Sweet and sour unstuffed cabbage with Fruitchup {Paleo, keto, low carb}

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My Grandma Rose made the best stuffed cabbage, sweet-and-sour style with raisins and lemon slices. But she didn't make it often because it was a *bleeping* pain in the *bleep* to blanch the cabbage, separate the leaves, and roll up all those little suckers.

Right after I launched my new Fruitchup Paleo ketchup, which is sweetened with raisins and dates instead of added sugar or artificial sweeteners, I realized that it was the perfect ingredient for Sweet and Sour "Unstuffed" Cabbage, because it actually contains everything Grandma Rose would have put into her stuffed cabbage, except for the meat and the cabbage.

This Sweet and Sour Unstuffed Cabbage recipe is Paleo and Whole30 compliant, requires only four ingredients, takes only 10 minutes of actual work (plus a few hours to simmer on the stove), and will bring my Grandma Rose right into your kitchen. I gave some of my last batch to a friend and her whole family loved it, including a preschooler and a baby.

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Sweet and Sour Unstuffed Cabbage {Paleo, keto}

by Erika Kerekes May-6-2017

This delicious, hearty stew comes together in just a few minutes and uses only four ingredients, including Fruitchup Paleo ketchup. A variation on my Grandma Rose's classic stuffed cabbage recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 cups chopped green cabbage (about 1/2 large head of cabbage)
• 1 bottle Fruitchup Paleo ketchup
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large pot over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks.Add the onion, cabbage, and Fruitchup Paleo ketchup. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.Turn down the heat, cover the pot, and simmer 1.5 to 2 hours, until the cabbage is wilted and the flavors are well combined.Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot. For those not following a Paleo or Whole30 way of eating, the Unstuffed Cabbage can be served over rice.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 2 hour Total time: 2 hour 10 mins Yield: 8 servings

Game day chili with Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup

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Starting a new business like Not Ketchup is hard.

Starting a new business like Not Ketchup when you're also running another business like The Kerekes Group is really hard.

Starting a new business like Not Ketchup when you have another business to run and kids to feed and pay attention to and a husband to feed and pay attention to and laundry to fold and parties to throw and conferences to attend and meetings to lead and....well, you get the idea.

To be clear, I am not complaining. At all. I love my new business, love my work, love my family, love my food blogging colleagues. Everything is going extremely well. I'm just busy and tired.

Which is why I wasn't able to muster up anything fancy for the February meeting of Food Bloggers Los Angeles. The potluck theme was "Chocolate and Champagne." I made chili. Fortunately, my chili has a secret ingredient that kept me within the rules.

And here's a new discovery: A slug of Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup did great things for this pot of chili. A little sweet, a little smoky, a little spicy, a little acid - it was just the thing. Highly recommend.

[For those of you who missed the news, Not Ketchup is my new line of "ketchups" made with fruit instead of tomatoes. Yes, I know tomatoes are botanically fruits. You know what I mean. Click here to learn more about Not Ketchup and order online if you're so inclined.]

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Game Day Chili with Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup

by Erika Kerekes February-3-2014

A big pot of this slightly spicy chili makes any game day a special event. The two secret ingredients: cocoa powder and Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 large yellow onions, diced
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 1/3 cup chili powder
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 15-ounce cans dark red kidney beans
• 2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes in puree
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup
• shredded cheese and chopped green onions (for garnish)

Instructions

In a large pot, brown the ground beef and ground turkey together over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Add the onions and red bell peppers and cook another 5 minutes until the vegetables are starting to wilt.Add the chili powder, cocoa powder, beans, tomatoes, salt, and Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup to the pot. Bring to a simmer, turn the heat down to low, and cover the pot. Cook 1 hour, or up to 4 hours (the longer it cooks, the better the flavors will develop and meld - just keep checking to make sure it's not getting dry, and if it is, add some water). Serve hot, garnished with shredded cheese and green onions.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour 10 mins Total time: 1 hour 20 mins Yield: 10-12 servings

New Orleans red beans and rice

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My friend Ellen call this her dad's "ancestral" recipe. Ellen's father, who passed away suddenly a few years ago, grew up in the tight-knit Jewish community in New Orleans. Ellen remembers making this with him a few times when she was little. 

Long, slow cooking transforms these simple ingredients into a comforting bowl of winter goodness. Don't skimp on the Tabasco unless you absolutely have to - it makes the dish.

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New Orleans red beans and rice

by Erika Kerekes December-4-2013

Long, slow cooking transforms a few simple ingredients into a steaming bowl of comfort food. Serve these southern-style red beans over plain white rice if you want to be perfectly authentic.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried red kidney beans
• 3 quarts water
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 rib celery, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pound ham hock, beef stew meat, or beef brisket
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or ground New Mexico chiles
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 3 Tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt (start with 1/2 teaspoon and add gradually until the beans are seasoned to your taste)
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) butter

Instructions

To a large pot add the beans, water, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaves, meat, ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, Tabasco, and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer uncovered 3 to 4 hours, until the beans are soft.Add salt and butter. (Do not add the salt earlier as it will toughen the beans.)Serve hot over plain white rice. Note: The beans should have a soupy consistency; if they start to seem dry, add more water.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 4 hour Total time: 4 hour 10 mins Yield: 8-10 servings

My first e-book: Soups and Stews

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I am very pleased to announce that my first e-book is available for download for Kindle users at Amazon.com, and for iPad, Nook and other online formats in the Booktango.com bookstore.

Soups and Stews: Delicious Recipes for Chilly Days ($3.99) is a compilation of my favorite soup and stew recipes. The cover features my Grandma Rose's split pea soup for two reasons: First, I know Grandma Rose would be exceedingly proud to see her recipe "in print." And second, it was the only photo where I'd left enough blank space on top and bottom to fit the words.

If you have friends of family members who like to cook and own a Kindle or iPad, they'd probably like this e-book - especially right now, when the weather is damp and cold, and everyone needs a hot bowl of soup now and then. Why not order it for them and slip a copy of this blog post into their Christmas stocking?

Beef stew with beans

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One thing I always have in my pantry is a bag of Hurst's 15-bean soup mix. I throw away the packet of fake ham seasoning. Then I chop up some onions, carrots and celery and get to work.

Normally I start the pot with a little bacon, but this time I used beef stew meat. Because I didn't have any bacon and I was too lazy to go out to the store again. How did it happen that I didn't have bacon and did have beef stew meat? Well...I'm not always an organized shopper. Sometimes I take my list and cross things off as they go in my cart. And sometimes I wing it and assume my little brain will be able to remember everything I need without writing it down. Which, most of the time, it can't.

I love one-pot meals, especially on weeknights. Serve this with some cut-up raw vegetables or a green salad and you're done. If you can, make this recipe a day or two in advance and let it sit in the refrigerator. It's way better after sitting for a day or two.

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Beef stew with beans

by Erika Kerekes November-30-2011

A simple thick stew with beef and mixed beans. Turn this into soup by adding more water during the cooking process.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 2-inch cubes (I like chuck roast)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 large stalks celery, chopped
• 1 package Hurst 15-bean soup mix (beans only)
• 1 can tomato sauce (15 ounces)
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped fresh chives or parsley, for garnish

Instructions

Heat a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Spray the pot with cooking spray and add the beef in a single layer. (You may have to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pot.) Brown the beef cubes on all sides - let them get nice and crusty. Take them out of the pot and put them on a plate.Now add the onions, carrots and celery to the pot and stir to coat the vegetables with the beef juices. Saute the vegetables about 5 minutes, until they are softened and glazed with the browned beef juices and bits.Rinse the dry beans in a strainer, then dump them into the pot with the vegetables. Add back the beef plus any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Put in the tomato sauce and bay leaves plus enough water to cover everything by one inch. Bring the pot to a boil, turn the heat way down to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer about two and a half hours, until the beans are soft and the beef is fall-apart tender. Check the pot every half hour or so and add more water if it looks like the beans have absorbed it all.Season the stew with salt and pepper. Serve hot garnished with the chopped herbs.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 3 hour Total time: 3 hour 10 mins Yield: 8-10 servings

Pinto beans with Saag's sausage

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About once a week I make rice and beans for dinner. I wish I could say that it's part of a "more plants" menu plan. I'd be fine with that, but I live with three men (one large, one medium-sized, one smaller) who are ardent carnivores. Rice and beans may be plants, but in our house they are generally decorated with meat: bacon, sausage, ground beef or turkey, leftover steak or pork chops, whatever.

French cassoulet, California style

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The bar at Vertical Wine Bistro

French food holds a special place in my heart. Michael and I have had some great food adventures in France. Foie gras on a buttered baguette at a Paris street fair on a rainy November afternoon. Fish soup with croutons, garlicky rouille and shredded gruyere, spooned up beside the harbor in Cassis, with which we drank amazing wine that never makes it to the U.S. Tiny fraises des bois, wild strawberries, from the produce market in Maillane, the Provencal village where we stayed with our kids a few spring breaks back

Despite the fact that everyone from Woody Allen to my late father made fun of California's obsession with sprouts and wheatgrass, Los Angeles has some fine French food. And few Cal-French chefs do it better than Laurent Quenioux, the James Beard Award-nominated chef behind Bistro LQ and, now, Vertical Wine Bistro in Pasadena, where I was lucky enough to be invited to dinner with a group of Los Angeles food writers a few months ago.

California rubs off on even the most French of chefs, it seems, because French food in Los Angeles is always on the lighter side. Even cassoulet, a hearty winter gratin of beans, sausages and various cuts of pork that in France will send you running for your favorite napping sofa, seemed more fresh and less fatty at Vertical.

Chef Quenioux swears by the Tarbais beans, fat white ones, creamy and smooth. It's off the menu now - winter's over, spring's here, haven't you heard? But get ready to channel your inner French chef and make it yourself, because I scored Chef Quenioux's recipe. Reading it, I can't imagine how the final product ended up tasting so light. There are some manly ingredients on this list.

Note: It may be hard to find cured garlic sausage and Toulouse sausage unless you have access to a good European-style butcher. Do the best you can. Ultimately, sausage is delicious. If you can't get the ones recommended here, choose your favorites.

Cassoulet at Vertical Wine Bistro

 Vertical Wine Bistro's Cassoulet De Toulouse

• Salt and pepper
• 250g pork skin (optional)
• 500g pork belly, cubed 
• 1 kg Tarbais beans, soaked overnight 
• 1 large whole onion
• 12 whole cloves
• 200g duck fat
• 1 bouquet garni with thyme, rosemary and bay 
• 500g lamb shanks 
• 2 pieces duck leg confit 
• 1 cured garlic sausage 
• 500g Toulouse sausage
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 garlic head, minced
• 6 tomatoes, chopped 
• 1 liter chicken stock
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp walnut oil
• 1 Tbsp butter

Chef Laurent Quenioux

Soak pork skin for 12 hours or overnight if using.
Sauté pork belly to render some of the fat in a large pot. Add the soaked beans to the pot and enough water to cover by 2 inches. Stud one whole onion with the cloves and add to the pot along with the bouquet garni and 50g duck fat. Cook for 1 1/2 hours on low heat on the stovetop.

Roast the lamb shanks in a 400F oven using 50g duck fat. Season with salt and pepper. Nestle cooked lamb into the beans.

Sauté the sausages and the confit. Remove from pan, set aside. Add the chopped onions, carrots, and garlic to pan and sauté until onions are translucent. Stir sautéed vegetables and tomatoes into the beans. Nestle sausages and confit on top, making sure confit is not crushed. Cook for 1-2 hours in oven at 350F, making sure to keep beans wet by adding water or chicken stock as needed.

Taste for salt and pepper. Layer the beans and meats in a large clay pot for presentation. Add 2 tablespoons of walnut oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle with the panko and 100g duck fat and place under broiler for 30 minutes to toast the panko and heat through.

Cassoulet ingredients

Chicken stew with lemon, olives and figs (slow cooker or stovetop)

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I have learned several things in the nearly two years I've been blogging about food:

1. I make a lot of stew.
2. It is very, very hard to take a good picture of stew.
3. I am terrible at remembering to hold back ingredients or undercook dishes in order to make a better photograph.
4. Garnish? What garnish?

This lemon chicken recipe is a case in point. I make it often because it's easy, delicious, and well loved in my family. I've wanted to write about it for a year but haven't because I've been unable to get a good shot. That ends today. I must share the lemon chicken recipe with you. You must have the recipe. Today.

I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs because they get ultra-tender and fall apart with long, slow cooking. The base of the stew is extremely simple: onions, garlic, lemon, a few herbs. I add some olives and a squeeze of honey. And this time I also put in dried figs, since I'm still working my way through the 16-pound bags of figs graciously given to me by the California Fig Advisory Board. The figs work perfectly with the Mediterranean flavors in this recipe; if you like a little sweet in your savory, do add the figs.

I served this lemon chicken with potato latkes for our Hanukkah dinner. I got up early, got the stew into the slow cooker, and left it to cook all day on low while I was at work. When I got home I discovered that someone had turned off the slow cooker. Uh-oh. Fortunately, two hours on the stovetop in a cast iron pot did the trick. It's always good to have a backup plan.

Chicken stew with lemon, olives and figs

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 large onions, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 10-12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• zest and juice of 4 medium lemons
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 branches each fresh thyme and rosemary
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup dried figs, chopped (optional)

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onions until translucent, about 4 minutes; add the garlic and saute another 1 minute (do not let the garlic burn). Add the chicken, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper, herbs, honey, olives and figs. Bring the pot to a boil, turn down the heat, cover the pot, and cook over very low heat. Check the pot after 30 minutes; the chicken should release enough liquid to keep everything moist, but if it looks dry, add a little water or chicken stock.

Cook about two hours, or until the chicken is tender and falling apart, and the rest of the stew is soft and bubbling gently. Serve over rice. The lemon chicken stew will be even better on the second day, as most stews are.

Slow cooker method: Put all ingredients in the slow cooker in this order: onions, garlic, herbs, chicken, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, olives, figs, salt and pepper. Cook on low 8-10 hours.

Persian beef stew with quince (khoreshe behh)

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Persian beef stew with quince and prunes

My love affair with quince continues. Sometimes, as a native New Yorker living in southern California, I feel like I've landed in a sort of agricultural Wonka factory, where every time I turn around I'm discovering a new fruit or vegetable that makes me as giddy as a Fizzy Lifting Drink. My first taste of poached quince was a Fizzy Lifting Drink moment. I expected the taste and texture of canned pears, somehow; instead I got pure thick velvet, scented with rose and apricot. It swept me off my feet.

