h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Very often I do.

I finally got around to cooking chili con carne. A pound of beef, a pound of beans (black and red), a pound of onions, , bell peppers, salt, ground black pepper and of course chili.

I forced myself not to experiment but to follow a recipe (one of a million I guess) and it turned out to be very good, but I will experiment the next time. I'm thinking of adding olives, basil, sage and maybe oregano

I'm beginning to see multiple small zucchinis on my plants. I won't let them get very big, but they are tasty at any size.

The Anasazi bean is for my money the premier chili bean.

I've heard of them. There seems to be only one company that markets them, though.

Anasazi, eh? *makes notes*

I might have had some anasazi beans at one time tbhough, because I have a recipe for them:

Anasazi bean soup [adapted recipe]

The original recipe called for 1 lamb bone, 1 medium onion, 4 peppercorns, 1 tsp of crushed coriander seed, a clove of minced garlic, ½ tsp of cinnamon, dried red chili pods, 2 cups of anasazi or pinto beans, 12 cups of water, 2 or 3 tsps of salt, and pepper to taste.



This is adapted from that recipe, which may be just as well. Cinnamon and coriander and garlic were probably not available to indigenous tribes, being added after Europeans arrived. I have further adapted the recipe, stretching it far beyond any considerations of authenticity. But it tastes good, and I hope you enjoy my version.



Spice mixture



4 peppercorns 1 tsp of ground coriander

½ tsp of garlic powder ½ tsp of cinnamon

A pinch op cayenne powder 1 cube of beef bouillon



Other ingredients



1 tbsp of cooking oil

2 ½ cups of water

8 ounces of hamburg

One 14-ounce can of cannellini, drained

One 14-ounce can of red kidney beans, canned

8 ounces of corn

8 ounces of sliced carrots

[spinach]

1 or 2 potatoes, diced

1 green pepper, seeded and diced

1 onion, diced

8 ounces of low-sodium tomato sauce



Instructions



Put the oil in the bottom of a cooking pot. Add the water. Mix the spices together

and stir. Add the hamburg. Turn on the heat and let it simmer while you prepare the other ingredients. Add the other ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let it simmer covered for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.serves about 4

I haven't had a gout attack for many moons. I have one now. After having cooked and eaten a batch of Chili con Carne. Coincidence? I'll tell you more after I've eaten the rest in about four days from now

Does it still produce gout if you substitute tofu for the meat?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9598181

I like tofu, so I"m not here to take any potshots at it. If you'd like to make chili with tofu, that's fine, but I'm not sure you would want to also have beans in the dish, as tofu is made from beans.

Hydrolyzed soy bean protein.

Bean flavors vary.