Potato Soup

Beth and Nina love this soup. When Beth compliments someone else's potato preparation it's a big deal, so this recipe is definitely a keeper. It's also cheap and super easy.

It's also quite forgiving, so don't stress too much about exact amounts. Once you've made it a few times you'll have a feel for you just thick and/or potatoey you like it.

Also, I think it's worth saying that I guess rather conservatively on seasoning amounts. Always taste as you're going along and add more spices if necessary.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 small to medium red potatoes, diced. No need to peel unless you're using a thick skinned potato like a russet or you just really want to.
• 1 small onion, somewhat finely chopped
• 1-2 TBSP butter or olive oil
• 2-3 TBSP all purpose flour
• 2-3 cups of chicken broth
• 1-2 cups of milk (not skim)
• salt and pepper
• 1-2 tsp dried rosemary. You can add more if you're a rosemary freak like me.

Directions:

Heat butter or oil in soup pot over medium to medium-high heat. Sautee onion until tender and translucent. Add flour (and more oil/butter if needed). Stir with a wooden spoon for a minute or two to make something like a golden, oniony paste. (It's a roux!)
Add potatoes, broth, milk, and seasonings. The pot should be
Simmer until potatoes are quite tender. Mash up some of the potatoes with a potato masher. You're not aiming for a puree, just a nice thick soup.
Eat.

Chili!

Still on the spicy food kick. Here is the chili I made this week. It turned out rather well, if I do say so myself. Don't be weirded out by the chocolate. It doesn't make the chili sweet- it just lends an air of mystery...(because ground meat isn't mysterious enough).

Don't let the long ingredient list fool you. This is very simple to make. You pretty much just throw things into a pot and let them hang out there.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb (give or take) of ground beef or a mixture of ground beef and pork. (It's usually a mixture in Germany. The pork seems to keep the beef from drying out).
• 130 grams (sorry!) of tomato paste. This is probably 3-4 oz. The exact amount isn't that important.
• A 26 oz. can of diced or whole tomatoes in juice
• A 14 oz. can of beans of choice, rinsed thorougly (or about 2 cups of beans cooked from dry)
• 3-4 cups of chicken or beef broth (I used chicken)
• 1-2 small onions, chopped
• 3 cloves of minced or grated garlic OR 1 TBSP minced garlic OR garlic powder to taste
• 1-2 TBSP cumin
• 1-2 TBSP coriander or cilantro
• 1 canned chipotle in adobo, chopped. If you don't have chipotle (I didn't. *tear*), just add pepper flakes to desired level of spiciness. Chipotle has a spicy, smoky flavor.
• About 2 tsp salt
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• Bare pinch of sugar
• A few dashes of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 oz-1 oz of VERY dark chocolate (think 80% cocoa or more).

Directions:

• Warm a little bit of olive oil in a big soup pot over med-high heat. Add onions and sautee until they are tender and translucent. Add garlic and chipotle (if using) and sautee a bit more. Do not breathe in spicy garlic fumes.
• Add meat and seasonings (not sugar yet). Brown meat.
• Add tomato paste. Mix with the meat. You could also add the chocolate now and mix it with the meat.
• Add tomatoes in juice, broth, and beans, and a pinch of sugar (brings out the tomato).
• Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes. It can simmer covered or uncovered. If it simmers uncovered for a long time, it will thicken more. Feel free to thin the chili with a bit of water if necessary. Taste. Adjust seasonings.
• Simmer some more. Taste. Adjust seasonings.
• Simmer some more.
• Really, I would simmer the chili for anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour. Everything is pretty much cooked by the time you get to the simmer stage, you just have to let the flavors develop.

Eat! Makes 6-8 servings I guess. All I know is that I've been eating this for many days. It also freezes well.

Guacamole!

I'm started to get wicked cravings for spicy and/or Mexican food here in the land of kraut and wurst. Hence, guacamole. Delicious and nutritious. The tortilla chips here are creepy, so I pretty much eat guacamole with a spoon. (It is fruit!!)

Ingredients:

1 avacado, softish to the touch
1/2 tsp of cumin
A smidgen of minced garlic or garlic powder
1/2 tsp of coriander OR a bit of fresh chopped cilantro. Dried cilantro is fine too
salt
Dash of red pepper flakes or one finely diced jalapeno without the seeds
squeeze of lime
smidgen of olive oil if desired

Combine ingredients. Smoosh with fork, spoon, or spork until they reach desired level of smooshiness.