I polled the crowd on the In Erika's Kitchen Facebook page about quince. Shirin, another home cook in Los Angeles, waxed wistful about her mother's Persian beef stew with quince. I had to have the recipe. Shirin got it from her mom, Haydeh, and with their permission I share it with you.

I can't find the words to describe just how delicious and unusual this beef stew is. Beef, quince, prunes and turmeric combine to make a rich, aromatic broth. It smells and tastes like a fireplace in winter: warm, thick, a little smoky.

I made this beef stew in the slow cooker, although it could easily cook on the stove. If you have trouble finding quince, ask the produce manager at a local gourmet grocery - he or she should be able to find you some until the end of the year.

See the green spot on the spoon? That's me, taking the photo

Persian beef stew with quince (Khoreshe behh)
adapted from a recipe by Haydeh Bina Motavasel

• 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 pounds stew beef cut into smallish cubes (lamb or veal work also)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2-3 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• 2 quinces, cored and cubed, not peeled
• handful of prunes
• 3 Tbsp honey

Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown the meat in batches until it is seared well on all sides, then remove the meat to a plate. Add the onions and cook 6-8 minutes, until the onions are starting to brown nicely. Add the meat and any juices that have accumulated on the plate back to the pot. Add the turmeric, cinnamon, tomato paste, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and enough water to come halfway up the meat mixture. Stir to combine and bring the pot to a simmer.

While the meat is coming to a simmer, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet and saute the quince for a few minutes. You don't want to cook it thoroughly, just to start caramelizing the edges. Add the quince to the stew pot along with the prunes and honey. By this time the stew should be simmering; stir everything to combine, cover the pot, and let it cook a good three hours over very low heat. Check it occasionally to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot, and if it looks dry, add some water. Shirin notes that the longer it cooks, the better it will be.

Serve with white Basmati rice.

Slow cooker method: After you brown the meat and onions, add them to the slow cooker along with the turmeric, cinnamon, tomato paste, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and a cup or two of water. Saute the quince and add those to the slow cooker along with the prunes. Drizzle the honey over all. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.

I find quince extraordinarily beautiful

Pumpkin short ribs (slow cooker or stovetop)

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I was trying to come up with something witty to say about this delicious stew of short ribs with pumpkin and mushrooms, but I can't. I'm feeling literal. Here's what I've got:

Meat.

Tender, rich, savory beef short ribs. With lots of meaty crimini mushrooms. In a sauce that, if I hadn't told you, you'd never guess included pure pumpkin puree.

Oh, and those heavenly aromatics? My secret spice drawer weapon: Chinese five spice powder. It's a traditional combination of fennel, cloves, cinnamon, star anise and white pepper. Buy some. Use it with everything from beef to chicken to chocolate. It will rock your world. Between the pumpkin and the aromatics, this stew tastes the way Vermont looks in October: warm, spicy and full of oranges and golden yellows. Yes, you can taste orange and gold. Close your eyes, inhale, and take a bite. You'll see what I mean.

I've made this both in the slow cooker and on the stovetop. I've included directions for both, so use whichever method fits your schedule. I like English-cut short ribs - they're well marbled and boneless, and my local Costco sells them in large packages - but bone-in short ribs would work fine too.

Pumpkin short ribs

• 2 Tbsp grapeseed or canola oil
• 4 lbs English-cut short ribs
• 3 large onions, sliced
• 6 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 cups pumpkin puree (homemade or canned)
• 1/2 cup beef broth (or two packets Savory Choice liquid beef broth concentrate plus 1/2 cup water)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• 2 tsp salt

In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil over high heat until just starting to smoke. Brown the short ribs in batches on all sides, removing each batch to a plate as you finish it.

When the meat is browned and out of the way, add the onions to the pot. Saute about two minutes, until they start to wilt and turn golden. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook over high heat until they are cooked and have given up all their water, about 6-7 minutes. Add the garlic and stir briefly. Pour in the wine; it will bubble and evaporate quickly, which is what you want.

Slow cooker: Add the beef, onion mixture, pumpkin puree, beef broth, spices and salt to the pot of the slow cooker. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Your house will smell unbelievably good.

Stovetop: Add back the meat to the pot, then add the pumpkin, beef broth, spices and salt. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low, cover the pot, and cook over low heat at least three hours, or until the meat is fork tender. Inhale often as the short ribs are cooking, and smile.

Serve hot over polenta or buttered egg noodles.

Fish curry with kabocha squash

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Green fish curry with kabocha squash

Most of the fish my family eats comes from our local Costco. There is an excellent fish market a few miles away called Santa Monica Seafood, but it moved recently to a new location with inadequate parking, and it's no longer on my way home from work. Unfortunately, that means I rarely get there.

