Turbo-1's HOT STUFF

turbo

I hesitate to claim medicinal powers for chilies, but anecdotally, since we have had our own garden spot and I've been able to grow my own, I haven't had a cold or flu. I have always loved chilies, but the ones in the store are inconsistent in quality and are VERY expensive. My garden-grown chilies are far tastier and hotter, and when properly processed, I can enjoy them all year long at little cost.

wolram

I think we need to differentiate from a relish to a meal, chili to me is an all in one meal, apart from Turbos method of cooking meat there are no meals in this thread, so how about all in one meals for the chili nut.

turbo

My wife is off her feet for a few weeks to to some surgery so I am doing all the cooking. We just finished up a big batch of soup that I made a few days ago. It's easy to make, and it tastes better the longer it sits in the fridge.

Chop several jalapenos, several cloves of garlic and a large white onion and brown them in peanut oil in a large pot. When they are getting tinges of brown and are leaving a bit of brown residue on the bottom of the pot, stir in 1/2# of ground pork and 1/2# of ground beef and cook that until it's getting browned. Then, dump in a 12 oz can of black beans, including all the juice and a large can of ground Italian tomatoes. Chop a couple of large potatoes and several stalks of celery and add to the pot, along with a bag of frozen whole-kernel corn. Pour in at least 1/4 cup of cheap red wine, and simmer, seasoning to taste. I used salt, pepper, basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, cayenne, and some pretty spicy curry powder. This makes a very thick soup. You can thin it with some liquids if you'd like it thinner.

There's an all-in-one meal for you, Woolie. You can make up a good-sized batch and have a good healthy meal once a day for probably a week.

A critical tip - plan ahead! When you boil potatoes, vegetables, etc, do not throw out the juice - save it to add to soups. Also, when you roast a chicken or turkey, do not throw our the bones. Cut them with poultry shears and boil them. When the liquid cools, discard the bones, and save the little meat scraps, water and fats to add to soups. Part of being a good cook and eating healthy is recognizing how nutrients and flavors are often discarded in the cooking process, and diverting those to future meals.

Math Jeans

I prefer to just fake the pains and use the Capsaicin in food.

wolram

Sorry to hear your wife is ill Turbo, i send my very best wishes for a quick recovery.

wolram

It is a move to the dark side and there can be no rehab for the chili addict, once you have become one of Turbos disciples you doomed to devilishly heavenly food.

turbo

Thanks, Woolie. It's nothing really serious - she had a bunion removed, so the doctor had to break and cut away bone and disturb skin, muscle tissue, etc. She's sitting around with her foot propped up and will not be able to return to work for a month or so until she's healed up. Luckily, I'm a good cook, because all she's getting to eat is stuff that I prepare. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain, so I'll spend part of the day trying to faithfully re-create the spicy soup I described a few posts back, and brining a pork rib roast to cook on Sunday.

She's been raving about that thick spicy soup with the chilies to anyone who will listen - a new favorite has been born. I have to be careful not to invent too many great dishes while she is laid up lest I inherit all the cooking duties.

turbo

"Disciples?" What are we doing here? Running a chili cult?

I must admit that since I have moved to the country with a nice big garden spot, my chili-pepper addiction has rampaged unchecked. The chilies in the supermarkets are often anemic and always expensive, so I had a hard time making hot sauces/relishes that would satisfy me. I have a neighbor who grows wonderful Russian and German garlic varieties, and he gave me enough garlic for all my chili relishes, salsas, etc last summer, and enough to plant a double-wide row of garlic for next summer's crop. In return, I have kept him well-supplied with hot stuff. He has a small greenhouse and a sunny, sheltered deck, and I have lured him back into chili production. He bought his habanero seeds this week and will start them in the house, then move them into the greenhouse when it warms up, so hopefully we will have a much higher yield of ripe habaneros this year. I love the green habanero chili relish, but the stuff made with ripe red chilies has more kick. I have a couple of jars of that left, and I have set one of those aside for the next Astronuc visit. We'll have some hot dogs and cold beer on the back deck.

wolram

I am out shopping today in the big town, i intend to scour it for chili's, i have bought 6 half
pint pickling jars so they are waiting to be filled with some relish, i will be annoyed if i do not come back piled high with fresh chili's.

wolram

What a waste of time, one would think a city like Coventry would have some place to buy fresh chili's but what a poor lot, i have come home with some poxy looking shriveled up habs in cellophane packets, and i bought every one in the store which was only seven packs.
After this huge disappointment me and Kia went to a Mexican cafe, the chili i ordered was
some thing a baby could eat, the guy was kind though, he bought me a side order of chilis for free.
I managed to make 3/4 jar of relish out of my pathetic haul, i just hope i have done it right
as quantities were hard to judge.

turbo

You've got to grow your own, Woolie. Lots of Brits like gardening, so I assume that you could buy one of the tiny greenhouses that I see in the home-improvement places over here. That would help you get the temperatures up to the level that chili peppers seem to prefer. Once you've got your own crops going, you can freeze them, can them as relishes, etc so that you can have chilies year-round. My wife and I had some of the left-over hot soup a little while ago, and she told me that she likes it a lot more than our chili con carne, so I'll have to make the soup instead. That was made with fresh-frozen jalapenoes, so I'll have to make sure to freeze more of this summer's crop to ensure that I've got enough for next year.

wolram

Turbo, how thick should the relish be? mine is quite liquid i thought it would thicken when it cooled but it has not.
By the way i bought a food blender and by heck these Kendod things work great, it only takes seconds to get things minced up and it only cost me £23.

wolram

My chili relish is amazingly good, it so good i am going out to buy hot dogs so that i can pig out on chili dogs, i followed Turbos method as close as i could.

wolram

Hope this shows up ok.

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turbo

Mine comes out with less liquid, Woolie, so you may want to adjust the recipe a bit. There should be "just" enough liquid to cover the solids when you put the stuff in jars. Remember that the relish should be refrigerated at all times. You don't want to get food poisoning. If you have followed proper canning procedures (sterilized jars and lids, processing in boiling water bath to seal lids, etc) you can store the jars at room temperature, but as soon as they are opened, into the fridge they go.

Have fun with the hot dogs. I fry mine in butter and grill the rolls in butter while I am cooking chopped onions. Mmm! Hot dogs with onions, chili relish, and mustard!

wolram

The taste is good, i used smoked garlic, but yes i do need to adjust things a bit.

You fry hot dogs? i thought you were only supposed to boil them.

turbo

Yep. I fry them in a heavy cast-iron frying pan until they get a little browned - they taste much better than boiled hot dogs. I like them cooked on the grill best, but we're still in the clutches of winter, so frying them is a good alternative.