Chili Seasoning

December 23, 2010.   I gave a jar of this to my dad to use in the bag of posole that I gave him for christmas.

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flake of whole cinnamon
1t cumin seed
1t hot mex. chili powder
1t regular chili powder
2t new mexican red chili powder
1t garlic powder
1t onion powder
1t hungarian paprika
1/4t (mounded) dry mustard powder
1/4t (mounded) thyme
1/2t (mounded) mexican oregano

Mix in a coffee grinder and add to chili or use as a taco seasoning.

Simple Bean Chili

July 29, 2008.    I think I called this "simple" because it used cans of beans, rather than dry beans.      I've never thought chili was particularly complicated, though.   I think the most complex one I have made was from "Vegetarian Southwest", and that involved roasting and peeling several pounds of peppers.   It was also worth it.    On the other hand, this one could be easily modified to make a crock-pot stew.

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1/2 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalepeno, seeded & chopped
2 small "cow horn" peppers (you could use half of a bell), seeded and chopped
1-1/2 cups of chopped tomatoes
1/2t salt

1 can of black beans
1 can of pinto beans
1 bean-can of water

1t turmeric
1t cumin seeds
2t black peppercorns
1/2t thyme
1/2t oregano
1t chili powder
1/2t hot mexican chili powder
4 dry pequin chili peppers

1/2 capful of liquid smoke
1/2 capful apple cider vinegar
1 pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce + 1T of adobo sauce
2 bay leaves

ground the dry spices in the spice/coffee grinder.
heated cast-iron dutch oven / deep skillet on medium high, and added some butter to coat the bottom once the pan was hot.
sauteed the vegetables with the salt until the onions were translucent and the tomatoes were mostly falling apart, and the majority of the water was cooked out. added the beans and the water, and then everything else. simmered on medium-low heat for about an hour and a half, until it was thick and i could see the bottom of the pan for around half a second when i stirred. it would be ready sooner without the extra water.

Veggie Chili

This is also from May 17, 2006.   I'm still tempted to bring a vegetarian chili to one of the chili cookoffs at work.   the secret to good flavor with one of these is to use a bunch of peppers, rather than a bunch of chili powder.   too much chili powder will give it a weird grainy taste.   This one was pretty spicy, but not painfully so.

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1 pound pinto beans, soaked overnight
1 large onion, chopped
3 banana (cowhorn?) peppers, seeded & chopped
4 jalepenos, chopped
1 large bell pepper, seeded & chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups dry TVP
1 cube vegetable boullion
2T chili powder
1T ancho powder
1T chipotle powder
1 1/2 t cumin seeds, ground
2 bay leaves
1 oz dry tomatoes
2t basil
leaves from 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
leaves from 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
2t salt
1t black pepper

i covered the beans with water by about 3 inches, and just threw everything else in there with them on medium heat. turned it down to a simmer after it started boiling. wait for the veggies to fall apart, which should be in the 2-3 hour range. you should add water if it's getting dry while you're waiting for that to happen. used fresh thyme and rosemary because that's what i have. i'd guess between 1 and 2 teaspoons of each, dry. you could probably use a little less water & salt, and use a large can of diced tomatoes, instead of the dry ones, too, but once again, that's what i had.

Black Bean Dip

From January 9, 2006.   I got this from Malachi, who I suppose got it from some cookbook, but I don't remember which one, though I do remember him telling me.   You can actually use any beans or salsa that you want with this.   This used Jack's Screamin' Hot, which is on the order of painfully hot to me, which a couple of friends would consider "tasty", and a couple others would call "OMGWTF??? OW OW OW"
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1 can of black beans, drained
3-5 tablespoons of salsa
1t cilantro
1t cumin
1t hot pepper (crushed red works... i used some of my dad's stuff)
1/2t black pepper
1/2t garlic powder
1T lime juice

combine in the bowl of a food processor and then buzz it all up until it's a thick paste, near the consistency of a thin peanut butter.   transfer to a serving vessel.   chill for a few hours for the flavors to meld.   eat it cold or warm it up and melt some cheese on it.   either way, it's tasty.  

Posole

This one is from April 22, 2005.    If you're a fan of southwestern food, you owe it to yourself to find some posole.  I found it most recently at Rancho Gordo (they also have some really tasty cinnamon sticks, mexican oregano, and chili powder).   It's basically corn treated with lye (think hominy), and it was served on special occasions (read more about it on the wikis).   You can pretty much treat it like the beans in a chilli and you'll achieve a good result, but it really needs to cook on the order of 2-3 hours to fully develop.   Essentially, the kernels "pop" in the pot, which gives them a very interesting texture, and the starch that comes out helps to thicken the stew.

One other interesting property to note...  I believe that the starch from the corn binds to capsaicin somehow, thus reducing the heat that you perceive from the peppers.   If you're looking for a painfully hot dish out of this, you'll have to increase the amount of hot pepper that you put into it more than you normally would.   This version is pretty spicy, but probably not "thai hot".
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3 cups dry posole (soaked overnight)
1/2 large bell pepper, diced (you could use a whole smaller one, but this is what i had)
2 poblano peppers, diced
3 anaheim peppers, diced
4 jalapeno peppers, diced
3 stalks of celery, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 small onions, chopped (could do 2 medium or 1 really big one)
5 links hot italian sausage
1 - 7 oz can chipotles in adobo sauce
2 quarts of water
1-1/2 tsp thyme
1-1/2 tsp rosemary
1-1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt
1-1/2 tsp black pepper
1 small, dried thai pepper (cause that's all i had)
2 T olive oil

i cooked the sausage as whole links in the oil in the pot i intended to cook it all in, with a little bit of water, and the lid on, so it would steam and not burn and stick to the pan, etc. took it out, and put the veggies in the pot and let them saute/cook down while i cut the sausage into disks and then picked the chipotles out of the can and cut them up a little bit. once the veggies were fairly soft, i drained the posole and dumped it into the pot and mixed things up for a bit. then added the chipotles and sausage, and then the water. let that come to a boil and tasted it, then dumped all of those (dried) herbs and spices into the coffee grinder and ground them up to a pretty fine powder, and dumped them in. then i let it cook for 2 to 2-1/2 hours one night, and another hour the next. basically the posole had all popped open, and the peppers' flesh had seperated from their skin completely. served in a bowl with grated monterey jack cheese on top, and a tortilla to push against.

Fresh Salsa 1

From August 26, 2003
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2 cups of raw tomatoes, diced
1 jalepeno pepper, diced
2 green onions, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lime juice
1-2 teaspoons cilantro
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt

mix it all together, let it sit for an hour or two, for the flavors to come together.