Recipe!

Picture credit: cmbellman @ flickr

Food. Who doesn't love food? Not me, that's for sure!

Especially when cold. Food a) give you energy, b) if it's hot, warms you straight up, and c) makes you happy (and so strong against demotivation due to chills or gloomy weather) with its delicious tastes. And probably more besides.

Let's make chili soup, shall we?

This is not, I'm afraid, vegetarian. But if you are one, you likely know better than me what to use in place of the meat stock. Beg pardon!

There's no solid meat in the recipe, instead I use oxo and concentrated stock. I buy it in bottles from Morrisons, but you could make your own or purchase elsewhere.. Or use real meat. But I prefer it this way at the moment because a) the butcher's quite a walk from my house, and the supermarkets don't sell small enough portions*, and b) it's cheaper than buying meat.

*Something the size of a pack of cards is a "proper" serving of red meat for an adult, I hear (somewhere). And that's not per day.

Ingredients:

1 can of tomatoes

one beef oxo cube

3 desert spoonfuls of concentrated beef stock

1 desert spoonful of concentrated chicken stock

1 onion (size depends on your preference)

2 cloves of garlic (or as you prefer)

1 dried chili (or any sort you like, really. fresh, preserved in oil, brine.. but we have a plant at home that gives a GREAT deal of fruit, so, I always have dried ones on hand)

2 teaspoons of natural dark muscavado sugar (or, again, as you prefer, but brown gives a deeper taste and muscavado is apparently quite good for you)

splash of carotino oil (..or any oil you prefer. But, again, apparently this oil is good for you because of its make-up and because you have to use less of it than other oils. Also, it is orange, which can only help the colour of your soup!)

1 can of beans (pick your favourite. But I think kidney beans are best.)

A whole bunch of vegetables! Try to get seasonal ones, but if you just can't resist a butternut squash.. I don't blame you, me neither. You need at least enough veg to fill two empty cans.

This is maybe not really a soup, but more of a vegetabley stew.. But I think that "vegetable stew" sounds horrible, to be honest, and this isn't. Depending on how small you chop your vegetables, you should end up with either a chunky soup or just a normal (though chunk-of-meatless) chili.

Heat your oil medium-high, chop your onions. While they cook for five minutes (or more, depending on how soft you like your onion) chop or crush the garlic and the chili. Add to onion.

When it starts to smell really delicious, add the concentrated stock, and the canned tomatoes. If you have any fresh tomatoes that are starting to go over, just cut off and discard the bad bits, chop the rest, and put it in here too. Every little helps. To rinse out the tomato can (before recycling), fill to about an inch below the brim with water and add it to the pot.

When it starts to bubble a little, turn down the heat to the high side of low (or the low of medium, depending on your hob). Let it simmer as you wash and chop your vegetables. I like carrots, frozen peas (put these in last), sugarsnap peas, sometimes corn, brocolli stalks, sometimes cauliflower or asparagus, butternut squash and rarer-sometimes cactus in a jar. But like I said.. it depends what you can find.

Add the beans, sugar, and salt to taste. Leave it for at least fourty-five minutes, but an hour or two on very very low is best.

It should make about four good servings. It'll keep in the fridge. It is delicious. Just see! Eat with tortillas and cheese (and mayonaise), or.. you know, anything else. It's your lunch, after all.

picture credit: svenwerk @ flickr

I think this soup should count for at least two of your five-a-day, and if you eat garlic (and onions) at least twice a week, you'll probably be healthier. I forget how. But I read it on http://www.mediterrasian.com, so you can check for yourself if you fancy. And try some of their recipes. They're good.. really good.