Category: life

“It’s a meat process,” they said about Doublemeat Palace on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This, fortunately, is not the recipe from those episodes. It’s even better and more addictive.

Meatballs are great beside pasta dishes and freeze very well. I like to have them on hand for an easy meal at the end of a work day. Just add sides and salad.

I’ll add a photo when I can find it. I know I took one. Hmm.

This recipe makes about 30-ish meatballs, but that varies depending on the size of your balls. (*cough*)

Ingredients

This is a recipe that comes courtesy of Steffani Cameron (@SnarkySteff on Twitter).

Hummus is one of those things that is wonderful to have on the table with almost anything to dip in it — pita, veggies, crackers, or whatever you like. Until Steff revealed this recipe, I had no clue it was so easy. I’d buy the stuff in weeks-old, preserved containers from the grocery store. Now I make it myself every time, and I’ll never go back.

Go ahead and try this one for a healthy alternative to store-bought dips. Take it to a party. Everyone will love it.

Ingredients

• 2 cans (540 mL) chickpeas
• 1/4 to 1/4 cups tahini
• 2 or more cloves fresh, chopped garlic (I use more)
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• Braising liquid from the canned chickpeas
• Salt
• Hot sauce
• Olive oil (optional, as garnish)
• 1 calamata olive (optional, as garnish)
• Sumac (optional, as garnish)

Steps

1. Open the chickpeas and drain the braising liquid they’re pack in into a cup or dish for later.
2. In a mixing bowl, add the chickpeas, tahini, chopped garlic, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, and a liberal dash of hot sauce.
3. With a hand blender or regular blender, purée the ingredients thoroughly, adding splashes of the braising liquid to reach the right consistency. Salt and add hot sauce to taste as you purée.
4. Serve in a small bowl with the kalamata olive, a dash of sumac, and small drizzle of olive oil. I haven’t tried it with sumac, but Steff says it’s good.

Makes exactly one crapton of delicious, spicy chili.

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg lean ground beef
• 1kg ground chorizo or spicy sausage meat
• 2 large cans (2x ~500mL) kidney beans
• 1 large can  (~500mL) black beans
• 1 cup sweet corn niblets
• 1 chopped large sweet onion
• 2 chopped jalapeños
• 2 large cans (2x 370mL) tomato paste
• 1 large can tomato sauce (optional)
• 3 chopped green/red/yellow bell peppers
• 1/3 cup chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 2 tablespoons coriander
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 6 chopped cloves of garlic (or equivalent paste)
• 2 limes
• 2 bottles (2x 355mL) stout or dark ale
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Habanero pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

1. Slowly caramelize the onions and brown the garlic. When the onions are translucent, crank up the heat and fry the beef with the onions and garlic, adding Worcester, salt, and pepper to taste. Transfer the cooked meat to a big soup pot.
2. Add to the meaty soup pot: the beans (rinsed), cumin, coriander, oregano, chili powder, and cilantro.
3. Fry the sausage. No seasoning is necessary, because sausage is already seasoned. Drain the excess sausage fat and dump drained sausage into the big soup pot.
4. Fry the peppers, corn, and jalapeños in a tablespoon of vegetable oil, salting lightly. The sausage is already quite salty, so avoid adding too much extra. When they’re browned and cooked through, add them to the soup pot.
5. Now it’s time to season the chili to taste. Gradually mix in the stout, lime juice, and hot sauce until it tastes about right.
6. Stew at low temperature for a couple of hours or more. If the chili is too thick, cut it with a can of tomato sauce and add a little more seasoning if necessary.