I love and miss this tradition, which seems to have fallen out of fashion.
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Well, this is more of an exurban area, but to be fair, the best non-American food available in town is def Chinese (predominantly Sichuan, but I’m good with that).
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So, I broke my foot yesterday. A newer friend of mine (kid’s classmate’s mother) brought us takeout pan-Asian last night. This is the family I brought chili and cornbread to when they had COVID. What goes around comes around 
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Uh, more deetz on the foot. And sorry. Hope you heal up quickly, and take advantage of your good food friend karma 
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Our endless winter continues, with below-freezing temperatures today and mixed precipitation forecast for Thurs/Fri – just when the base of the mailbox finally melted clear of the curbside snow mound. Time for a batch of Pork & Sweet Potato chili - a recipe CH’er foodcompletesme posted in the 2013 dish of the month series over there. It’s in our regular fall/winter soups rotation. Recipe with my (spice wimp) notes and changes in the comment below.
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Pork Sweet Potato and Navy Bean Chili
1 1/2 cups chopped white onion
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped OR Beau Monde seasoning / celery salt on pork
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
3/4 pound boneless center-cut pork loin / “Country Style Boneless Ribs”, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 teaspoon salt (don’t use much salt but it is plenty flavorful for me)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, diced - I omit
1 tablespoon adobo sauce (or chipotle mexican-style cooking sauce) - omitted
15 oz. can navy beans, rinsed and drained (cooked from dried, frozen)
enough (vegetable) stock to just cover ingredients - about 2 C
If making this in a slow cooker (I cook on stovetop), add spices in the last hour so ground spices remain potent:
1/2 tablespoon chili powder (modified from original recipe had 1 T)
1/2 tablespoon cumin (modified from original recipe had 1 T)
1 teaspoon unsweetened dark-chocolate powder ( natural cocoa)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Optional for serving: chopped cilantro and plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream).
Stovetop method:
Cook onion, carrot, celery, garlic and sweet potato in oil 8-10 minutes until tender. season pork with s&p and add to pot until browned, about 5 minutes. mix in chili powder, cumin, chocolate powder, oregano and cinnamon, cook 2 minutes. add 2 cup veg stock, tomatoes, chipotle pepper and adobo sauce. bring to boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally about 1 hour. stir in navy beans and (optional - I don’t use) cilantro, heat about 3 minutes.
Credit: Chowhound poster foodcompletesme
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How did you break your foot? You’re young and strong!
I won’t let my cats see your flatware. They demand too much as it is.
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I made cabbage rolls today. I’m not usually a fan of them actually but I had spring greens that needed using so I went back to my roots with this one. I think I prefer spring greens to hardier cabbages and the tomato sauce was really flavourful. It was eaten with homemade cornbread and butter. The cornbread was really good too, it’s not something I’ve made much but I love the texture and sweetness of it. All in all, a comforting meal for cloudy, gloomy weather, even if it’s not the prettiest.
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My mom used to only buy kosher chickens and turkeys - Empire brand. I grew up with those. Then at some point, she started using the Reynolds bags to roast them. Now, as an adult, sometimes I dry brine, sometimes I wet brine, sometimes bones, sometimes boneless. Sometimes no turkey when it’s expected and I just decide on beef or pizza instead. It’s nice to have options. People who are very insisty on a single path at all times lack imagination. Including the imagination that other people aren’t them, and might not have the same constraints or preferences.
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I would love your recipe for this as I have a jar of powdered black lime and don’t know how to use it. And I’ll trade you a baking soda tale. Right around St Paddy’s this year I made a Bon Appetit recipe for porcini apricot soda bread. I couldn’t resist the oddness of it. I should have. Porcini are way too strong for this application, and so was the amt of baking soda, although I followed the recipe. The loaf was huge and although the inside was ok, the outside was too brown, too metallic, and too musty. Also into the compost, which I hate to do (waste) but I knew no one was going to eat it after the first “being nice to the cook” day.
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Holy cow, that’s about how much Bozone got this past weekend. Skiing in July for you? You’re smart to stock up and plan for not leaving the house for a few days, but you’re probably a pro at ita. Be safe. Soup looks hearty!
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Hahaha! I’ll bet your cats will beg to differ
My 5th metatarsal was the victim of a turned foot (wearing clogs on a gravel walkway) that caused me to fall out of my shoe and land on the outside edge of my foot. Crunch. Luckily no surgery needed (1 cm up where the blood flow is worse and it would have been straight to surgery!), but I have to crutch around with no weight on my foot. Driving is out of the question for a little while. 
I managed to cook dinner at least - Cock-a-Leekie Soup from the WaPo but subbing broth for water, adding celery with the leeks and carrots, and some chicken BTB to amp up the subtle broth. With crusty Italian loaf.
My son gave me Pocky for dessert: “One because I like you. One because I want to. And one to cheer you up because you broke your leg.” Close enough. 
I don’t know how I will tolerate being so helpless for 4-6 weeks but I’ll try.
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I really like your dishware - what is it, please?
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Yikes. Our mutual former CH acquaintance invino just refractured her 5th metastarsal.
Be careful & heal up properly!
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Oh no! Best wishes for speedy healing. Heaven knows you have built up a TON of food delivery karma!
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Ooof. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
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Super fast, easy and tasty: tagliatelle with spicy fennel sausage and greens, sauce made with a bit each of chicken broth, cream, lemon juice and starchy pasta water. More greens next time.
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Spiced braised mushrooms with noodles, adapted from this recipe - https://thewoksoflife.com/soy-sauce-mushroom-noodles/
Changes:
- Used More Than Gourmet chicken base in place of the water, since I was using all fresh mushrooms
- Added star anise, ginger, and black cardamom to the braising liquid with the shrooms
- Used oyster sauce in place of the dark soy sauce
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