I've been pretty pleased with Costco's selection and quality. They often have wild salmon or steelhead. My husband likes the Dover sole. We also buy the large trays of tilapia filets, which I like because they're versatile. Sometimes I flour and pan-fry them, but because they're firm and meaty, often I include them in a stew or soup, like this green fish curry.

My eight-year-old wouldn't eat it, but I've given up trying to please him. He's going through a picky period and often prefers a bowl of cereal or a toasted cheese sandwich to whatever I've made for dinner. His loss. More for us.

Note: I use a bottled green curry paste I bought at an Indian grocery store. It's different from a thai green curry paste - it's got more fresh herbs (cilantro, mint) and less ginger. I must apologize: I can't remember the brand, threw away the jar and can't find any similar products online to which to link. However, it's relatively easy to make your own - just put cilantro, fresh mint, garlic, ginger, a jalapeno, some olive oil, and lemon or lime juice in the mini-chopper, and that's a pretty good approximation.

Fish curry with kabocha squash

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced (any color; I used part red and part orange)
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 3 Tbsp Indian green curry paste
• 1/2 kabocha squash, seeded and diced (leave skin on)
• 2 lbs tilapia filets
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice (4-5 large limes)
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil, cilantro or mint, or a combination

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, just until you start to smell the garlic. Immediately add the coconut milk, water and curry paste; stir to combine. Add the kabocha squash, bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook covered about 15 minutes, until the squash is tender.

Add the tilapia filets to the liquid, cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, until the fish is tender and flakes easily. Stir in the lime juice and chopped herbs. Serve immediately over rice.

Pumpkin chili recipe

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Pumpkin beef chili keeps you warm all day

Chili is always a hit in our house, and we have several favorite recipes. When I'm feeling ultra-lazy I doctor up the version on the back of the chili spice mix envelope and make "Cheater's Chili." When I'm really lucky (as I was this week), Michael makes a batch of his famous chili bianco, a white chili with chicken and/or pork, white beans, tomatillos and cilantro.

And then sometimes I experiment with variations on the genre, as with this pumpkin chili. When I first made it last year I managed to mistake ground chipotle powder for regular chili powder, and it was delicious but ultra-spicy. This year I got it right. If you prefer chili that takes off the top of your head, feel free to add more spicy stuff.

Notes: This recipe can be made either on the stove or in a slow cooker; I've included instructions for both. If you've made a big pot and are wondering how else to repurpose the leftovers, they're a great addition to a chilaquiles casserole or a simple quesadilla.

Pumpkin chili with beef

• 3 lbs ground beef
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 3 cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 Tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground chipotle powder (optional)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp salt, or to taste
• tortilla chips and shredded cheese (for garnish)

If you're planning to cook the chili on the stove, start with a large pot. If you're using a slow cooker, start with a large skillet.

In the appropriate vessel, brown the ground beef until no pink remains, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon. Add the onion and bell peppers and saute another 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir briefly.

Slow cooker: Put the beef mixture into the slow cooker along with the pumpkin puree, tomato paste, beans, spices and salt; stir to combine. Cook on low 8 hours or on high 4 hours.

Stovetop: Add the pumpkin puree, tomato paste, beans, spices and salt to the pot; stir to combine. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer covered 2-3 hours. If the chili looks too dry, add a little water.

Serve hot, topped with shredded cheese and crumbled tortilla chips. Makes enough for a very large gathering plus leftovers.

Beef brisket with pomegranate sauce

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Until I moved to California in the mid 90's, the Jewish holiday celebrations just happened. I was single and living in New York, near my family. As the holidays approached, I'd ask my mother where we were going for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur or Passover, and she told me. We gathered at my grandparents' house in Queens, my parents' house on Long Island, or my aunt and uncle's house near Kennedy Airport. I was young, not quite a grownup. Wherever my parents went, I went. The holidays were not my responsibility.

After I moved west, it took me a good five years to realize that if I wanted to celebrate the Jewish holidays, I was going to have to take some action. My husband is technically Jewish but grew up in a house with a Christmas tree and Easter baskets. He had no Jewish holiday traditions. I had only a few, all involving food. So I started inviting people, and cooking, and pretty soon we were hosting Passover seders and Rosh Hashanah dinners for 35 every year. Now I look forward to spending the holidays with the friends who have become my de facto extended family. The posse of kids, taller each year, runs around in the backyard until it's time to eat. Everyone brings a dish to lighten my load. It's not about religion - more culture and tradition and taking a break to enjoy one another's company.

