The weirdest, most unique, and most delicious veg chili
I have written previously about the power of food in creating magic around holidays. This time of year is unsurprisingly no different for me, in that there is so much magic to be made. Whether it be in the form of freshly nibbled carrots and cookie crumbs by the chimney on Christmas morning, or the taste of the familiar dish you cook at this time of year, I hope you relish in all of the moments of holiday food magic this season.
As this is the first holiday season that Poppy is starting to understand that there’s something just *different* going on (like, perhaps, the fact that there is a new tree in our house), I’ve been thinking a lot about my family’s history of food traditions at this time of year, as well as what new traditions I want to carve out for our family.
I’d love to hear in the comments—what are your family’s food traditions at this time of year?
Black Bean and Stout Chili
The 411: My great grandmother started a family Christmas Eve tradition of chili for dinner. As kids, we would often go to my aunt’s house for Christmas Eve, who carried on this tradition for the family. I’m not sure how she came across L.V. Anderson’s chili recipe, but it is absolutely the weirdest, most unique, and most delicious veg chili recipe I’ve ever had. The recipe is deep in flavor thanks to stout beer and dark chocolate, rich in protein thanks to black beans and tempeh, and smoky from chipotle chilis in adobo sauce.
Zoe’s Tips: Every time I make this chili I vocalize the fact that 1) crumbling tempeh is more difficult than you’d expect, and 2) it takes longer than you expect. Do your due diligence before you start sautéing the aromatics and make sure your tempeh has been prepped and crumbled!
Taste-to-Time Ratio1: 9:6
Toffee Bars
The 411: By this point, you’ve probably gathered that I am no baker. Yet every December in my childhood, my mom spent hours baking away to fill various cookie tins full of an amalgamation of holiday cookies—spritz, lemon bars, molasses spice, and my personal favorite, toffee bars. Mary Hickey’s recipe (adapted from the Silver Palate cookbook) consists of an easy-to-make crust layer, topped with melted chocolate and pecans.
Zoe’s Tips: Consider this your reminder to bring your butter to room temp ~1 hour before you start baking. And my personal preference is to swap the pecans for walnuts, but use any nut of your choosing.
Taste-to-Time Ratio: 7:7
A programming note! As I hope you too are taking some time in the coming weeks to rest and recharge, I’ll be taking a break from In Zoe’s Kitchen. You’ll see me next in your inbox on January 11th.
Thank you so very much for taking the time to read this newsletter, cook recipes, and share your love for them with me. I am so very grateful. Happy Holidays!
The Taste-to-Time Ratio is a ratio that evaluates flavor on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) with time on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the fastest). For example, our family favorite mac and cheese that requires 2 types of cheese, toasted baguette breadcrumbs, approximately all your kitchen pans, and 2 hours of baking is a 10:3 - insanely delicious, but not a quick weeknight meal.