Shannon here: Are you stuffed with turkey and exhausted from shopping? Christa MacDonald shares a yummy-sounding Chili recipe, plus a chance to win a print copy of her Contemporary Romance, The Broken Trail. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing. Deadline: Dec 7th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s: Christa
Here in Massachusetts, the weather has turned, and what was shaping up to be an oddly warm Autumn is now predictably cold. In the last two weeks the leaves have finished their yearly show and now lay brown and drying on the ground. Folks laud New England in the Fall, but around mid-November, it tends to get a bit bleak around here. Vermonters call it “Stick Season,” and that’s pretty apt. We’ve all put our gardens to bed and turned our attention inward, trying to make our interior rooms bright and cheerful for the dark days ahead. “Cozy Season” has begun.
My family lives in a renovated 18th-century carriage house (basically a barn). We have high ceilings and open space, which in a cold climate means we freeze for about five months of the year. We try to hold out until November to turn the heat on. This year we made it to the 11th. Even when we do turn the heat on, though, we keep it at 60 degrees until the snow flies. Once the outside temps dip below freezing, we set it at 65 and suffer until Spring. Our Yankee forebearers would probably haunt us if we ever raised the thermostat to 70.
The best way to combat the cold and dark (in my opinion) is with warm and spicy food. Tea is my first line of defense. Ginger and Lemon, Constant Comment, Earl Grey – any of these steaming in a cup next to my keyboard is an antidote to cold fingers and chilly, cloudy days. Soups and stews do the trick as well, and they’re some of my favorite things to make since they’re so forgiving. I always say that baking is science, but cooking is art. There’s room to be creative.
In my first book, The Broken Trail, the main character, Katherine, gets this. Her talent in the kitchen aids Mac, the reluctant suitor, in falling for her. Although she can both bake and cook, she’s more a scientist than an artist. She’s the sort to follow the recipe as-is. Katherine likes order and predictable results. I aspire to be that put-together, but I need the flexibility of cooking, being able to experiment, and, when it goes wrong, having the room to fix it. With baking, if you’ve botched it, you’re pretty much done. It goes in the trash and you start over. Not so with cooking. It can be redeemed.
One of my favorite cold-weather dishes is chili. It’s the poster child for a dish that can be experimented on and rescued from disaster. I like to let mine bubble away on the stove while I throw in this spice and that, until the perfect balance is achieved. And the way the house smells when it’s brewing – divine.
If you’d like to give chili a go, I’ve included the recipe I use below. Feel free to use whatever spices strike your fancy and be sure to measure with your heart!
Chili Your Way
1 tbsp Oil (I use olive, but veg. avocado or other is fine)
1 Medium onion chopped
A measure of the following:
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
Cayenne Pepper
Ancho chili powder (if you have it)
Cumin
Oregano – Turkish is best
Pepper – freshly ground if you’ve got it
Paprika – smoked is best
Turmeric
Cocoa Powder
1 to 1.5 lb of Ground Turkey (or other meat)
Worcestershire sauce
6 oz can of Tomato Paste
32 oz of Chicken Stock
1 can Pink Beans
1 can Kidney Beans
2 diced jalapeños
In a large pot (I use a Dutch oven, but any big pot will do) heat the oil and add onions. Cook until translucent. Add spices and cook until fragrant. Add ground meat and cook until mostly browned. Add tomato paste and thoroughly mix. Add Worcestershire sauce and stir until combined. Add Chicken Stock and stir well. Bring to a boil. Have a taste. Add salt as needed. If you are a low-salt family, let it cook down a bit more before tasting. You may not need as much salt as you think. Add spices here until you have the right balance (this is art – it might take a bit of experimentation). Once you think it’s about right, open and drain the two cans of beans and toss them in. Add the jalapeños. Stir well and cover. Let it simmer for at least ten minutes before testing again. Add salt/spices as needed. Leave the cover off and let it stew on low heat at a simmer until it looks good to you.
We serve this with cornbread, Greek yogurt, tortilla chips, hot sauce, more diced jalapeños, and a good, sharp cheddar.
Question for Readers: Are you a recipe to the T follower or do you get creative? Why?
About Christa: Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction. She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college’s literary magazine, she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house. The Broken Trail, published by Mountain Brook Ink, was her debut novel. At The Crossroad and The Redemption Road completed the Sweet River Redemption series. The first two books are available on Audiobook. Learn more & connect:
Christa’s Website Christa’s Instagram Christa’s Facebook
About the book – The Broken Trail (Book 1 – Sweet River Redemption series):
Katherine Grant takes the job at Sweet River Christian Academy hoping a small town in the wilderness of Maine will be a vacation from her high-powered career and a break from the emotional toll of the secrets she has buried deep. With the school director on a power trip and evidence of shady dealings, there’s nothing relaxing about it. Maybe it would be easier if she wasn’t so distracted by Captain MacAlister, the local cop she can’t get along with, yet can’t get out of her head. She didn’t trek up to the middle of nowhere to lose her heart.
Mac doesn’t need the kind of trouble he believes Katherine will bring. He’s got enough to deal with from poachers to drug crime. Mac has rules to maintain his faith, like avoiding the pull of an attractive woman who doesn’t fit his life. But when he meets Katherine, he’s drawn in by her intelligence and strength, despite getting burned by her quick temper.
When near tragedy strikes, Katherine reveals her feelings, and Mac doesn’t hesitate to respond. If only their scars, both seen and unseen, didn’t threaten to tear them apart. Two wary hearts must soften and two steel wills bend if they have any hope of making it down the broken trail to love.
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The Broken Trail Christa’s Books
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I think that I’m a recipe to the T follower.
You’re probably a great baker then!
I usually follow the recipe, but I will modify some to accommodate family tastes, removing or adding an ingredient or decrease/increase it.
I’ve got a picky eater so I’m always modifying!
Ha! You’re the first person I’ve ever seen who employs my trick of of adding cocoa powder. I also use coffee when cooking beef, pork. Really adds to the flavor.
I might tweak a recipe occasionally to suit my family’s taste more.
I’m a firm believer in making swaps or adjustments for family. We’re a no red meat household, except when the husband is on his own :), so I’m frequently changing beef for turkey.