This year Rosh Hashanah snuck up on me. I was traveling in New England for the weeks right before school started, and the holidays came very early this fall. A week before Rosh Hashanah, I realized I'd made no plans and invited no one. But here's what happens when you start the tradition: Everyone assumes it's happening, whether you say so or not. No one had made other plans. And despite the fact that school just started, the holiday fell on a weeknight, and I've been buried at work, we had a wonderful holiday dinner: traditional round challah, apples dipped in honey, fig salad, cabbage salad, tabbouleh, roast chicken, sweet potatoes, potato kugel, noodle kugel, and brisket braised in pomegranate juice.

Brisket is a relatively new addition to my Jewish holiday menus. I like beef as much as the next girl, but the pot roast my grandmother made for holiday meals never thrilled me. I think she used the Lipton onion soup mix method. I remember the meat being tender and salty. Really salty. That is not a pot roast I wish to recreate.

[On that topic - are pot roast and brisket the same thing? I've always assumed the terms were used interchangeably, although now I'm thinking brisket is the cut of meat, and pot roast refers to the method. Do you know? If so, please leave a comment below and enlighten me.]

In past years I've made fesenjan for Rosh Hashanah. Fesenjan is a traditional Persian stew of lamb or chicken simmered with pomegranate juice and thickened with ground walnuts. I use ground almond meal instead of walnuts and add a little cinnamon for warmth. Served over rice or couscous, this is one of my favorite holiday meals. But this year one guest had a nut allergy, so I had to improvise. I bought brisket instead of stew meat and married the pomegranate flavor of the fesenjan with the onion spirit of my grandma's pot roast. I crossed my fingers, said a little prayer, and cooked it in my new slow cooker instead of in the oven. In a word: delicious. This will definitely show up on my holiday table again.

Beef brisket with pomegranate sauce

• 1 quart pure pomegranate juice
• 1 5-lb flat cut brisket, cut into two pieces (to fit in the slow cooker)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 red onions, chopped
• 2 packets Savory Choice liquid beef broth concentrate, or two beef bouillon cubes
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup dried cranberries or cherries

Pour the pomegranate juice into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Let the liquid reduce by a third.

Meantime, heat a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Sprinkle the brisket with the salt and brown the meat well on both sides, one piece at a time. Place the browned brisket in the slow cooker. To the same hot skillet, add the olive oil and the onions. Saute about 5 minutes, until the onions are softened and starting to brown around the edges. Pour the onions into the slow cooker on top of the meat.

Now add the reduced pomegranate juice, beef broth concentrate, tomato paste, cumin, brown sugar and dried cranberries to the slow cooker. Use a wooden spoon to mix everything up just a little. Put on the top and cook on low for 8 hours, after which the meat will be fall-apart tender and the house will smell heavenly.

Remove the meat from the liquid and reserve on a plate. Pour the liquid into a saucepan, blend it smooth with an immersion blender, and reduce it by one-quarter to intensify the flavors. Check for seasoning and add salt if needed. Slice or shred the meat and serve with the sauce poured over.

A note about brisket: It is much easier to slice when cold. I cooked mine overnight the night before the holiday; finished the sauce, then put the meat and sauce in the refrigerator (separately) in the morning; sliced the meat when I got home from work; and reheated it with the sauce in the slow cooker before dinner. If you want to serve the meat shredded, however, it's not necessary to do it a day ahead.

Chickpea curry with coconut (vegan recipe)

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This week the Vegans came to dinner, and I made a vegan meal. We've known the Vegans for a very long time. In fact, my husband has known Mrs. Vegan longer than he's known me. It's good that they have so much history, because, in general, my extremely carnivorous husband (I was going to write "omnivorous," but it wouldn't have been accurate - he'll touch neither avocado nor zucchini) has little patience for the whole vegan thing. Especially when it means his own dinner will be meat-free as well.

We've always been a protein-plus-two-vegetables sort of family - not sure whether that's because of habit or matters of taste. I try to make meat-free dinners once or twice a week: rice and beans, maybe quesadillas. While I'm happy and the kids don't complain, meat-free dinners clearly do not satisfy Michael. I know this because an hour later, two hours tops, he's in the refrigerator.

It's not my strong suit, the meat-free, dairy-free, egg-free menu planning, but I did okay: crudites with white bean and basil dip (I used fresh basil solo instead of prepared pesto to keep it vegan and added a few capers for zing); oven-roasted tomatoes, which we ate with our fingers standing at the counter; fresh corn tortillas with zucchini flowers (like the ones on Girl + Fire, breathtakingly beautiful); a salad; and a very satisfying chickpea curry with coconut milk, served over brown rice. Mr. and Mrs. Vegan were happy. I was happy. The kids were happy (although some of them had grilled cheese - the curry was a little spicy). And Michael - well, after the Vegans left, he was in the refrigerator. Some things never change.


The garbanzo curry was extremely simple to make. One shortcut: I used a prepared Indian green masala paste. They're available in jars in Indian markets, if you've got one in your area. If you can't find it and prefer to make your own, I found a good-looking recipe on Asian Online Recipes (green masala paste recipe). Green masala relies heavily on cilantro and mint, so the curry has a nice, fresh flavor that works well with the coconut milk.

