Hey you!  How goes Wednesday?  Excited to be here?  Well I sure hoe you are.  I have a down home recipe today that will warm you up all the way down to your toes.  I built this chili on Sunday morning and it has been a huge hit.  Flavorful, rich and satisfying to say the least.

It all started with a 15 bean mix by Thompson’s that include white pea beans, black beans, green lentils, pinto beans, yellow eye beans, light and dark red kidney beans, pink beans, green split peas, yellow split peas, baby lima beans, black eye peas ( Not the band ), pearl barley, cranberry beans and chick peas.  That is a lot of bean action isn’t it?  I am sure some of you are thinking WOW…. No I won’t go there.

So this can be a little bit of a process as you have to soak the beans overnight and take 3 hours to prepare this chili but the end results will not disappoint.

Ingredients

• 450g Thompson’s Ultimate Bean Mix
• 4 Cups Cold water
• 4 Cups Soup stock
• 1 Large onion, diced
• 1 Green pepper, diced
• 2 Cups carrots, sliced
• 1 Clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp. Rosemary
• 1/2 Tbsp. Thyme
• 1/2 Tbsp. Basil
• 1/2 Tbsp. Chili powder
• 1/2 Tbsp. Cumin
• 1/2 Tbsp. Red Pepper flakes
• 1/2 Tbsp. Pepper
• 2 Tsp. Lemon juice
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 Cabbage, chopped
• 2 Cans (19oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 lbs Ground Beef
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

1. Sort and rinse beans before cooking.  Cover beans completely with cold water ( 3 Cups water for every cup of dry beans) and SOAK BEANS OVERNIGHT in refrigerator.



2. Drain.
3. In a stock pot add soaked beans to fresh water and soup stock.  heat to boiling then reduce and simmer for one hour or until beans are nearly tender.
4. In another large pot over medium heat, saute onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
5. Add the ground beef and begin to brown the beef.  Once the beef is almost cooked, add in carrots, green pepper, cabbage and all the spices including lemon juice and let simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Add the cans of tomatoes and continue to simmer for about 30 minutes.
7. Once the beans are almost tender begin to ladle the beans over into the beef mixture.  I took a little bit of the stock over on the spoon but not too much.  I wanted the chili to be somewhat “THICK”
8. Simmer together for about an hour to let the flavors come together; adjust salt and pepper to taste as well as other spices if needed.
9. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: If you like your chili more like a soup, you can keep more of the water/stock that you cooked the beans with or for that matter you can keep all the stock and make a bean soup.

I hope you enjoyed this Chili.  As I type this, I have consumed four bowls thus far and absolutely love it.  It is super hearty with a hint of heat.  There really is no fear of you being hungry after a bowl.  Have a super Wednesday and stay tuned  for a giveaway on Friday that may just sweeten up your mouth.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

End of the week is upon us – I hope everyone is doing well thus far.  The weather is starting to warm up a little but not enough to my liking compared to Florida last week.   I thought I would warm everyone up with a super simple smooth soup.  Now I have made this soup before but I had a bag of carrots hanging out in the fridge growing more hair than I can and I hate wasting food so carrot soup was the answer.  The combination of carrot and ginger coupled with the nutty flavor of the cashews make this soup so rich and creamy. This soup tastes so good with a nice piece of crusty bread or along side your favorite sandwich.

Did I tell you I love Ezekiel bread now?  I cannot get enough of that sprouted goodness.

The soup is really straight forward so I didn’t get into too many pictures of all the steps.  Feel free to add some of you favorite flavors in as substitutions. The spices in this recipe are vital to the flavor. Be sure they are fresh and ready to make you smile.

Ingredients

• 2 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 cups water
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1-1/2 cups chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground fennel
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 3-4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 cup toasted cashews

Method

1. Place the carrots in a medium saucepan and add the water.



2. Bring to a boil, cover and cook until the carrots are very tender (10-15 minutes)
3. Heat the olive oil in a small fry pan. Add onion and cook over medium heat until translucent.
4. Add ginger, garlic, salt, and spices.



5. Lower the heat and continue to saute for another 8-10 minutes, until the onions are soft.
6. Stir in lemon juice.
7. Combine the spice-onion mixture with the carrots and the cashews.
8. Use a blender to puree the mixture until smooth.
9. Once smooth, pour back into the saucepan and prepare to serve.
10. Top with a dollop of sour cream.



11. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The soup will thicken up a bit in the fridge, but just a little water before you microwave it at work and it will be just as good as when you first made it.

Somewhat of a generic question and could gather a variety of answers, but tell me, what is your favorite soup to eat to warm up?

I hope everyone has a great Friday and a super weekend.  Let me know if there is anything you would like to see me cook, bake or make for upcoming posts and I have a slight clarification to make on Wednesday’s giveaway post.  Dempster’s bagels are available in Atlantic Canada and Ontario and Quebec only.  I was wondering why there were not a lot of entries but when I got a few questions such as” Where the heck would I buy these” from folks I knew something was up.

Take Care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Happy Monday to you! Some days you just need something simple to eat.  Something that will comfort you if you are feeling down, something quick if you are in a rush.  This no nonsense chicken soup will definitely do the trick.  Simple flavors really make you realize that good food can be made easy.

Honestly when I was making this soup, I thought it might be a bit bland in flavor until I hit it with the fresh lemon juice and ground pepper.  It woke the soup up and made it SING.  This is a must try for any soup lover.

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup Long Grain White Rice
• 6 Cups Homemade or canned low sodium chicken stock
• 2 Cups Water
• Chicken breasts ( cut into thin slices)
• 2 Carrots ( chopped)
• 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 350g (12 oz) Spinach leaves
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 1 Tsp. Olive oil
• Fresh Ground black pepper

Method

1. Place the rice and carrot in a large saucepan with the stock and water and bring to a boil.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. In a separate pan, saute the chicken with the oil until slightly brown adding the garlic and 1/2 Tbsp. Lemon juice and set aside once no longer pink.
3. Add the sliced chicken to the pan and simmer partly covered for another 5-7 minutes.
4. Stir in the spinach and continue simmering for another 5 minutes or until the rice is tender and both the chicken and spinach are cooked.
5. Stir in remaining lemon juice and pepper and serve hot.
6. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Add some crunch to your soup by adding roasted pine nuts at the very end just before serving.  It will add a nice texture to the somewhat smooth soup.

I must really  say that these soup has been one of my favorites that I had had in a long time.  I think it also offers a nice canvas to add any other vegetables you would like but I think keeping it simple is one of the attractive elements.

Zesty Hits the Media

Well you know how shy I am in real life right?  Ummm just joking!  Just last week I was speaking with the Guardian as they wanted to do a special piece on Zesty and how it all began.  The Guardian is the local newspaper serving PEI so I was more than happy to oblige.

They also wanted to shoot a video in zesty’s kitchen with some holiday flare.  So many ideas went through my head thinking of what I wanted to share with you.  It came down to doing something simple and fun and also a recipe that kids can help create.  These cookies were really fun to make even with the crazy twist.  They taste pretty good out of the oven as well.

All in good fun and hopefully the videos will continue.

Have a super start to your week and I will see you all on Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty