The Bison Ragu

This entry, like the previous ones and the next three or so, were all off-the-cuff recipes I came up with while standing in the grocery store or riding the subway or into my empty fridge. This one came to me at work while eating lunch.

Ingredients:

- olive oil
- four cloves garlic (minced)
- half a yellow onion (chopped)
- salt
- pepper
- one pound ground bison meat
- 12 ounces diced tomatoes with basil (opened)
- 4 dried chilies with seeds removed and roughly chopped
- spaghetti (enough for however many people decide to show up)

First make sure you set up the water to cook the pasta. I'll assume you can time this right alongside the sauce because you're not a dunderhead.

Heat the olive oil at medium-high. Add garlic and onions and cook about five minutes or until the onions are translucent and the garlic is slightly brown. Then add the ground bison, season with salt and pepper, and brown. If there's a lot of liquid left over when the meat is browned, drain some of it.

Next you're going to add the tomatoes and chilis. Mix thoroughly and simmer for ten minutes.

Add the sauce to the pot with your drained pasta and mix. Whatever you do, do not let the cat get in the pot!

Your soundtrack for this entry: Björk - Play Dead. 

The Stewed Chicken and Peppers

This was a somewhat impromptu recipe. I had it in my head all afternoon to make a chicken dish with a rich onion and pepper smother. It came out tender, juice, and delicious.

Ingredients:

two to three boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt

fresh ground pepper

coriander

safflower oil
two bell peppers (green and red), sliced lengthwise into strips
one yellow onion, julienned
a quarter cup of cilantro, roughly chopped
canned diced tomatoes

Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and coriander. Brown the chicken breasts on both sides (approximately six minutes per sie).

Meanwhile, add the peppers, onion, tomatoes (with juice), cilantro, and salt and pepper to a saucepan on high heat with shimmering oil in it.

Pause to drink some leftover kosher wine from Passover. Tishbi has quickly become a favoured brand of mine. I love red wines with a bit of a peppery flavour, and this was no disappointment.

When the chicken has done cooking, add to the saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for 10 - 15 minutes until desired tenderness is reached.

Get a close up picture of the chicken cooking for your blog.

Serve next to a menorah for light and mixed fingerling potatoes (boiled) for your side dish.

Your soundtrack for this entry: The Epoxies - Molded Plastic.