Vegetarian Chili

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I am surprised every time I make this chili. It's remarkably flavorful for something that cooks so quickly and is very easy to make. I pulled this from the freezer for our supper tonight. I made it two weeks ago for a meat heavy barbecue and wanted something to offer those who did not want hot dogs or hamburgers. Actually, I made it for myself because I'm cutting back on red meat, and I so liked the recipe that I doubled the ingredients in order to have leftovers as a meal later on. As it turned out, I didn't have a lot to freeze because the meat eaters topped their hot dogs with my vegetarian chili. I suspect those of you who are avoiding or cutting back on meat will really enjoy this chili. It is well-flavored and filling and it is as simple as pie to make. The recipe was developed by Bill Telepan, a New York chef and restaurateur, and it has appeared in so many publications that I can't determine who first published it. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. You will not be disappointed. Here is how this version of vegetarian chili is made.

A Rib Sticker - My Recipe Rotation - Ham and Navy Bean Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This soup has become a dinner fall-back on busy winter days. I love the way it looks and tastes and it's nutritious to boot. I found the recipe while looking for inexpensive dishes that could be served for meals during the week we participated in the SNAP challenge. While the recipe is written for the slow cooker, it certainly can be prepared stove-top without changing the nature of the dish. You'll find a bowl of this is, quite simply, wonderful. Here are my original thoughts about the soup.

Table for Two - Cannellini Beans Over Garlic Toast

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Do you like a good pot of baked beans? If so, you can count my sister in your ranks. Years ago my brother and I would tease her unmercifully about the baked bean sandwiches she loved to make. I was sure her sandwich was an original creation and equally certain that civilized people didn't make baked bean sandwiches. We are very close in age, as a matter of fact we are Irish twins, so it is probably unnecessary to tell you that as kids we had our own version of yin and yang. I really got on my high horse about the bean sandwiches, which by the way she continued to eat, and it would be years, and an English breakfast, before I realized she was not alone. People around the world really do eat bean sandwiches and in Britain they are an extremely popular breakfast dish. As a matter of fact more cans of baked beans are eaten in Britain than in the rest of the world combined. We are talking millions of cans, not an odd case or two. Now I've never converted to beans for breakfast, but a chance sampling of a bean sandwich made by a French chef in Laos completely cured my aversion to beans on bread. I found the recipe for this open face bean sandwich in Fine Cooking magazine and it is so good that I wanted to share it with those of you who are adventurous eaters and still caught in the throes of winter. I've made substantial changes to their recipe, but you can find the original version here. This is good stick-to-the-ribs food and I know that those of you who try it will be pleased. Here is how the sandwiches are made.

Smoky Tomato and Butterbean Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Our weather has changed rapidly this week and the temperature  this morning was 28 degrees. The Silver Fox and I have committed to the 10,000 step program and we walk first thing every morning, weather be damned. As you can tell, I'm way too proud about this, and given half a chance, I'll tell you more about the program than you would ever care to know. I promise not to do that today, other than to tell you I got my comeuppance this morning. It was brutally cold and I was pretty well bundled, with head and face covered in a hijib-like fashion. When walking into the elements, I keep my eyes on my feet rather than on the path ahead of me. Just before throwing my name in the ring for canonization, I happened to glance up and saw another walker, about my age, coming toward me. That was not unusual as there are lots of us on the trail at that time of day, but what did make the encounter unusual was this walker was using a walker to help her move along the path. To make a long story short, she, too, was a 10,000 stepper and while she instantly deflated my ego, she gained my admiration. It usually takes her 3 hours to complete the walk and she does it everyday, save for those occasions when we have a deluge that makes the path slippery. Now I've been known to say, "I don't know how much longer I can do this." I may have to rethink that.

This was the kind of day that begged for soup or stew. My larder was better stocked for soup, so soup became the order of the day. That decision give me the chance to play with a Spanish-type bean soup that I knew would be warm as well as filling. I had a large ham bone in the fridge and butterbeans (lima beans) in the pantry, so I set about re-creating a soup we had in Spain. I almost nailed it. This is almost, but not quite, like a soup we had for lunch in Seville. It is warm and filling, and if you serve it with fresh bread and a crisp salad you have the makings of a Spanish late-night supper. This recipe works best if you have a really smoky ham bone to work with. If yours needs some help, add a half teaspoon or so of liquid smoke to boost the flavor. What makes this soup Spanish? The paprika of course. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how this cold weather soup is made.

Beans, Biscuits and Bread Part Three - My Favorite Maple Baked Beans

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...A too short, but lovely, visit with our youngest daughter - code name "Butterfly" - combined with the distractions of the Prefontaine Classic have thrown me dreadfully off schedule. Hopefully, I'll soon be back on track - no pun intended - and my posts will again appear as intended. In the meantime, I still have several recipes from my Beans, Biscuits and Bread series sitting in the catch-up queue. The bean recipe I'm featuring today is my personal favorite. It is an Ina Garten recipe and it's appeared in her cookbook The Barefoot Contessa at Home as well as The Stonewall Kitchen Cookbook. These beans are hot and sweet, and while they may not appeal to all tastes, they are delicious. I found the first pot I made to be too sweet, so second time around, I cut the quantities of sugar and syrup in half and found them to be delightful. I replaced the specified kidney beans with small red beans because I prefer the appearance of the smaller bean. The large beans look suspiciously like chili and that was not the look I was going for. I think you'll find these beans to have more liquid than other versions you've made in the past. If that bothers you, simply uncover the beans for the last hour of cooking so the sauce can thicken. Do make sure the beans are tender before you put them in the oven to bake. They won't soften much when they cook at the low temperature this recipe advises. I really like the play of flavors in these beans and I highly recommend them to you. I know you'll enjoy them. Here is how they are made.