Rich Chili-Stew with 'Shrooms

I see this as a cross between a chili and a stew because I decided to go crazy and add mushrooms, and therefore didn't feel like I could simply call this "chili", although it has the thick, meaty consistency of chili and I did use ground beef. So here you go, an original creation I threw together with the stuff we already had at home! This is not a hot-and-spicy chili, but I'm sure you could add some cayenne or
Tabasco sauce to taste, if heat is desired. For y'all in the States, sorry about the use of "grams", but this is how things come in the store here. You can easily convert these amounts through Google.

Rich Chili-Stew with 'Shrooms
(serves 6; South Beach phases 2-3)

2 pounds lower-fat beef (I get this at the Turkish market)
1 large onion
3 small bell peppers
6 cloves garlic
250 grams whole champignon (white) mushrooms, halved or “thirded”
Paprika and oregano to shake
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
5 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp sugar beet syrup or dark molasses
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp cumin
2 cans diced tomatoes
A sprinkling of salt
1 square (10 grams) of dark chocolate (at least 65% cacao), or more to taste
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained (optional)

1. Sautee diced veggies and minced garlic in a small amount of olive oil for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the surface of the veggies in the pot with paprika and oregano and mix. After the veggies have softened, remove the veggies along with their juices from pot into a bowl.
2. Add ground beef to the emptied pot and brown over medium-high heat. Then add the Worcestershire sauce, dijon, tomato paste, syrup (molasses), chili powder, cumin, and mix well, cooking a bit until you can smell the aromas.
3. Add the tomatoes, stir, and bring to a simmer. Then turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 20 minutes. If you need to add some water at this point, add about 1/3 of a cup. Add the beans (if desired) toward the last 5 minutes of cooking to warm through. Add the reserved veggies along with their juices and warm through. Salt the chili to taste. At the very end, drop in the chocolate square and stir until melted. Serve with a sprinkling of shredded Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese.

Cafe Prückel

I love this place! I'm there at least once a week for afternoon coffee with my friend Amy. This past Tuesday, after I realized that I'd left my cell phone there the night before, I went there straight after German class. We had been sitting in a smaller, closed-off section of the cafe, so I thought it may be worth checking to see if my phone might have been noticed by the waitstaff before it could've been stolen. After practicing in my head what I would say in German to the staff, I went in, and a tuxedo-clad waiter stopped his quick stride to ask if he could help me. I said my phrase about having left my phone (in all the wrong word order), and he politely answered me in English that a phone had been left, and that he would find out about it. After a few moments, a manager-type had me follow her to the downstairs level, where she had me call my phone on her cell phone to make sure it was really mine (and it was!). The staff could not have been nicer, and now I love the place all the more.

New Old Stand-bys

Welcome to, "New Old Stand-bys." These are recipes that I come back to time after time because they are fairly easy and so delicious! My hope is that some of these new discoveries, which for me have been fairly fail proof, will save you some time in the kitchen this time of year.

Breakfast Casserole:

In the States, I usually use Jimmy Dean turkey sausage links found next to the bacon and lunch meat. In Vienna, I've made it with kosher miniature hot dogs I found at the Turkish market.

Maple Apple Crisp: In the States, I use sugar-free maple syrup or Agave nectar, which is found in the syrup or honey aisles. I also use whole wheat flour for the crumble topping; you could substitute Smart Balance spread for the butter, and Splenda or part Splenda for the sugar. In Vienna, I use real butter, Agave (found in the health-food aisle of DM), and dark sugar or fruit sugar.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread/Cake: This was delicious—I made it in a glass, rectangular pan as a cake and baked it for 30 minutes. I actually made it without the nuts, and maybe that's why it seemed more cake-like to me. I would also love to try this as cupcakes. I bet you would bake them up to 20 minutes, but I'd do the toothpick test after 10 minutes to see how they're doing. You could frost them with cream cheese frosting, although they wouldn't need any topping, really.

Zucchini Fritters: Yum! I hope you still have zucchini in your area this time of year!

Foil-Baked Salmon with Pesto: I always keep a small jar of pesto on hand for this quick recipe! It also works great with tilapia. I recommend thawing the fish first, even if the package says you can bake them frozen.

Healthier Meatloaf: My favorite meatloaf! In the States, I make this with ground turkey. In Vienna, I go to the Turkish market and get low-fat beef.

Pioneer Woman's Fave Burger: With the quantities she uses for two burgers, which is what is in this recipe, I usually make 4-5 (or half the recipe for 2-3 burgers). The carmelized onion trick is something I'll use from now on! In Vienna, I get some whole grain "Semmeln" to use for buns. Yum!

Cauliflower Gratin: I made this with a little smokey cheddar, and it was great!! Next, I can't wait to try Onion Gratin! When I get around to making it, though, I'll have to throw in some garlic for hubby. Sounds like it would go great with some brisket and a big salad!

