Confetti Chicken Chili

I have a darling little dog named Frito and I am always asked why he is named after a corn chip. The simple answer is that on the day he came to us as a puppy, I had made chili and in my family, we always serve chili with Fritos. He took off with a couple of fritos that we dropped from the table and we started calling him Frito Bandito - Frito for short. I might add that his paws smell like the corn chips too. The chili I made that night is one of my sons' favorite foods and it has ended being comfort food for us when life gets stressful. Frito no longer likes corn chips - he much prefers squeaky balls, but we all still like this chili recipe. It's a little lighter than the usual chili because I use ground chicken and I don't like so many beans, so I also add corn. These ingredients, along with the red and green peppers makes the chili feel very festive and the various colors make it look like a bit like confetti. You can also make it with ground beef if you like or ground turkey works too. It's quick and easy and has won over some friends who aren't that fond of the canned stuff. With a recipe this easy and good, there is no need to buy canned chili again! We serve it with fritos of course or Tortilla Chips and also shredded cheddar cheese.

Confetti Chicken Chili

1 pound ground chicken

1 onion chopped

2 garlic cloves minced

1/2 green pepper chopped

1/2 red (or orange) pepper chopped

1 large can (28 oz) tomato sauce (I use Hunts)

1 can chicken broth

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

2 - 3 Tablespoons chili powder (I use McCormick and Schmick's)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or several dashes of hot sauce

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Place olive oil in large pot. Heat and add onions, garlic and peppers. Cook until onion is just wilted and add the ground chicken. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Ad tomato sauce, chicken broth, beans, corn and seasoning. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1/2 hour.

Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, raw onions if desired and fritos or tortilla chips.

Five Element Analysis

This is a very colorful dish and that is the biggest clue that the Five Elements are represented well here. Chili by it's very nature is a Fire food - it is from the hot Southwest and  this dish also has lots of tomatoes, peppers and some hot chili, which all belong to the Fire Element. The addition of chicken adds some of the Wood Element and the garlic, onions and cumin bring in the Metal Element. The black beans add the Water Element, while the corn and corn chips bring in the Earth Element. As you can see, this ends up being a very balanced bowl of food!

Swedish Almond Cake

I have to admit that I've never been much of a chocolate person. Oh I do enjoy a wonderful piece of Swiss chocolate at Sprungli when I am in Zurich, but it's actually not a common craving for me. I once read that people are either into chocolate or lemon which I think is way too few choices as I am quite into almond as a sweet flavor. So when I suddenly develop a sweet tooth that doesn't involve cooking fruit, I will make an almond cake - my next choice after that always involves cinnamon, but that's for another day.

If you like almonds like me, than you would really enjoy my Father's favorite almond cake. I learned to make this when I was quite young. I believe the original name is Tosca Cake but we always called it Swedish Almond Cake. The original recipe only called for vanilla extract, but I like almonds so much that I add some almond extract too. The topping is a classic Swedish cookie and cake sauce that caramelizes as it cooks. One of my friends has a Mom who bakes it on top of graham crackers and it makes a lovely cookie that I will post someday. Anyway, I love to serve this cake with raspberries and strawberries. My sons insist that it needs lightly sweetened whipped cream too. Enjoy!

Swedish Almond Cake

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cream (or whole milk)

1/2 cup (or one stick) melted butter

Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and almond extracts together until light. Mix flour with baking powder and salt. Stir in flour mixture into creamed mixture 1/2 at a time and stir until well blended. Add butter mixture and stir until smooth.

Butter a 9" pie pan (I use a Pyrex pie pan) and spoon batter into pan. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes or until center is just becoming firm. Remove pan from oven and turn heat up to 375 degrees.

Make topping mixture below and spread very carefully on top of cake to cover. Put cake back int he oven and cook 5 - 10 minutes or until the mixture is brown and bubbling. Serve in wedges. Good with whipped cream and raspberries or strawberries.

Almond Topping:

1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds

1/4 cup melted butter

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons cream (or milk)

1 Tablespoon flour

Five Element Analysis

I'll never pretend that desserts are a balanced meal but they are quite wonderful as an extra helping of the Earth Element! This cake is very sweet so it is clearly Earthy and the almonds emphasize that element even more. The whipped cream brings in some of the Metal Element and some raspberries or strawberries add a little Wood from their tartness but  belong to the Fire Element. Serving this cake with tea or coffee adds even more Fire. 

Dal Soup

I've started cooking again now that I am back in Seattle. One of my goals when I get back from a teaching tour is to regain my energy back from what is usually terrible jetlag. And of course, that means I make soup. As I love Indian food, I will often make Dal Soup. I make it thinner than is served in Indian restaurants as there it is more like a stew or gravy. I like it to have some broth in mine so that when it is poured over Basmati Rice, it still has some soupiness to it. I like to use Moong or Mung Beans although red lentils work well too. Mung Beans are the little yellow pulses that are sprouted into Bean Sprouts or made into Mung Bean or cellophane noodles from their flour. In India, Moong Dal is used to treat the sick, the elderly and small children as it is very nourishing. I don't make mine very spicy as I have a low heat tolerance so I only ad one Serrano Chili. I love the addition of tomatoes and sometime add spinach too as it makes it more colorful. This is one of my older son's favorite soups and another recipe that is frequently requested by my intensive students. I hope you enjoy it too!

Dal Soup

2 cups Moong Dal (yellow split mung beans), washed and drained

10 cups water

½ tsp turmeric

1 - 2 serrano chilis seeded and minced fine

2 tsps salt

6 Tbsps ghee or butter

2 small or one large onion chopped

1 ½ tsps cumin seeds

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh ginger, finely minced or mashed

2 large or 4 small tomatoes diced

1 bunch of cilantro leaves

1 small bunch spinach leaves (optional)

Additional salt and pepper to taste

In large pot, mix Dal, water, turmeric, Serrano chilis and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, skim and cook until tender – about 45 minutes. In a frying pan, heat ghee and fry onions with cumin seeds until the onions are light golden color. Add garlic and ginger and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add tomato and cilantro. Cook until mixture becomes smooth. Add tomato mixture to Dal mixture. Add spinach if using. Then, cook it all together for an additional few minutes and serve with basmati rice.

Five Element Analysis

Soup is always part of the Water Element although this one has a lot of Earth Element foods too. Mung Beans are also Watery, but they are yellow and soft when cooked so they embody the Earth Element as well and the very nature of this soup is thick and creamy, which adds even more to that Earthy experience. The tomatoes add some of the Fire Element which is also enhanced by the Serrano Chili. The Metal Element is represented by the spices and the white rice it is served on and the garlic and onions bring even more Metal in. The Wood Element is represented by the cilantro and spinach. So this ends up being a very balanced little bowl of soup!