For me right now it’s either noodles with random veggies, tofu and a spicy sauce. Simple, easy to make and cheap. But really nutritious.
Or it’s classic Dutch kale stamp:
But with a veggie sausage as I don’t eat meat. It’s potatoes, kale, sausage and piccalilly sauce (sweet sauce made of pickles). It’s a great meal before or after a heavy workout and it’s very healthy. And great on a cold fall or winter day.
I have been perfecting my chili recipe as I was invited to a big chili cookoff by my sister and I plan to kick everyone’s ass but who knows. I make like 4-5 gallons (16-20 litres) at a time and then freeze it in bowls and eat it over the course of a few weeks.
I use smoked roast for the meat that I then cube up and finish in a crock pot. This way when the meat shreds after half a day in the slow cooker it’s not huge strands that’s harder to scoop. Then I saute some onion, celery, and paprikas. Use lots of dices tomatoes, blended tomatoes, and tomato paste. Add all that into the pot with the meat and some extra beef stock. Then I add like 1.5-2 gallons of beans. I ferment the beans for 2+ weeks beforehand. Currently I use a mic of black beans, kidney beans, and some small red beans. Next batch I’m using pinto beans and black beans me thinks. Maybe some kidney beans too. I got like 3 quarts of pintos fermenting in a gallon jar. Then half gallons of black and kidney beans. Then I have my spice mix that I won’t share but it’s not exactly some crazy proprietary blend. I’m just to lazy to go look it up but it’s not pre mixed. I make it myself from the pure spices.
It’s some of the best damn chili I’ve ever had though. Last time I used some home made tomato paste and blended tomatoes that were also home grown. Last year I grew a ton of them and then fermented them and then made paste from some and the others I blended and froze. I’m big on lacto fermented stuff. lol
Combined with your soap making stories I always picture you living in a house with just big pots in it, with always something cooking lmao, like some mad scientist looking for a world changing discovery.
So actually… This is incredibly accurate. We have 3, 3.5, 5, and 7.5 gallon stock pots. Those are just big bois. We also have smaller pots too. And also my “old faithful” cast iron skillet I restored from literally a pile of rust. As in there was no untrusted metal on this pan when I bought it for $4 at a yard sale. Anyway back to pots. The 5 and 7.5 I got this last Xmas. The 7.5 gallon pot is actually bigger than my pressure canner that can fit like 7 quart jars in it at a time. I also have a huge metal stirring spoon that’s like 2ft long and would make Stalin proud. Also I have a portable burner and make stews and chili’s outside during the summer because heating a huge pot inside just wastes power because I’m now air conditioning a house while also hearing a pot of steaming liquid for hours… I’m kind of hard core about my stews, soups, and stocks. Lmao
Also slow cookers. We have 2 big ones and 3 more of smaller varieties. Half of them were gifts over the years. Like over a decade old in a few cases. At least 80% of the food I eat is cooked in a pot or a slow cooker at some stage in its life.
There’s just something pleasing about it. It’s like… The ideal meal. Make one big ass pot of this stuff then… Heat it up and bam full meal with minimal work. And like they always taste good and can adjust to whatever diet. Keto? Make keto stews. Vegan? Make vegan stews. Vegetarian? Make vegetarian stews. Not any of those? Make stew stew. Also gotta think outside the box. I have added sauerkraut (homemade) to stews to add an acid note and also some more crunch/texture. I’m sure this isn’t a new thing but you don’t see it often. At least not here. Also turnips and radishes as sorely underestimated in stews. They soak up the flavors far better than potatoes and hold their texture better over long cooks. Also are way lower on the carb list of you going lower carb/higher fibre. I prefer them to potatoes imo.
Amazing, really. Sounds incredibly fun to witness.
Thanks for the turnip tip, I’ll try it one day.