Cookbook challenge #3

It's been a bit hectic around these parts lately so I haven't been doing much "new" cooking lately. With limited cooking time, I've been reverting back to the tried and true meals.  With that said, however, last weekend I invited dear friends of mine over for supper and tried out a recipe from the cookbook collection on them - Chili con Carne. It was a safe choice, admittedly.



Recipe #3:
Chili con Carne
from Trader Vic's Book of Mexican Cooking, p. 186-187.

2 tbsp oil or bacon fat
1 cup thinly sliced onions
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp of diced green pepper **
1.5 lbs lean ground beef (I used lean ground turkey)
1/2 c boiling water
1 (1 lb) can of tomatoes (I used a 28 oz can, because I didn't want to leave 1/2 a can unused).
1 6oz can of tomato paste
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder mixed to a paste with 1 tsp of flour and 2 tbsp of water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp crushed cumin seed
2 cans (No.300) kidney beans, undrained
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (I think I forgot this last, but very important step when I served up my chili)

Heat the oil in a large heavy kettle and saute onions, garlic and green pepper until tender. Add ground beef and cook, breaking up with fork, until meat is browned. Add remaining ingredients except kidney beans and cheese. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add beans and simmer, uncovered, for another 30 mins. If mixture is too thick, add small amount of beef stock or hot water. Just before serving, top with grated cheese. Makes 8 servings.

** 2 tbsp of green peppers? I chopped up 2 whole green peppers and threw in. I was wondering if maybe Trader Vic might mean jalapeno peppers, not the sweet variety.

Verdict: good, but needed a bit more salt. I don't usually complain if a recipe isn't salty enough - it's easy to add, afterall! Also, doubling the tomatoes and green peppers might have accounted for the need for extra salt.

Hook, Line and Sinker

So I've been meaning to tell you, I learned how to fish awhile ago. September 9th-11th was my second Becoming an Outdoors Woman weekend and I had a fantastic time. It was a busy weekend full of lots fun things, kayaking and geocaching, campfires, good food + fun people, but the highlight of the weekend was fishing. I tried both fly-fishing and trout-fishing for the first time; I learned how to tie a "Micky Finn", assemble a rod, tie a clinch knot, bait a hook (eww!), cast a line, ethically euthanise a fish and clean it (double eww!). 

Trout fishing was my favourite, but that was probably because the trout were biting. Sadly we were fly-fishing on a warm afternoon and the fish didn't seem interested at all. Not one of us caught a fish, though we could see them all lurking around our flies, teasing us. The ponds we fished at were stocked, but I'm guessing that fishing is still something you can't just pick-up in a couple of hours. You need time and patience, the right conditions and the right knack for casting and or baiting your hook.


The thrill of fishing comes when you feel a nibble on the end of your line, and then watch the bobber dip under the surface of the water, at which point (I've learned) you jerk your rod up to set the hook and start to reel in, hoping the fish stays on the line. I caught 3 speckled trout that morning and was more than pleased with myself.

PLUS! I won my own fishing-rod - a girlie fishing rod that's pink with pink line and flashy lights that flicker when you reel in (oh yes, my friends, it's girlie!). Please also take note of the fishing hat I successfully won in the silent auction + all the information and swag we got from our Learn to Fish instructor.  That's one of the best parts about BOW - the instructors! They incredibly enthusiastic and love to pass on their knowledge and skills to anyone interested in learning.

I think next year's cottage vacation will also involve a fishing license.