L U N A T A L K with Eva Moon

Day 13: Juice of Affliction, Chili of Salvation

October 5, 2009 on 8:00 am | 1 person has joined the conversation. We need you too. | In Food, General Musing

In the end days of my two-week liver cleanse I finally have the right juice. 100% cranberry and nothing but. Despite my anger at Oceanspray’s highly misleading labeling, I am now officially relieved I served most of my sentence in blissful ignorance. Actual cranberry juice is not just tart, it’s violently astringent. I poured a scant two inches in the bottom of my 32-ounce bottle and filled the rest with water. The juice is so concentrated the color did not change. The cleanse instructions were to dilute it until it’s ‘pale.’ I’ve emptied half the bottle and refilled with water three times and the color has progressed from ‘gore’ to ‘ruby,’ but it is still not anything approaching ‘pale.’ And the taste. Dear God. Every orifice puckered.

On the plus side, it’s only 70 calories a cup and a quart jar should last me until retirement.

In pleasanter news, I came up with a terrific new recipe to keep the wolves of desperation at bay. Definitely a keeper.

Eva’s Hang In There Chili

Cut meat into bite size pieces. I used about 2 lbs of boneless chicken breast because there was a good sale at Safeway, but I bet it would be great with pork loin.

Splash a blorp of olive oil into a big pot and saute the meat with garlic. Add lot’s of the tough sort of veggies – the kind that can take some abuse without falling apart. Here’s what I used, but don’t let it squelch your creative urges: Onions, mushrooms, carrot, red bell pepper, anaheim chilies (seeded. I used three.) all chunked.

Saute for a few minutes and then dump in two cans of diced tomatoes, oregano (plenty), chili powder (Lots. For Pete’s sake, it’s chili. Don’t skimp on the chili powder. There should be enough to thicken the juice.) Cover and simmer for about a half hour. Uncover and simmer some more until liquid thickens up.

Add the wimpy veggies: sliced zucchini and yellow crookneck squash and cook a little more. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add some cayenne if the anaheims didn’t spice it up enough.

This is a handy weapon indeed to have at hand when the hungry beast is on the prowl.

(Pro Garnish Tip: Diced avocado is an excellent thing to sprinkle on gazpacho too, when croutons are off the list.)