Good Week to Make Chili

Now that the temps are well below 80 degrees again, with evenings in the 50's, heating up the kitchen isn't going to cause any complaints from the family, especially if you are making something they love!  Now is the time to use some of the garden veggies you have been accumulating, or head off to the farmer's markets in Granville or Mount Vernon to get fresh veggies from another local garden.

Homer Village Market just received freshly ground steakburger, which is very flavorful and lean.  This ground beef makes great hamburgers on the grill and also is excellent for making chili, stuffed peppers, or stuffed cabbage.    In addition to the beef steakburger, we have the following ingredients on hand for your cooking pleasure:

• Poblano peppers (great for roasting, grilling, stuffing, sautéing - love them in chili)
• Local Zucchini
• Jumbo white onions
• Vine ripened tomatoes
• Cans of whole roma tomatoes and cans of diced tomatoes (quick solution for chili)
• Jars of roasted red peppers
• Jumbo sweet potatoes
• Jumbo heads of cabbage
• Broccoli
• Fresh lemons
• Fresh Blueberries
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (first press) imported from Italy
• Wedges of parmesan cheese
• Cheddar, mozzarella, and hot pepper cheeses
• Large variety of commonly used dried herbs and spices if you do not have an herb garden

My all-time favorite chili recipe (adapted from Alice's Restaurant) calls for about 3 pounds of fresh garden tomatoes (or substitute canned),  a couple of chopped/sauteed green bell peppers, a large chopped/sauteed onion, fresh garlic, tomato paste, kidney beans, water, and spices (salt, pepper, basil, cayenne pepper, cumin, paprika, and bay leaf).  I love to serve it over a little brown rice and top with chopped onions and cheddar cheese...sometimes sour cream too.

Zucchini is another favorite of mine for cooking.  It can be delicious very simply prepared baked or grilled, or you could hollow out the center and stuff with a rice/veggie (meat optional) mixture held together with a little egg and bread crumbs and cheese and roast then broil to brown tops.   My grandmother used to grate the large zucchini (first peeled and seeded) using a box grater to get long thin strips.  This she sautéed in butter and oil with chopped onion.  Then after about 10 minutes, when it was almost tender, she added  a sauce made with salt and pepper and a mixture of sour cream, freshly chopped dill weed, paprika, and a dash of vinegar.  If the sauce is too thin, you can add a little water with flour; and if it is too thick, just add a little water and reseason to taste.  I enjoyed eating this dish warm with mashed potatoes or even cold all by itself.

If you have a lot of zucchini, bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes, even if you do not have any eggplant, you can make a tasty recipe of ratatouille.  This vegetable stew can be served over rice or by itself as a nice vegetarian meal or as a side dish with a meat entrée (especially good with lamb).   I will let you find your own favorite recipe for this dish.  It is so much fun to experiment.  This is one of my favorite summer meals because it is healthy, uses up a lot of veggies, and looks extremely interesting and colorful on the plate.  I like to top mine with freshly grated parmesan cheese if I'm in the mood for Italian, or with feta cheese if I'm in a greek sort of mood.

Whatever you decide to make, take advantage of these nice cool, late-summer temperatures to fire up the oven and range!