My latest work on the jPod occurred last weekend. I decided to rework the galley hatch a bit. I felt that the skin could work better for the shape of the trailer & line up on the hinge better than I had it. In the end, I strapped everything down, shimmed the entire inside of the door so it is perfectly centered & liberally glued the skin to the galley hatch skeleton. I am quite pleased with the outcome (see: Galley). The only problem was trying to do all of this in the space of the closed galley & the smell of the glue still burns when I think about it.
More fun last weekend was making another dish in the Dutch Oven. It is a Black Bean Citrus Chili. I am afraid that cooking will distract me from the jPod. Luckily, I am gone for a convention for several days and won’t be able to distract myself with more cooking.
Here’s my recipe:
Black Bean Citrus Chili
2 onions chopped
3 cans of black beans (drain off all of the liquid)
1 can of refried beans
1.25 lbs of hamburger
1-2 Tbs Ancho chile powder
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs chili powder
3 cups beef stock
1 fresh lime
1 bunch fresh cilantro
Pour some olive oil in the DO and add the onion. Once onion softens & starts to change color, add the hamburger. Saute until burger is browned.
While the onions & burger brown, combine the can of refried beans & spices with the beef stock and stir until it is a consistent mixture. Add this stock to the onions & burger.
When boiling, add the black beans and cook for about 10 min. Then add the tomatoes. Don’t stir the DO just let the tomatoes warm up in the middle and absorb some of the juices for about 2-3 min. Dish the chili into bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro & a slice of lime.
The trick with this recipe is to keep the acids out of the dutch oven to avoid ruining the seasoning. Keeping it warm was easy because I put the DO in the BBQ. The other trick is to keep from drooling into it as you cook it.
We love this recipe. The dog apparently does too because she cried for about 45 min. inside the house on the other side of the sliding door.
