Honey Hibiscus Gelatin

Folks-

This is something I cobbled together on a lark a couple of nights ago that turned out pretty good. Think of it as that Jello flavor you never had in your youth. It's super simple, but I was afraid I might forget it if I didn't write it down.

I may try to make hibiscus Knox Blocks or gumdrops next.

Here it is!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp unflavored gelatin powder or 2 packets Knox unflavored gelatin 

4 cups Hibiscus (sometimes called Jamaica) tea, divided

1/2 cup honey, or 1/3 cup white granulated sugar

1/8 Tsp or less "lite" salt, optional (see notes)

In a small bowl, pour 1/2 cup cool hibiscus tea, and sprinkle the gelatin powder over it to bloom. While the gelatin sits, in a large bowl, add the honey and "lite" salt. Heat up or make the rest of the tea to just below boiling. Pour the hot tea into the large bowl and stir together. Add the gelatin and stir until completely dissolved. Pour into dessert cups and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours or until set.

Notes: I make hibiscus tea (hot and iced) from bulk hibiscus flowers I buy at Smart and Final. You can often find them with other Mexican goods (cinnamon sticks, brown sugar cones, dry corn husks and dry peppers) in the produce section of the store. Just rinse the amount of flowers you want to use under cold water, place it in some kind of tea infuser, and experiment with it. I never use the last centimeter in the bottom of the teapot because of the sediment it holds.

Morton's "Lite" Salt is a 50/50 blend of potassium chloride and sodium chloride (regular table salt) meant for people trying to keep their sodium levels in check. I find a little bit added to cold drinks like iced tea or Kool Aid type drinks reduces the amount of sugar I want to add while improving the flavor profile. I don't like it much for anything else, but I find it indispensable for cold drinks. One container has lasted me 15 years of this use case, and I still have a lot left. Just get a small container and try it.

Ed's Baked Chili (Work in Progress)

 Folks-

I was struck with the idea of making a fairly different chili at work a few days ago, so I started with my dad's chili recipe, and just went to town with it. I know my dad will look at this and say "It's too complicated," and I don't care.

What makes it especially different is instead of simmering on the stovetop for hours, I decided to bake it in a Dutch Oven for even longer than his recipe. In addition, this one is more of a stew, with beef chunks and stewed vegetables.

This is very much a work in progress, but I didn't want to lose my place, so here's the current status.

Ingredients:

1 lb dry pinto or black beans

1 bay leaf

1 lb stew meat, or chopped up chuck roast or similar, fat left on

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 fresh Jalapeno pepper 

2 fresh chili peppers 

1/2 onion, chopped

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

3 cloves garlic, crushed, or 1 teaspoon minced garlic

3 strips bacon

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 tablespoons Chili powder 

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 15 oz cans tomato sauce

Up to 8 cups water

1 cup diced yellow squash

1 cup chopped broccoli 

1 cup frozen corn

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

The night before: rinse and clean the beans, picking out any pebbles, then soak them for an hour with at least 2 inches of water covering them. Drain the beans, rinse them, then soak them overnight with at least an inch of water covered them.

The next day: drain and rinse the beans again, and soak them again for at least an hour. After the final soaking, drain and rinse the beans, then put them in a big pot covered with at least an inch of water, throw in the bay leaf, and bring them to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and stir them every 15 minutes while doing all of the prep work for the rest of the recipe.

Set the broiler to 450-500 degrees and set the rack to the top position. Place the Chili peppers and jalapeno on a baking sheet and roast them just until black blisters from, about 5 minutes. Move the rack down low in the oven and reduce the temperature to 350 degrees in a baking mode to preheat the oven.

While the peppers are cooling, pat the stew meat dry and season it with the salt and pepper, then set aside. Chop the onion and crush the garlic and set aside. Measure out the seasonings and set aside. Chop the carrots and set aside. Chop the other vegetables and set aside. Chop the parsley and cilantro and set aside. Chop the peppers and set aside (remove seeds for a milder chili.)

Bring out the Dutch Oven, set it over a medium heat, and heat the vegetable oil. Just before it smokes, stir-fry the carrots until they just start to get a bit tender, then add the onion and stir-fry until it starts to turn glassy, and add the garlic until it becomes fragrant. Remove the stur-fried vegetables and set aside. Bring the heat under the Dutch oven to high, then when it just hits the smoke point, fry the bacon until crispy and the fat renders. Remove from the pot and immediately add the stew meat and brown it. 

By this time, drain the beans but save about 2 cups of the water.

Stir the seasonings into the stew meat, and add the reserved water from the beans, stirring to form a roux. Add the beans, two cans of tomato sauce, stir-fried vegetables, crumbled bacon, and just enough water to make it a little bit soupy. Cover the pot, and move it to the oven.

Check it at least every hour. At the 2 hour point, add the remaining vegetables and peppers, and return to the oven, baking for another hour before removing the cover of the Dutch Oven, and baking for another hour uncovered. Stir in half the fresh herbs and bake for another 30 minutes before removing from the oven.

Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, and the remaining fresh herbs.

Butter Pound Cake

Folks-

I saw both strawberries and pound cake in Costco today, and thought the combination sounded good, but I wasn't willing to pay $7 for strawberries and $8 for a pound cake when I was pretty sure I had the ingredients at home. I looked up a recipe on Allrecipes, and tried the suggestion in the comments to make it moister. Here's my version.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened 

1 cup white sugar

3 tbsp packed brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract 

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour 

1 tbsp milk

4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. 

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugars, vanilla, and salt until fluffy. 

Scrape down and mix in flour and baking powder. 

Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down between each, adding the milk with the second egg. 

Scrape batter into the loaf pan, roughly level it, and bake for 1 HR to 1 HR 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Let it cool in the pan for five minutes, then lift it out using the parchment paper and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Good topped with strawberries.

Notes: I may reduce the sugar and vanilla next time, or replace vanilla with rose water.