On Vox: Psychic spice shopping and culinary adventures by Crock Pot
Shopping for me is half instinct, and this is part of why I love shopping at the Pike Place Market. There is so much there to take in, you either have to know exactly what you're looking for or have some kind of guide to finding what you want. There are four or five different places to buy good loose leaf tea, for example. There are also two huge, well stocked spice stores. I go to the more mainstream Market Spice Store, and D33 prefers the cash-only Wolrd Spice Market, which I shun for debit-card usage.
On this past trip I was determined to find the perfect spice as a core for a good batch of Chili. With holiday gift money I planeed on purchasing a crock pot, and had three firm ideas for recipes in mind already. I had the taste for sauerkraut from the familyi's traditional New Year's Day feast that hadn't been yet fully satisfied, so I wanted my own. Chili was once a staple of my diet, before losing the capability to assimilate most meats, but now that I have uncovered the irony that I am not allergic to lamb, I want as many ways to eat the meat as possible. (this is part of a larger plan to compensate for previously being unable to develop good muscles while being totally vegetarian.) The last of my three meals planned for the crock pot wouled be a good lamb pot roast, because I already had those cuts of meat. That would be the first meal I made in the crock pot, and while it cooked I went back to the Market to visit my friendly butcher at Fero's Meats. They recognize me now since I am there almost every week buying exclusively lamb, and I find it comforting to have a rapport with my butcher once again. This was one facet of peasant life in the Happy Valley that I found pleasing--knowing hte man who cuts your meat, and being able to request special meat cuts for special occasions. There's nothing like that for vegetarians.
Pot Roast:
3 boneless lamb sirloins
2 large potatoes
1 large onion
1 lb frozen peas
1/2 cup wine vinegar
1/2 cup potato water
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 small handful of herbs de provence
fresh salt and pepper to taste
(I use pickling salt for large batches, but if you have the money I recommend more expensive salts found at spice stores)
These went in on low for 8 hours and produced a slightly dry but very tender and tasty meat, and the sweetness of the wine vinegar and peas with the herbs complimented the meat and potatoes very well.
Sauerkraut and Sausages
5 lamb, herb and walnut sausages
1 large onion
2 sweet apples
4 cans of sauerkraut
Layer the sauerkraut, apples and onions, and sausage in the crock pot to cook for 8-10 hours. Some people like to brown the sausages first, but I do not. The apples counteract the bitter, acid nature of the sauerkraut, and the sausages, though no kielbasa, are full of fat and flavor.
Chili:
1 lb ground lamb
1 can black beans
2 cans kidney beans
3 colored bell peppers, caps and seeds removed
1 large onion
1 t. Vietnamese Cinnamon
2 t. Chipotle
2 t. ground Cocoa
2 t. salt
2 t. Black Pepper
2 t. Smoked Paprika
1 T. Tabasco Sauce
5 cloves Garlic
Saute peppers and onion in as little oil as possible until the onions turn just a bit translucent, then add those and the cans of beans to the pot. Next mix all the dried spices together, then add them to the crock pot with the Tabasco Sauce. Brown the ground lamb on medium heat, stirring constantly to break the meat up very fine. Drain off the fat, then reduce the heat to low and add the other half of the dry spices. Stir them in and continue to brown the meat until an even texture and color, then add to the crock pot. Put on low heat for 10 hours. Good chipotle will add all the heat you need, and should be the first ingredient to adjust to change the heat factor of this chili.
I like to serve my chili over rice and with cheddar cheese, how do you like yours?
Originally posted on thewulf.vox.com