Cincinnati Style Chili

Sounds Good 

I thought that I had just about as much as I could handle with two children with food allergies, then I became pregnant with a third child.  I prayed nearly every day of my pregnancy that our newest baby would not have food allergies.  The good news was that the prayer worked, my new baby could eat anything!   The bad news, he had a benign tumor in his pelvis. 

His condition was a bit of a mystery; we did not actually know he had a tumor until he was 18 months old.  He spent his first week of life in the intensive care unit.  We took him home with a possible diagnosis and a prescription for ‘wait and see’.  He continued to have issues with chronic constipation and we felt like we needed better answers.   After a series physicians, exams, tests, scans, and biopsies, it was determined that whatever was ailing my son, needed expert surgical intervention.  We were referred to the world’s leading expert and pioneer in pediatric bowel surgery: a surgeon in Cincinnati, Ohio by the name of Alberto Pena. 

Dr. Pena took one look at an x-ray of his pelvis and diagnosed his condition over the phone and recommended surgery.   It turns out, he had a rare condition.  A tumor had formed in his pelvis in utero and caused damage to his bones, spinal cord, and intestines.

First meal in 10 days

It was exactly 4 years ago this week that our son underwent an extensive surgery to repair the damage caused by the tumor and to have the tumor removed.  The surgery did not erase all of the damage, but it was a complete success.  He has a normal life of 5 year old boy.   He skips to school every day, loves Legos, and eats anything and everything.  His favorite is spaghetti.

We spent nearly three weeks in Cincinnati for his surgery and recovery and became acquainted with the local cuisine.  In honor of Sebastian, Dr. Pena, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, I offer a recipe for Cincinnati Style Chili.  It’s allergy friendly, gluten free, and full of fiber!

Cincinnati Style Chili

It's all about the noodles

1 box of gluten free pasta, break noodles in half and cook according to directions.

1 pound of ground beef or turkey (optional)

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, mined

1-3 teaspoons red chili powder

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 can of hot chili beans

1 can of black beans

1 can of kidney beans

1 can of diced tomatoes (optional)

Brown the ground meat, add onion and garlic.  Sauté for 5 minutes.  Add spices, beans, and tomatoes.   Cook at medium heat for at least 30 minutes.  

Serve chili over a bed of noodles.  Top with cheese and diced red onion.

A toothless kindergarten smile

We continue to be so thankful for the people at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Dr. Alberto Pena. His life's work has helped so many families around the world.

Indian Curry, Garbanzo Bean Flat bread, and Quick Chutneys

Spice it up!

This is an oldie, but goodie.  It originally asked for plain yogurt, but I substituted coconut milk for the yogurt with great results, thus making it dairy free!

Just recently, I started making socca.  It is flat bread made from garbanzo bean flour.  I have used a variety of methods, and I find the broiler method to be the best (and so does my son!).

Indian Chicken Curry

This recipe is dairy free, gluten free and can be made vegetarian but substituting chickpeas, carrots, and other vegetables of choice for the chicken. 

2 tsp. curry powder

1-2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 TBSP canola oil

1 cup of chopped yellow onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3-4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 can of light coconut milk

1 small can of tomato paste

5 cups of peeled baking potato (about 7 medium sized potatoes)

About 4 cups of water

-Combine the first 8 ingredients.
-Heat oil in a 5 quart Dutch oven, sauté onion and garlic for 5 minutes, stir in spice mixture and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add chicken and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
-Add coconut milk, tomato paste, potato and enough water to cover everything in your pot. 
-Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour or until potatoes are cooked.  Stir occasionally.
-Serve over hot basmati rice or brown rice.

-Top with fresh cut tomato, Quick Tomato Chutney, or Quick Mango Chutney.  Recipes follow. 

Socca

Use equal parts garbanzo bean flour and water. This recipe will make about 3, 8-10 inch flatbreads.

1 cup of garbanzo bean flour

1 cup of water

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon of salt

Combine ingredients and let it rest for at least one hour, up to 3 hours.  The rest time allows for the flour to absorb the water.

Recommended method:

Socca with Mango Chutney

Preheat the oven and your pan (cast iron or skillet) at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  After it is preheated, fire up the broiler!

Arrange the top rack in your oven to be about 6 inches from the broiler coils.  Add a small amount of canola oil in your skillet and then add 1/3 of your batter to the skillet.   Place in the oven on the top rack.  Broil for 3-4 minutes.  Watch closely in the case your oven is hotter than mine.  Repeat for the remaining batter.

Cut into 2x2 sections and serve with chutney and curry.

You can also cook the batter in a skillet on the stove on high heat.  Cook for 3-4 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.

Quick Tomato Chutney

A good friend of mine introduced me to this easy sauce to serve with Indian food…she was even from India!

2 TBSP of finely chopped yellow onion (reserve some from when you cut the onion for the curry)

3 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1 TBSP water

2 TBSP olive oil

1/4 cup fresh chopped tomato

1 tsp. of chili powder

1 tsp. to 1 TBSP of red pepper flakes (choose amount for level of heat)

1/2 tsp. sea salt

Combine all ingredients and serve with curry or socca. 

Quick Mango Chutney

One mango, diced into small pieces

2 tablespoons finely minced onion

1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped (optional)

Combine the ingredients and serve with curry or socca.

Dressed Up Black Bean Soup and Corn Meal Biscuits

The dawning of warmer temperatures and tulips also brings along the spring soccer season.  Adding multiple evenings a week spent out at the soccer field means that I have even less time to prepare a meal for my hungry, dribbling, shooting soccer stars.  We do not have the ability to drop by a fast food place or pop a pizza in the oven due to food allergies.   But, a little planning and preparation goes a long way.

I like easy and convenient options when I can find them at the store.  One of my favorite things to do is to ‘dress’ up a boxed soup with a can of beans, tomatoes, diced carrots, celery, onion, etc.  

Dressed Up Boxed Black Bean Soup

1 box of black bean soup (I used the Simply Balanced brand available at Target)

1 can of black beans

1 can of diced tomatoes (optional)

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks of celery, chopped

½ onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

Place everything in a crock pot, stir, and race onto to soccer practice. 

Once home, top the soup with shredded cheese, pour in some of your favorite milk for a creamy soup, place in a dollop of plain coconut yogurt, diced avocado, cilantro.  Serve with cheesy tortillas (corn, rice, or flour) heated in your toaster oven.   If you have extra time, try serving the soup with cornmeal biscuits.

Corn Meal Biscuits

¾ cup rice milk (or milk of choice)

1 tablespoon lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)

1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend (reference breads and baking)

½ cup corn flour, finely ground

¼ teaspoon xanthum or guar gum (omit if your flour mixture contains this ingredient)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

6 tablespoons of butter spread (Earth balance or real butter if you can!)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Combine milk and lemon juice and let it sit for 10 minutes.  This is to ‘sour’ the milk.
2. Combine the ingredients, flour through baking soda.  Cut in the butter spread with the flour mixture using a fork or pastry knife until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
3. Stir in enough of the soured milk so that the dough leaves the side of the bowl and combines into a round ball.  There might be some milk left over-that's okay.   The dough should not be too sticky or too dry, just right.  Turn the dough a few times onto a floured surface.  Roll the dough into a ¾ inch thick circle.  Cut the biscuits using a small cup.  Place biscuits onto a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm!  

I browse food magazines for new recipes that are well suited for my family.   The biscuit recipe came from Delicious Living, May of 2013.  I didn’t need to make any substitutions as the recipe met our allergy needs.