Loki's Barley Chili

(Barley?  Yes.  Trust me here.)

Remember, my recipes are a bit like the Pirate Code.  Tinker with em until you like the taste.

Ingredients:
A pound or so of good bacon. (By good, I mean that at the very least, the butcher had to pull it from his cold case and package it for you.  It should be 1/4" thick or so.)
A pound or so of good sausage.  (I like andoulle.  Chorizo would probably work quite well.)
1-2 pounds of "other meat."  Fajita-cut beef, stew meat, cut up pork, doesn't really matter.  Doesn't even have to be particularly good meat, you won't notice when you're done.
Fresh cilantro
a bulb of garlic
bay leaves
smoked paprika
lime juice
coriander
cumin
chili powder
chicken stock (2 huge cans, somewhere north of 32oz. Beef is better, but I can't find it in bulk)
tomato juice (2 large cans)
tomato paste (2-3 cans)
stewed tomatoes, if you really want them
a bag of barley

You'll end up assembling all your ingredients in about a 3 gallon pot.  Put your stock in the pot and get it warming.  Dice your bacon and brown it in a frying pan.  When it's browned, put it in the stock pot, reserving the grease in the frying pan.  Brown a pound of your "other meat" in the grease, and then add that to the pot.  Slice and brown your sausage, again reserving the grease when you add it to the pan.  Brown any remaining meat, add it to the pot, and reserve whatever grease remains.  Finely chop your garlic, and brown it lightly in the grease.  Add the garlic (and the grease, if you're me and like the extra flavor).

Add the tomato juice and 2-3 bay leaves, and the stewed tomatoes if you're going to add them.  Chop the cilantro fine, and add it to the pot, along with spices and lime juice.  Stir well, cover, and let cook.

Check and stir every half hour to 45 minutes (total of 4-6 hours), spicing to taste.  In the last 30-60 minutes, add tomato paste if needed for thickness, and the barley, then cook until barley is done.

It's even better on day 2 or 3, and you can freeze it for later, too.

Lokidude

Good suds

While it may not be the internet-famous Dogfish Head, I have to give some love to Squatters Roadhouse and Pub. They may be hippies, but they make some great food and brew a killer beer (with a nice side of some poke-the-local-establishment humor.) Their "Organic" Amber Ale is highly recommended.

Lokidude

In atonement

I'm sorry I haven't posted much recently, I know I've been a bad blogger, but between moving and trying to find a job, I've been a bit occupied.  But in an attempt to atone for my sins, I give you FOOD!

So, I have this recipe that has pretty much become a staple at family events involving food.  And now, I'm gonna share it with you.  Be advised, though, unless we're baking, around here, recipes are kinda like the Pirate Code (more of a guideline, so to speak.)

16-24 oz uncooked bowtie pasta
6 oz black olives, drained and sliced
3-4 roma tomatoes, seeded and cubed
4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
4 T olive oil
4 T (and change) Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 t black pepper
2 t salt
1 T dried basil
1 c crumbled feta cheese

Boil your pasta according to the directions on the bag.  (Me, I add a bit of olive oil and some salt to any pasta I make, but that's up to your discretion.)

While that's boiling, prep your tomatoes and olives.  Whisk your vinegar, olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, and garlic in a medium bowl, then add your tomatoes.

When your pasta is done, remove it to a large bowl, preferably one suitable for serving (metal bowls are not advised).  Add your wet ingredients mixture and your olives, and fold in.  Then add the feta, and fold that in as well.  Add any balsamic, salt, pepper, or basil to taste. (Remember how recipes are more of a guideline?)

You can serve this immediately if you want, but we've achieved far better results by covering the bowl with plastic wrap and putting it in the fridge for 24-48 hours.  The flavors kinda mellow together, and it's happiness on a fork.

Enjoy.

Lokidude

Food is love

The house currently smells like bacon, garlic, and cilantro.  Bex and I are making chili, and the smell alone is worth it.

I come from a family where food is love.  If we feed you, it means we like you.  And we like a lot of people, so I pretty much lack the ability to cook for 2 people.  Hence the 3 gallon pot of chili currently on the stove.  Not my fault, blame Mom and Dad, they taught me that way.  I'll try to put together some semblance of a recipe later (we cook to taste around here, not to some crazy measurement),  but as a preliminary, it has north of 5 pounds of meat, 2 1 pound bags of beans, and a full head of garlic.  And one more ingredient.  Our secret ingredient.  (Yes, I've been wanting to use that line for YEARS.)

Yes, Texas, it has beans.  As proper chili should.

Lokidude