Chickpea curry with coconut milk

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 3 Tbsp Indian green masala curry paste
• 1 can coconut milk
• 4 cups cooked chickpeas (I used dried, but canned work fine here; drain them before adding)
• 4 green onions, chopped
• salt to taste (if you use canned garbanzos, you'll need less)
• fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

 Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute gently until it is translucent, about four minutes; do not let the onion brown. Add the garlic, cook for a minute, then add the tomato paste. Stir until everything in the pot is coated with the tomato paste and cook for a minute more; this will start to caramelize the tomato paste and will add depth to the finished dish.

Now add the green masala paste and coconut milk to the pot; stir to dissolve the tomato paste and masala spices in the coconut milk. Add the chickpeas and green onions, bring the pot to a boil, turn the heat way down, and simmer about 15 minutes, uncovered. If the pot looks too dry, add some water. You want sauce - slightly thickened, but definitely there.

Season to taste with salt and garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice. If you have leftovers, no worries - they're even better the next day.

Roasted tomato zucchini stew

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Tomatoes, zucchini and basil: Is there a better way to put summer on a plate? I wish I could say that the ingredients for this roasted tomato zucchini stew came from my garden, but alas, coastal southern California is not kind to tomatoes and zucchini - mine get mildew, fungus, blight, or some other ailment whenever I'm brave enough to plant them. Fortunately, the farmers who sell at our local markets live inland, where even during cool summers like this one they get enough heat to ripen their tomatoes.

These tomatoes, in fact, came from my friend Bennett, who has more than 20 tomato plants growing in his backyard in the Hollywood hills. We dropped off our younger son for a playdate and came home with 10 pounds of gorgeous, ripe tomatoes in varying colors and sizes. I cut the smaller ones in half and the bigger ones into wedges and oven-roasted them for a few hours, then added them to zucchini that I'd sauteed with onions and garlic. Roasting the tomatoes adds an extra step, but I think it's worth it - you just can't get that intense flavor otherwise.

I'm cutting down on carbs these days (doctor's orders), so I ate this with a spoon, but it would be extraordinary over pasta. And it was great at room temperature the next day.

Roasted tomato zucchini stew

• 1.5 lbs fresh tomatoes (not cherry tomatoes)
• 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 4 medium zucchini
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, minced or cut into thin strips (chiffonade)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Slice the tomatoes into thick wedges. Place the wedges on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet, skin-side down; you want the flesh of the tomatoes exposed to the hot air inside the oven. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake the tomatoes about 90 minutes, or until they are starting to shrivel and brown around the edges. They won't be dry - you just want to get some of the water out of them and concentrate the flavors.

Meantime, slice two of the zucchini into thin half-moons. Grate the other two. The grated zucchini will melt into the stew and give it body, while the sliced zucchini will stay more or less intact.

When the tomatoes are done, start the stew: Heat the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat and add the onion. When the onion has softened, raise the heat a little and add the sliced zucchini. (Zucchini has a lot of water, so it's important to raise the heat at this point - you want the zucchini to brown, not steam.) Saute the zucchini until most of it is golden brown, then add the garlic. Saute one minute, then add the tomatoes and shredded zucchini. When the mixture is bubbling, turn down the heat. Simmer uncovered about an hour, or until the stew no longer looks watery. Sprinkle with grated cheese and basil. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Fresh black-eyed peas with ham

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Every week I buy something from my favorite lady at the farmers' market. She had the best green garlic in the spring, and I've always loved her strawberries and radishes. She sells nopales (cactus paddles), too, trimmed and diced; I can't resist, even though I'm never quite sure what to do with them.

Today she had a huge pile of fresh black-eyed peas. The pods were beautiful - long and thin, dark green, with subtle bulges where the fat beans lay inside. I'd never bought them before, but of course I was fascinated.

There was a woman picking through the pods carefully, filling a bag. She was humming to herself as she sorted them with her long fingers. She looked like she knew what she was doing, so I asked her how she cooks them.

"Get yourself a ham hock," she told me. "Boil it up in some water for an hour, then add the beans and cook 'em till they're soft. They're goo-oo-ood." Seeing Emery with me, she tilted her head his way: "Make him do the shellin'," she added.

I didn't have to make him, of course. He shelled willingly. It took a while, too, and I was glad for the help. I did exactly as instructed: bought a ham hock at Bob's Market, which Richard the butcher kindly chopped into a few pieces; simmered it in water in my cast-iron dutch oven; added the shelled beans and a little more water. An hour later the beans were soft and smokey, the ham was falling apart, and the broth was...was...I can't even describe how delicious it was. No words. Me, without an adjective - can you believe it? Doesn't happen very often, you know.

I have no southern roots, and I didn't grow up cooking with ham. But now that I know, I'm never letting go. I'm sure some ancestor is rolling over in a grave somewhere. Oh well. 

