Soup Weather

Over the past 20 years I've come up with this sort of chili sort of the beginning of a gumbo recipe. Parts of it come from the Dairy Hollow House Bread and Soup Cook Book By Crescent Dragonwagon, and other parts are basics from Julia Child and Betty Crocker. I also learn as I go with the cooks who made me in the kitchens I've worked in.

My Hybrid Chili Recipe:

Sorry I eyeball everything!

The soup base:

A can of Roma tomatoes

A can of tomato paste

Water

Sage, salt, pepper, garlic, MSG optional

The roux:

Three tablespoons flour of your choosing

Oil or butter, three tablespoons

Mirepoix:

Carrots, celery, onions, diced and sauteed in butter low and slow. Set aside

Meat:

Taco mix and ground meat. Cook ground meat, drain fat, mix taco seasonings and ¾ cup water and cook with ground meat for about ten minutes. Set aside.

My Beanless chili recipe is a favorite. I guess it’s the beginning of a gumbo? I start with a mirepoix and set it aside. I have canned Roma tomatoes and de-seed them over a bowl. I take the good stuff and put it in a saucepan with a can of good tomato paste. I add a can of water and use sage, garlic and yes MSG. I bring to a simmer and add the mirepoix, I add already cooked and drained ground meat (beef or turkey) and I like the peppers tricolor. I make a roux and I keep it blonde. I also add a bit of honey at the very end to take the acid out of the tomatoes.