Chili

Tired of holiday meals? Is it cold outside? Try some chili! How many ways can a person make chili - millions. I like chili. I grew up with tomato based chili and I like it best. While married I grew to enjoy various vegetarian versions. Craig seems to only like New Mexico style green chili. He asked me once: How come you never make chili? Me: You don't like tomato based veggie chili. Craig: Sure I do. I like any chili. Me: OK. I'll start making chili. If you want green chili you have to make it. Craig: OK. Long story short, I made the chili in this post. He said it was not mushy enough, too thin, too hot, not green and so on. I tried reminding him that he claimed to like all chili. He looked puzzled. This recipe reminds me of a Mexican mole. I loved it! It is vegetarian. It is vegan if you leave off the yogurt and cheese. Adapted from a recipe in Sunset Magazine.

Sheet-Pan Sausage with Peppers

A quick dinner using only one pan. Just the kind of meal I like. We don't eat much meat or sausage, but my hubby loves both so every couple months I treat him to something like this. This recipe serves 2 so scale it up for more people. I serve it with rice. It would go nicely with pasta or just a couple slices of a hearty bread. Use mini peppers and you just have to slice them in half. Recipe is adapted from one in the New York Times.

Persimmon and Apple Pie

Been awhile since I posted. Life in the Johnson household has been up and down, filled with health concerns for both me and my hubby. I've still been cooking, though, and have a backlog of recipes to post. May not get them all up til December. Darn as some will no longer be in season. This pie is good. My neighbor has a persimmon tree and she lives by the mailbox. She stands in wait with a bag full of persimmons. She is an older Asian woman with a gravelly voice. As I pass by while walking Annie, I say hello and she thrusts a bag of persimmons into my hands. I can't say no. So I take them home and we have them on our morning cereal, in salads and in this pie. I'm also toying with making jam. Later this week perhaps. Enjoy the pie!

Fig and Pear Jam

As the weather cools and fall fruits become available, my jam making shifts from peaches and berries to figs, pears, apples, persimmons! Not sure why I am so into making jams. Its soothing, calming and helps me cope with life's challenges. Often you'll find me in the kitchen preparing fruit for jam while watching Perry Mason reruns. That show may have been responsible for my interest in becoming a lawyer. I know for sure it helped me get through law school evidence class. I'd watch and shriek at the TV - objection, objection! This jam recipe is adapted from one by Christine Ferber.

Plum Torte

This is an adaptation of the famous Marian Burros Plum Torte. It is so delicious. I've made it twice already since plums are in season right now in California. We scarf it down in a couple days and lick our fingers and want more. It is super simple, although it did require me to get the hand mixer out so I could cream the sugar and butter. Give it a try, assuming you don't already have the recipe taped to your frig or bookmarked on your device. Feel free to use other fruit instead of plums or along with the plums. I used apricots and plums in one of them. Really tasty.