Bearnaise sauce
The thing about being a Mashugana is that I spend much of my time supporting things that don’t exactly fit into a healthy lifestyle. When I’m not ranting about various forms of alcohol, I can generally be found chasing my tail around Denver seeking out decadent and visceral food experiences. I’m constantly on the hunt for pork belly, poutine, lamb heart, foie gras, charcuterie, and the like. Where in Denver can I find a burger that combines both foie gras and bearnaise sauce, making it an already excellent dish? (St. Ellie’s of Platte St.) Is there any place in Denver that I can add a fried egg to my loaded fries? (Park & CO of 17th St) Is anybody serving candied bacon? (Ignite of Larimer St.) These are the types of questions that haunt me both in my waking and sleeping hours. However, alongside the passion for decadence comes a passion for sustenance and wholesomeness.
Food holds incredible power to heal and sustain us as humans. There is incredible research being done on how what we eat affects us. Many common foods that we consume in America are being shown to be borderline poisonous. Documentaries such as Food Inc., Supersize Me, etc., are revealing startling truths about our diets. Unbelievably large portions of our population eat unbelievably small amounts of fresh food. While I may be a supporter of gravy-soaked French fries, I am also a supporter of local produce, responsibly raised meats, and freshly made food.
Regularly patronize
I have an intense passion for making everything from scratch. I regularly patronize a shop that sells almost exclusively organic cold-pressed juices (The Juicing Tree on Colfax), and there is little in the world that excites me as much as the beginning of Farmers Market season. After all, it is important for a Mashugana to keep his body in good condition so that it can survive the pork fat and whiskey binges. As my old Chef used to say, “Don’t eat less, work out more.”
On that note, I am posting a recipe that I have been working on for some time. Consisting only of vegetables and honey, it is one of my all-time favorite health meals. A spicy and sweet chili, it is very simple to throw together and absolutely delicious.
Summer Chili
Ingredients
Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Zucchini
Jalapeno
Red Onion
Garlic
Oregano
Cilantro
Honey
Whole Canned Peeled Tomatoes in Juice(Carmelina San Marzanos are my preference)
Vegetable Stock (Make your own! Make Large batches and freeze)
Paprika
Procedure:
Rough chop all vegetables into about a macedoine (medium dice). It may be desirable to cut jalapenos into smaller pieces (bruniouse) to distribute the spice more evenly. Thinly slice garlic. Empty tomato cans into a large bowl and hand-crush tomatoes into chunks about the same size as the vegetables. Saute onions, garlic, and oregano in the soup pot briefly before adding the rest of the vegetables. Cook until vegetables begin to soften. Add crushed tomatoes (along with the juice) and vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer. Add honey, salt, and pepper to taste. Chili should be spicy and identifiable as sweet. Add fresh cilantro leaves.