Fresh black-eyed peas with ham hock

• 1 2-lb ham hock, cut into several pieces by your helpful butcher if possible
• 2 lbs fresh black-eyed peas (yields about 3 cups shelled)
• salt to taste

Put the ham hock in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover the pot, and simmer. This softens the ham and imparts a lot of delicious, salty, smokey flavor to the cooking liquid.

Meantime, shell the black-eyed peas. It's tough going; the pods don't zip open easily when they're really fresh. Have patience. Recruit an assistant. Put on some good music. You'll be there a while. It's okay, because the ham hock needs to simmer for a while. In fact, it needs to simmer for exactly as long as it takes you to shell the beans. Convenient, yes?

Add the shelled black-eyed peas to the ham in the pot, and top it off with a little more water if you need it. Simmer the mixture about an hour, until the beans are very soft and the ham can be shredded easily with a fork. Taste and add salt to your liking. Remove the ham hocks from the beans and put them on a cutting board; discard the bones and shred the meat, taking out any fat or gristle.

Drain the beans of most of their liquid and put them in a serving bowl. Do not throw away the liquid; it's ambrosia. I used mine to cook another pot of beans - dried this time - which I'll put in the freezer for another time. Add the shredded ham to the black-eyed peas and serve.

Hungarian pork sauerkraut stew (Szekelygulyas) recipe

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Important things I have learned about Hungarian food in the 17 years I've lived with (and 13 years I've been married to) a Hungarian:

1. It involves lots of peppers, both fresh and dried - you've heard of the famous Hungarian paprika, I assume. It's in everything. And the stuff you get in the grocery store labeled "paprika" is just red dust. It tastes nothing like actual Hungarian paprika, which you'll find at gourmet stores or which a Hungarian will be proud to smuggle into the U.S. for you among the dirty socks in her suitcase.
   
2. At some point, if you know any Hungarians, someone will try to feed you korozott (pronounced KOO-roo-zoot, more or less). You must like caraway - really like caraway - to like korozott, a sort of cheese spread with many family variations. I've seen it most often with cream cheese, sour cream, paprika, and caraway, always caraway.
   
3. The savory dishes generally don't take that long to prepare, but they often need to cook unattended for a while - lots of variations on stew.
4. Every culture has its pancakes and dumplings. I have learned to make good palacsinta (like crepes), although my mother-in-law's are better.
   
5. Hungarians really like dessert, which often involves ground nuts in some way.
   
6. I'm not a huge fan.
   

This is sad, the last, because my mother-in-law is a good cook, and I should probably be trying to learn more from her. But very few of the actual Hungarian dishes I've eaten have grabbed me.

The stew pictured above, however, is another story. We went to a potluck a few weeks ago, and our neighbor Larry showed up with a huge Dutch oven full of it. My in-laws were with us at the party and recognized it immediately - szekelygulyas, a pork stew with sauerkraut.

Larry, it turns out, is not Hungarian. But he grew up in New York, in the Yorkville section of Manhattan's upper East side, way over near the river in the 70s and 80s (the streets, not the decades). He lived near Paprikas Weiss, then a famous Hungarian deli and food importer, and his neighbors, mostly Hungarians, taught him to make this dish, which he carried with him to southern California.

I love cabbage in all its variations, and Larry's stew had a soft coral-colored sauce and tiny nuggets of tender pork. I had to have it. I had to make it. Here's my version, which, truth to tell, was not as good as Larry's. But I'll work on it.

Szekelygulyas - Hungarian pork stew with sauerkraut

• 2 Tbsp oil
  
• 3 large onions, diced
  
• 3 lbs pork shoulder or butt, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 3 Tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 3 large (32 oz) jars sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
  
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups sour cream
• 2 Tbsp flour

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or stew pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute about 5 minutes, until the onions are softened and starting to brown around the edges. Add the pork and saute, stirring occasionally, until the meat has started to brown - you don't need to go for the deep sear you'd want with other kind of stews. Add the paprika and tomato paste, stir to combine, and cook 2-3 minutes more.

Now add water to come about halfway up the meat, bring to a simmer, cover the pot, and let the stew cook until the pork is tender, about 2 hours. The exact time will depend on what kind of meat you used and what size you cut it, so check it after an hour and a half, but honestly, there's really no way to overcook the meat. It will just get better.

When the meat is tender, add the rinsed and drained sauerkraut, stir to combine, bring back to a simmer, cover again, and let cook another 45 minutes or so. Taste and add salt if you need it, plus lots of freshly ground black pepper. Turn off the heat and move the pot off the hot burner. Stir the flour into the sour cream, then add the sour cream to the stew. It's important to do this off the heat or the sour cream will curdle; you want the sauce to be nice and smooth.

Serve over hot buttered noodles. This dish is far better the second or third day; just make sure when you reheat it that you don't let it boil, or, as I said earlier, the sour cream will curdle.