1. Start with at least 1" chunk of ginger root sliced about 1/8" thick. More is better.
2. Place in cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
3. Add about 1 1/2 Tbl. dark brown sugar and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes.
4. Drink and chase your cold away.

Notes

• Us this at the first sign of a cold.
• I found it also works for some stomach problems as well.
• The more ginger the better.
• This is based on an old Chinese remedy from my wife's family.

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1. Adjust the amount of cayenne to your taste - this is pretty spicy. You can also leave it completely out.
2. Grind all the ingredients together.

Notes

• We found this works good for chicken, fish, pork and beef and even some vegetables.
• Apply to food about 30 minutes prior to cooking and let soak in.
• For chicken breast, slice the breast into two thinner sections lengthwise before applying spice.
• Cook over high heat.

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4 - 6 servings

1. Grind cumin seeds, black peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon, mustard, and fenugreek together. In a small bowl combine ground spices, vinegar, salt, cayenne and brown sugar and set to one side.
2. Heat oil and fry onions until a rich, dark brown. Turn off heat, remove onions (don't remove oil) with a slotted spoon and put into a blender. Add 3 tbl. water to onions and blend until it's a smooth paste. Add the paste to the spices in the bowl - this is the vindaloo paste.
3. Put ginger and garlic into blender, add 3 tbl. water and blend into a smooth paste.
4. Heat remaining oil in pan and when hot, add garlic-ginger mix and stir until slightly brown. Add coriander and turmeric. Stir a few seconds, then add the chicken a little at a time and lightly brown.
5. Add vindaloo paste, tomato sauce and potatoes to chicken and simmer for about an hour until potatoes are done.
6. Serve with rice.

Notes:

• Don't undercook the onions. They should be cooked to a dark brown. If your onion paste turns out gray, you haven't cooked them long enough. This takes me around 45 minutes.
• I generally total about 1 1/2 - 2 tsp of cayenne, but this is a pretty hot dish even with 1 tsp.
• Give yourself 2 - 3 hours to make this.
• This is good for freezing in individual servings, that you can then microwave for lunch with a little rice on the side.

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4 - 6 servings

1. I use whatever beef is on sale. I've mostly used roasts. I trim off a lot of the fat and cut the meat into small chunks. I usually cut it about 1" by 1/4" or so - no bigger than 1/2".
2. Chop up the onions (about 1/4"), the garlic (finely) and the chilies into small shreds. I get the teeny red chilies from an Asian market.
3. Heat up a tablespoon or two of olive oil and brown the onions. Then add the chilis and garlic and fry it all for a few minutes. When the onions are nicely browned put everything into the slow cooker.
4. Brown the beef in some more olive oil and add the remaining chilies and garlic. When almost done, add most of the remaining spices.
5. Add the meat to the slow cooker along with the tomato paste (and beans if wanted) and some Mellenos. I like Mellenos because it doesn't have a strong vinegar taste. If you have second thoughts, add a couple more chopped chilies.
6. Let cook overnight on low.

Thoughts: While I like beans with my chili, I also make it without. Without beans the chili is more useable. I freeze the servings and when I want some to eat, I just add the chili to some rice or beans or pasta and heat it up. I'm not too picky about the beef. I've always thought stew meat was supposed to be cheap, but the meat market we use often has roasts much cheaper than stew meat.

So I save money per pound, but need to cut it up. I don't do anything special with the chilies. I don't core them or remove the seeds or roast them. I just chop them up and add them in. When cooking the onions, I don't get them too brown. Just enough to soften them and sweeten them a bit. Normal white onions are good, but Vidalias will give you a sweeter chili. If vidalias are around, I'll often use them, but really have no preference either way. The tomato paste I'm still playing with. Last time I tried two 6 oz. cans and it was too much. I don't think one will do. I usually grind the spices together and add a little bit to each stage - onions, then meat, then slow cooker. I think the spices work out better this way.

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1 loaf

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees
2. Mix all ingredients together and pack into 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 loaf pan
3. Cook for about 1 hour 20 minutes.

Thoughts: This is a real simple meatloaf. Mixing the ingredients together is very important. The meat market I use packages the 2 lbs. hamburger in a plastic bag. I beat the eggs and add all the ingredients into the bag. I then mush the bag and make sure it's mixed very well together. I usually cook it for about an hour and then put a piece of aluminum foil on top of the loaf for the remainder of time. I use a glass loaf pan to make this in.

When it's cooked I take the loaf out and let it drain and cool on a rack (or on top of a couple of knives). Once it cooled, I cut it into 1/4" - 1/2" slices and freeze what I don't use immediately. I use the rest for sandwiches; cut into cubes and scrambled with eggs and potatoes; or broken up into spaghetti sauce. This is a very useful item to have in the freezer. The strange thing about this is that I can eat the little red hot chilies in other recipes with no problem, but if I put more than 1/4 cup of sweet green peppers in this I will burp them back up all night long.

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4 - 6 servings

1. Rinse/clean peas, cover with 3 cups of cold water and let stand overnight
2. Discard water and add peas into large pot
3. Cook rice and have ready for remaining steps
4. Cook bacon until crisp and add to peas saving most of the fat
5. Lightly brown onions in left-over bacon fat (or use olive oil) and add to peas
6. Add 2 cups of water and bring to boil. Cook until peas tender (about 30 minutes)
7. Add rice, left over bacon drippings (or 1 or 2 tbl olive oil), hot sauce, salt and pepper, and simmer for about 15 minutes
8. When done serve with corn bread and slices of sharp cheddar cheese.

Thoughts: Make sure you have extra hot sauce when you serve this. The 2 tablespoons makes a pretty mild version which is nice if others might be eating. I'll usually add an extra tablespoon or so for my serving alone. This makes a great meal with some hot buttered corn bread. This is another good meal to freeze in individual packages to nuke for lunch or an easy dinner. And I haven't a clue why it's called what it's called.

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2 loaves

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease bottoms of 2 loaf pans (8.5" x 4.5" 2.5"). I use cooking spray.
3. Beat all ingredients in large bowl at low speed for 30 seconds
4. Beat at medium speed for 45 seconds
5. Pour batter into pans and put in oven
6. Bake 50 - 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean
7. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan

Thoughts: A good way to use up old bananas. When the last couple get overripe, just peel, put in a plastic bag and stuff them into the freezer. When you have enough to make this, thaw them in a microwave and mash. This is based on a Betty Crocker recipe, but I lessened the amount of oil and sugar and increased the amount of bananas.

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