Fourth of July and the figs are already here

 

We don't usually have figs on our one producing tree until August, but the tree is already full of figs this year, and it's only the Fourth of July. Two were already ripe (and delicious!) and there's another almost ready in the lower right-hand corner of the photo. But if you look carefully, you can see a lot of figs all over the tree. It should be another banner fig year if everything keeps going according to plan.

The U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, which Peter Attia calls a "joke" in his new book Outlive. That works out to only about 53 grams of protein a day for me. Attia recommends a minimum of twice that, but better yet 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 1 gram per pound of body weight. How does Attia possibly ingest that much protein every day? He has one whey protein shake, one protein snack, and two protein meals. I heard him interviewed on a podcast and he said he eats lots of venison and bison. In other words, he's essentially eating much like a Plains Indian. That seems pretty extreme and not very fun to boot, so I think I'll pass on the Lakota diet. But I do think it would be useful to eat more protein to help maintain whatever muscle mass I have as a I age. 

 

 

To that end, here is a recipe for a skillet turkey chili that I saw in a recent Smitten Kitchen newsletter. It's very easy, tasty, and flexible in terms of what spices you use. And there's plenty of protein from the beans and, especially, ground turkey. No word on whether you can substitute bison for the turkey.

 

Turkey Chili

Deb Perelman, from Smitten Kitchen (Oct. 14, 2020)

Time: ~45 minutes

Deb recommends pure chile powder or powders in this dish rather than a store-bought chili powder mix (like McCormick), which has other spices and salt added. If you use a chili powder mix, you should probably start with a little less salt to make up for what's in the blend. I started with 1 teaspoon of ancho chile powder, then added more Silk chile flakes until I was happy with the heat level, but you can use whatever you like or have on hand. Another good spice option would be to add 1 tablespoon of pureed chipotles en adobo (1 frozen disk if you followed my advice here) to whatever other chile powder(s) you're using. The only organic ground turkey I found at Trader Joe's was "92% lean," which isn't the leanest, but it didn't release an excessive amount of fat while browning, so I will happily use that again.

2 tablespoons (27 grams) olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Chile powder, to taste (see note)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 pound ground turkey (see note)
1 15-ounce can black or red beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
1 lime, halved and one half cut into wedges

    1. Heat the oil in an 11- to 12-inch skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until somewhat softened, about 4 minutes.
    2. Stir in the garlic, salt, 1 teaspoon chile powder (to start), oregano, cumin, and smoked paprika. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes to bloom the spices.
    3. Add the turkey. Using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, preferably one with a flat edge, break up the turkey while stirring it into the onion and spice mixture. Cook until the turkey is lightly browned at the edges and no pink remains, about 5 minutes.
    4. Stir in the beans and tomatoes. Fill the empty tomato can with water and set aside. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then lower the heat to maintain a steady but not violent simmer (~medium-low on our stovetop). Cook until the flavors have melded, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in water from the tomato can, a few tablespoons at a time, as needed, if it looks too dry (leaner turkey will probably need more water). Taste for salt and spice and adjust as needed.
    5. Remove from the heat. Stir in the juice of half a lime. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with lime wedges and whatever standard chili fixings you like (I went with grated Cheddar and pickled avocado here). Serves 4.