded pork, chicken... you name it. Ground beef is a good basic and a staple that most people have in the freezer. I recommend an 80/20 mix for flavor. I do have to say of all the pots of chili I have made, the end cut of a brisket with whatever leftovers there might be shredded with it has made for a delicious blend of flavors.

To your base meat goes the trinity (basic blend of chopped onion, celery and bell pepper), a couple cans of beans, canned tomatoes and a blend of seasonings or dry rub heavy on the chili powder. That's about it. Here, for Abi and all of you, a basic and very simple chili.

TEXAS STYLE CHILI...at least from my kitchen....

• 1/2 - 1 pound ground or shredded meat...any meat you choose, as noted above
• 1 medium onion, finely diced...cheap yellow or white onion unless you need to impress someone, then you can use red
• 1 - 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced (or 2 teaspoons of garlic powder)
• 2 - 3 ribs of celery, finely diced
• 1 medium green bell pepper, finely diced
• 4 - 6 cans of assorted beans, I usually use 2 of each black and pinto, and 1 each of light and dark red kidney beans
• 1 large (28 oz) can of tomatoes in any form but crushed is the easiest and least amount of work...the others need to be chopped up or pureed in a blender
• 4 - 6 T chili powder (you'll add this over the course of making the chili to flavor every element you add)
• 2 - 4 T cumin, add more if you like the flavor
• course salt to taste (to your taste that is)
• 2 - 4 T cayenne pepper (depending on how much heat you enjoy)
• Speaking of heat, a chopped jalapeno can be added if you have one, or any peppers for that matter
• I usually keep an open beer on hand for deglazing the pan and breaking up your ground meat if you're using fresh but this is completely optional

Your chili pot should be larger than you expect. I use a 5 quart dutch oven and get very close to being in real trouble when I've got all my ingredients added. It does, and should, cook down, but always go bigger when you're starting out. You can always transfer to a smaller pot!

If your meat is cooked, you just need to finely dice or chop it, or shred it for a great texture. If your meat is not cooked, follow this next step. Place your ground meat in a small bowl and cover with about half a bottle of beer. This will help you break up the lumps of ground beef. Heat a tablespoon or so of cooking oil in your chili pot at a medium to low-medium heat. You just want it to cover the bottom of your pot and we're just trying to cook the meat off a bit. Add your ground beef to the pot (beer and all if you used the beer) and season immediately with a healthy pinch of salt, 2 T of the chili powder and about 1 T of the cumin. Adding the seasoning now really gets it cooked into the meat. Cook until your meat is lightly browned and your beer is cooked off. If you are a meticulous cook, at this point you can remove the meat and strain the grease out of your pot. I'm a lazy cook so I just leave everything in the pot. And for heaven's sake, leave the grease...all that fat adds beautiful flavor and prevents you from adding more oil later on.

Add your onion cooking 1-2 minutes until "translucent" (or until they really start to smell good). Follow up with the celery (2 minutes or so) and finally the bell pepper. This would be when I would add any other peppers you might want to throw into the mix. Season the vegetables with salt, chili powder and cumin and let them come together. If things start to stick a little, add a couple of tablespoons of the beer, if you haven't drunk it by now.

SIDE NOTE: If you're using the raw meat and cooking it in the pot, add your trinity SECOND. If you're using meat that's already cooked and shredded up, cook your trinity FIRST. This gets everyone on board going at the same pace so you don't dry out your beautiful shredded brisket. Once you've added your pre-cooked meat, allow it to heat through and bring everything up to temperature.

Drop your heat to a low-medium at this point and add your beans. If you've got lots of time to let the chili cook down, or if you prefer your chili a little looser, only drain and rinse half the beans you're using. To speed things up, I usually drain and rinse all the beans. You can add whichever beans you like. I find the blend of pintos, black, and double colored kidneys adds a nice colorful palette and texture. SIDE NOTE ON THE CANNED BEANS: if you store them upside down and open them from the bottom, it's easier to get the cans clean for recycling...just something I've learned over time. SEASON THE BEANS BEFORE YOU STIR THEM IN!!! Healthy pinch of salt, 2-3 T of your chili powder, cumin. Slowly stir them into the mix.

If using crushed tomatoes, you can add them into the pot at this time. If your tomatoes are whole stewed, peeled, etc., give them a rough chop before you add them, or throw them into a blender and puree until smooth. Pour your tomatoes in and, once again, season before you stir them in. Salt, remaining 2 T of chili powder, remaining cumin.

Bring all of this up to a medium low heat. You just want a slight simmer. If you bring your heat up too quickly, your beans will stick to the bottom of your pot and you will burn everything. This is also important to remember when you're re-heating. When you've got everything up to temperature together and are stirring frequently, drop your heat to a low simmer and vent your lid. Your chili is now together and just needs to sit and cook down for an hour or so. If it feels a little thick, thin it out with your choice of liquids: more beer, water, stock. Add any liquids sparingly a little at a time. The elements of your chili are going to keep releasing liquid as you cook them.

Once you've cooked to a consistency that you enjoy, serve on top of hot dogs, brats, rice, spaghetti, or just in a big bowl. We traditionally ate this with long grain white rice, shredded cheddar and crackers. A note on re-heating: SLOWLY is the best way. If you only need one or two servings, you can re-heat in a smaller pan to speed up the process.

If any of you have tips that make your chili especially delicious, or if anyone tries this recipe, please post and let us all know! Since this recipe has gone a little longer than I anticipated, I'll close for now. Keep an eye out for updates though! I'm going to post the spaghetti chili from Friday night soon!!

May your eats be delicious and your dinners be divine...

Ashley