Chili con Carne

Chile con carne is one of my favorite cold weather dishes. Over the years, I came up with the following recipe, that became my go-to recipe, but even this one keeps evolving.

Lamb and Fennel Stew

This quick and easy to prepare stew is the perfect dish for this season, when spring somehow refuses to fully arrive, yet the heavier winter’s stews are not as happily accepted.

Fennel is a wonderful vegetable, with a distinctive anise flavor, which is one of my favorites. Its fresh flavor pairs wonderfully with the relatively heavy lamb cut. To enhance this anise flavor, I’ve added fennel seeds and a bit of Ouzo, the Greek anise flavored liquor.

Spicy, Sweet and Fragrant: Peanut Butter-Coconut Milk Sauce

This tasty and versatile sauce combines two of my favorite ingredients – peanut butter and coconut milk.
Interestingly enough, both key ingredients are called “nuts”, even though neither one is! The peanut is actually a type of legume in which the pod matures underground, unlike most of the nuts we know, which grow on trees. The coconut does grow on a tree, but is actually a drupe and again, not a nut. Who knows, maybe that’s why they match so well together?