Friday, March 6, 2015

White Turkey Chili


This has been a tough week in our house, as we said goodbye to our oldest boxer Heidi after almost 11 years of life. She was the sweetest, most endearing old soul and we all loved her dearly. To us she represented love. She loved strongly and completely, and asked for just a little in return. She saw us through our best and worst times, and always looked at us with kind eyes.
So what do you do when you lose someone you love? I have realized that you have two choices: you can sit and cry, or you can stay busy and try to remember the good times. You still cry, but you also continue to live. Life is full of joy and pain. You can't have one without the other.  I realized that #2 was the better option, so I washed the dog beds, the sheets, the floors, and I made big pots of comfort food. I chopped and filled the house with the smell of onions cooking in olive oil. I made my first Marcella Hazan recipe and we filled our empty hearts with pasta and red wine. I also made this chili. 
I am remembering all my memories with Heidi, and one of my favorites was sitting in our yard in Catawba on a towel with my camera and photographing the two of them sprinting, rolling in the grass, and lounging. They loved that great big yard, and they taught me how to use shutter speed priority to get shots like this one. 
This recipe is from my mom's friend Pat, and we are all crazy for it. She always makes a double batch because it freezes so well. She filled our freezer with this chili when I was home on maternity leave so we could have a real meal at night with no effort. This has become my favorite chili, and so I've decided to share the recipe today. We all need comfort food sometimes, to celebrate the joy and survive the pain of life. Please remember Heidi today, and remember that to love is to live. 


White Turkey Chili
from my mom's friend Pat Burton

1/4 cup vegetable oil 
1 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 pound boneless turkey or chicken breast, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 pound ground turkey
6 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup pearl barley
1 Tbsp chopped jalapeno peppers
1 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp dried summer savory
2 cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in half cup of water
Chopped green onions
2 cups grated monterey jack cheese

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add cumin and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add cubed turkey breast and ground turkey. Saute until no longer pink, 4 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, pearl barley, chickpeas, jalapeno, marjoram, and summer savory to turkey mixture Cover and simmer until barley is almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Stir in cornstarch mixture, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with cheese and scallions. 

*this is the original recipe from my mom's friend. I used olive oil, increased the barley to 1 cup and skipped adding the cornstarch to thicken. I also used pepper jack cheese and added several dashes of Tabasco to the pot for a little heat. 

*when my mom makes this recipe to freeze, she adds the cheese at the final step so it melts into the chili. 

1 comment:

  1. Ella, Nico and Nisha and I are all thinking of you today. The first time I visited your house they both seemed so happy and I couldn't pet just one of them because the other would get jealous and almost knock me over to get in on it. I hope the 4 of you are all doing well!

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