Brad's Kick *ss Chili

A long time ago, before we had kids, my dear friends Kate and Jamie had us join them on an amazing sail boat in the Virgin Islands for almost 2 weeks. We sailed, we ate, we drank, we had no idea how lucky we were. Now that I have a child, I sometimes LONG for those moments with the wind in my hair and the blue-green water. I'd even take the seasickness on some days. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a parent, but oh, the sea. The sun. The alone time. The chili.

Now, I might be wrong, but I do believe it was on this trip that I first had this chili. I know it was Kate and Jamie who gave me the recipe because they got the recipe from Kate's brother Brad. Jamie likes it so much he calls it "Brad's Kick Ass Chili". I never found out where the recipe actually came from, so, here, the Kick ass chili.

Brad's "Kick Ass" Chili

1 large red onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 Red pepper chopped
2 celery ribs chopped
2 large carrots chopped
1 14.5 ounce can Italian stewed tomatoes (I just use diced tomatoes, fresh or canned)
2 Tbl. chili powder (less if you want kids to eat it)
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp basil
2 med. zucchini chopped
16 oz. frozen corn ( or corn off the cob)
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
1 can black beans, rinsed
1/2 tsp salt
cayenne to taste (omit for kids)
sour cream or plain yogurt and cheddar to garnish

Saute onions and garlic until soft. Add pepper, carrot, celery and cook 5 min.
Add tomatoes, chili powder and cumin. Cook and reduce for about 25 min.
Add the rest and cook covered for 10 minutes more.
Serve over rice pilaf with sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Oh, and the cornbread!
Buttermilk Skillet Corn Bread
from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

1 tbs. butter
1 cup flour
1 cup stone-ground white or yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbls. sugar or honey
2 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Put the butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet and place in the oven while you get everything else together. Sift the dry ingredients in one bowl and mix the eggs, sugar, and buttermilk in another. Remove the ban from the oven, brush the butter over the sides, then pour the rest into the wet ingredients. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, and stir long enough to make a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the hot pan and bake until lightly browned and springy to the touch. 25-30 min.

No Knead Bread

I've been making the infamous no knead bread for a long while, but haven't posted the recipe. I LOVE this bread. It is infinitely satisfying. It is tasty and chewy and crunchy on the outside. It is better than most breads I've ever eaten and I made it. It's that good, and that easy.
Over the year that I've been making this bread, I've made a few tweaks:
I like replacing a cup of the flour with whole wheat.
I add dried or fresh rosemary at the beginning.
I like to use wheat bran.
I bake it in the ceramic insert from my big crock pot. Other people have gone crazy buying up fancy $100 le creuset pots, but I think it's just not necessary.
I've heard of great success adding cheeses and olives and other stuff after the first, long rising.
This bakes up great even after rising in our cold drafty old house. I thought it wouldn't be warm enough here, and it does just fine.
Here then, the recipe:

Recipe: No-Knead Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.