Well, I hope you enjoy some of these new old stand-bys and that they become some of your new favorites, too! Merry Christmas!

Tzatziki Chicken Salad

South Beach Grilled Chicken Salad with Liz's garlicky, chunky Tzatziki Sauce

Chicken:

1 ounce extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

To make the chicken: Combine the oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish; add the chicken. Refrigerate at least an hour. Drain and discard marinade. Grill the chicken until the thickest portion registers 160 degrees F (or, grill in nonstick skillet on medium-high, until both sides are golden and the thickest part of the chicken, when cut into, is no longer pink and the juice runs clear).

Liz's sauce:

1 cup plain nonfat/low fat yogurt, liquid on top drained

3/4 cup peeled and seeded cucumber, finely diced (peel with potato peeler, cut in half lengthwise, gently scoop out seeds with spoon like you would a melon; then finely dice)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp white vinegar

dash of salt

Mix all sauce ingredients and chill in refrigerator until chicken is done. Serve chicken whole or julienned on a bed of shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and sauce drizzled on top. Serves 4.

Tomato Soup for Four

A side note: this blog has been on extended vacation for a while. Although I'd like to keep it updated much more frequently, it looks like that's not going to happen. Since this blog is not my full-time job (and like you all, I have a life I'm trying to keep up with), I've realized it's unrealistic for me to hope to have weekly original recipes complete with beautiful photos of every step. So, now that I've let myself off the hook and have set my sights a little lower, let's just call this a real-life-expat-mostly-healthy food-adventure blog for my friends.

A long time ago, while living overseas for my first extended period of time, I had to learn to make tomato soup. Back then, this prospect seemed very absurd. I thought, "Is it possible to MAKE tomato soup? How is it done? I thought you always had to get it from a can!" Since then, I've tried to remember the ratio of ingredients I had used from the recipe my roommate had found on the internet six years ago (THANKS, Joy H!). Well, thanks to some input from friends (THANKS, Linda W., Judi and Jenny D!) and a second round of taste-testing from my hubby (THANKS hubby!), here we go:

Tomato Soup for Four
serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter
1 small red onion, finely diced
2-3 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup whole milk
1 liter tomato juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
shredded Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top before serving

1. If you have a food processor, use it to chop up the onion and garlic until it has a slight "pulp" consistency. (Simply chopping very finely by hand works too, if you don't mind some texture in your soup. For a very smooth soup, use a hand blender after adding the tomato juice to the pot).
2. Melt 2 Tbsp of butter over medium heat and then sautee the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Toss in the basil and stir. Add the 2 Tbsp flour and stir well. You may need to turn the heat down to medium-low.
3. After the flour is well mixed-in, add the milk, stirring often until the consistency is a bit like gravy. Then, pour in the tomato juice. Bring the soup to an almost-simmer over medium-low to medium heat, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt, then serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan on top.
Linda W. also suggests adding a bit of sugar to the soup to cut the acidity if desired. I've found that a half of a Splenda packet also works well. Judi says that baking soda would do the same thing. You may also want to use wheat flour if you're following the South Beach Diet and are in phase 2 or 3. You may also substitute olive oil for the butter, but I prefer the butter taste to the soup. If you live in Europe, I recommend Rauch "Happy Day" tomato juice. It tastes great and has a nice color. Jenny D. sent me this link for another version with fresh tomatoes.

Best of the Web #2

As the fall approaches and hopefully the weather is getting cooler where you live, you may have the urge to go for a nice run outside. "Map My Run" is a great site that will give you routes in your town, whether you want to run, bike, or hike. I even found Vienna! Thanks to the Diets in Review blog for the great info!

As I was checking in with The Frugal Duchess, I found some great tips in, "How to Get Free E-Books". I'm checking out DailyLit at the moment, so I can try to read some Chekov. I'm having 3 installments sent to me weekly through my email, at 12:30 pm Vienna time. How cool!

Make-them-yourself mixes, sauces, and convenience foods courtesy of the Hillbilly Housewife are handy for saving money, and for saving your usual recipes, if you happen to be an expat without access to readily available items like these. I used the recipe for "Buttery Garlic Rice" yesterday to go with roasted chicken, and it was delicious! I only used one tablespoon of margarine and one bouillion cube (since the ones I have are HUGE), and it came out great. As a side note, I successfully roasted my first chicken, combining tips from Kalyn's Kitchen (turning the oven temperature down for the last part of the cooking time); and Eatin' on the Cheap (with her recipe for herbed butter). As a sub-side note, I did not use a roasting pan, because I don't own one yet. I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you have a ton of Easy Off oven cleaner and a maid. Lesson learned.

Food Adventure: Ranchman's Cafe

So here's a plug for Ranchman's Cafe

in Ponder, Texas.
We had delicious steak...





fried green tomatoes...














and cobbler! Go there!