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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (July 28, 2020)
2B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2020 HOME & LIVING An easy way to turn beef and chili into dinner oregano, cumin and paprika and cook, stirring, until the spices are toasted in the fat, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, and cook, stirring, until lightly caramelized, 1 to 2 minutes. 2. Sprinkle the fl our over the beef and cook, stirring, to cook off the raw fl avor of the fl our, about 1 minute. Pour in the beans, liquid and all, then pour the stock into the can of beans to help loosen any stuck beans and rinse the rest of the liquid out of the can; pour it into the pan. Stir everything to combine, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and slightly reduced, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and season again with salt and pepper. 3. Serve the chili in bowls and top with cheese, a dollop of sour cream, avocado, red onion and scallions. By Ben Mims Los Angeles Times Several years ago, my partner and I spent a month in San Antonio, where his family lives. We were both unemployed at the time, so we spent the days driving around the city, ex- ploring and eating all the wonderful food. We consumed a lot of chili. We ate the “authentic” kind, consisting of cubed beef chuck or sirloin cooked in a mole-like gravy of hydrated and pureed dried chiles, and we ate plenty of the Tex-Mex kind, in which ground beef stands in for cubed and is seasoned with ground chili powder made from a mix of dried chiles, but often of the New Mexico varietal. Beans and tomatoes — highly contentious ingredients to add to chili in Texas — were found in several iterations we tried. After sampling so many, we decided that the ground beef version with beans — but with tomato paste and not canned tomatoes — was our favorite. It has been a staple of our quick weeknight dinners ever since. Consisting of just ground beef, beans and spices, it’s incredibly easy to execute for beginner cooks (there’s nothing to even chop!) and is ready from start to fi nish in under 30 min- utes. Once it’s ready, we dole it out in bowls and top it with cheese, sour cream and diced avocado. We use red onions and scallions because I like the sharp bite of the former and the vivid color of the latter. EASY BEEF AND BEAN CHILI Time: 30 minutes Yields: Serves 4 Variations • No-Bean Chili: Omit the beans and their liquid and double the beef for a total of 2 pounds. stock (or water) • Vegan Chili: Substitute 1 1 can (15 ounces) organic red kidney, pound Beyond Meat for the pink or pinto beans, undrained ground beef and substitute veg- Shredded sharp cheddar or etable stock, mushroom broth or Colby jack cheese, sour cream, water for the beef stock. diced avocado or guacamole, • Seasoned Ground Beef for diced red onion and thinly Tacos: Cook the recipe through sliced scallions, for serving Step 1, then remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. 1. Heat the oil in a medium Use as a fi lling for tacos. Ben Mims/Los Angeles Times-TNS Lots of crunchy, sharp and creamy toppings turn a simple bowl of beef and chili into dinner in an instant. You can use this recipe for a simple chili and then fl avor it in different ways. Experiment with single ground chiles in place of the mixed chili powder; ground coriander along with the cumin; or smoked paprika for smoky depth and an extra rich red color. Which- ever way you choose, keep it simple so the spices shine through. You can also use ground lamb, bison or turkey instead of beef, or vegan meat substitutes such as Beyond Meat. For chili cheese hot dogs, fries or nachos, use this chili and top with fi nely shredded cheddar cheese. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 pound ground beef Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons chili powder 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons dried oregano 1 teaspoon sweet paprika 2 tablespoons double- concentrate tomato paste 2 tablespoons all-purpose fl our 2 cups beef or chicken saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring to break it up, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 min- utes. Sprinkle over the chili powder, Make Ahead The chili will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. FRYING the fl our, baking powder, bak- sticks to the dough. Transfer to ing soda, nutmeg, salt and 1 a rack to cool. Repeat with the tablespoon sugar in a large remaining dough, adjusting Continued from Page 1B bowl. Whisk the buttermilk, the heat to maintain the oil’s If you’re new to deep-frying, egg and butter in a small bowl temperature. Serve warm or start with doughnut holes. until well-blended. Make a room temperature. The simple batter doesn’t risk well in the center of the dry in- popping hot oil the way watery gredients and pour in the wet Variations vegetables or meat might. Plus, it doesn’t require any ingredients. Gently fold until • Powdered Doughnut smooth. Place the remaining ½ Holes: Toss the fried dough- dough resting or rolling and cup sugar in a medium bowl. gives you the incomparable nut holes in powdered sugar If you don’t have a ther- instead of granulated. pleasure of freshly fried hot mometer, test the oil by drop- doughnuts. • Cinnamon Sugar ping in a tiny dollop of batter. Doughnut Holes: Stir 1fi It should bubble immediately teaspoons ground cinnamon and steadily but not violently. into the granulated sugar for If it’s bubbling too hard, lower tossing. Time: 30 minutes the heat. If it’s not bubbling Yields • Glazed Doughnut Holes: enough, raise it. Makes about 20 Omit the granulated sugar 3. Using a small cookie for tossing. Mix 1‹ cups scoop or measuring teaspoon, powdered sugar with 2 These cakey doughnuts de- liver the perfect ratio of crisp scoop a heaping teaspoon of teaspoons water to form a dough, then carefully drop outsides to tender insides. runny glaze. Dip the fried it into the hot oil. If using a The dough doesn’t require doughnut holes in the glaze, resting or rolling, so fresh, hot teaspoon, push out the dough turning to coat. Let stand on with another small spoon. doughnuts can be yours in a wire rack until the glaze Repeat to fi t a single layer less than 30 minutes. sets. of doughnut holes in the oil without crowding; you can fi t 3 Substitutions Vegetable oil, for frying to 4 at a time. 1 cup all-purpose fl our If you don’t have but- 4. Fry, turning once to evenly termilk, you can mix 1/4 1½ teaspoons baking powder brown, until puffed and golden cup plain yogurt with 2 ½ teaspoon baking soda brown, about 2 minutes. Using tablespoons milk to use im- ¼ teaspoon freshly a slotted spoon, transfer to grated nutmeg mediately or stir 1 teaspoon paper towels to drain for a few lemon juice or distilled white ¼ teaspoon fi ne sea salt seconds, then transfer to the ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon vinegar into 1/3 cup milk bowl of sugar and toss gently and let sit for 5 minutes. granulated sugar to coat while hot so the sugar 1/3 cup buttermilk 1 large egg, at room temperature 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled A support service that keeps DOUGHNUT HOLES Photo by Ashley O’Toole Although the building at 1517-25 Jefferson in La Grande housed several busi- ness over the past 114 years, only the name Erickson and Durland has survived in a ghost sign on the wall facing the railroad tracks. HISTORY on the fi rst fl oor,” the story reads, but the house which Continued from Page 1B was noted as “one of the On their way home most modernly equipped from the station they saw, houses in the valley was as they got closer to the destroyed.” ranch, that their house The article stressed that was on fi re. the house had “plumb- “They whipped their ing, electric lights and all horses into a run and modern conveniences” in- reached home in time to cluding a telephone which save practically everything Nellie “grittly used” to call for help. After selling out to Lottes in 1931, Benjamin Durand moved to Salem to work as a fruit and vegetable inspector for the government. He and his wife, Nellie, had two sons and one daughter. Benja- min died in Portland in 1957 at the age of 79. Keep looking up! Enjoy! Hospice is... 1. Fill a small saucepan with oil to a depth of 1 inch (about 1½ cups). If you have a deep- fry thermometer, clip it to the side. Heat over medium heat to 350 degrees. 2. 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