White Chili With Zucchini
By: Katie Lerum Zeller
Published: Saturday, February 27, 2010 - 1:58am

Ingredients




2 cups dried white beans
4 bay leaves
4 cloves of garlic
1 medium zucchini, chopped
4 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 green pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces green chiles, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
green Tabasco to taste

Preparation

1 Soak dried beans for 5 hours or overnight. 2 Drain. Put beans in a large pot, with water to cover by 2 inches.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook, covered, for 20 minutes. 3 Drain beans and cover with fresh water by 2 inches.  Add bay leaves, whole, peeled garlic and 1 1/2 tsp salt.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered until beans are tender, 60 - 90 minutes. 4 Drain beans, discarding bay leaves and garlic. 5 Cook zucchini (courgette) in 1/2 cup chicken stock until tender, purée. 6 Cut chicken into small pieces and poach in 1 cup chicken stock. 7 Heat oil in soup pot.  Add chili powder and sauté. 8 Add onion, celery and peppers; sauté 5 minutes. 9 Add garlic and sauté 5 minutes longer. 10 Add chicken, poaching liquid, puréed zucchini (courgette), oregano, and as much of remaining chicken stock as you like. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. 11 Add green chiles and simmer 10 minutes longer. 12 Taste; add as much green Tabasco as you like.  Serve.

About


It's actually more of an Olive Drab Chili, but will get to that in a minute.
Are all pets weird or do mine have the monopoly on that trait?
After Sedi (German Shepherd) had her stroke she seemed to become a braver dog.
I attributed it to a possible hearing loss, but she was no longer afraid of my printer, she didn't bolt when I used the microwave or try to crawl under the bed when I set the timer on my oven.
It was rather nice. 
I could go about my day without a second thought to where she was and did I remember to close the gate in case she got out when a bell went off.
She and Emma (the Pyreneen mastiff) slept like good little dogs on their respective beds most of the day.
A week ago that changed.
Sedi is not only back to running from the microwave, she takes off when I open the refrigerator and even acts skittish when I open the pantry - where doggie treats are stored.
Instead of sleeping on her bed she now sleeps on the doormat in front of the door.  The wet, cold, dirty door mat.
And speaking of doors....
To all of you dog owners out there - Do your dogs understand how doors work?
My two get their noses right up tight to the door and wait for it to magically become open. 
Then I, the magician, come along.
Because the door opens in (as all European doors do - how else could one secure the shutters?) we then go through the back-up, back-up, back-up routine as they try, unsuccessfully to force their way through the tiniest crack as I try, unsuccessfully, to force the door open against their noses.
Eventually the door is opened.
Then they act like old, lost tourists getting off an escalator.....they come to a dead stop.
Right in the middle of the door; letting hot air out and cold air in.
I think they lost what few wits they had whilst in the mountains.
They do remember to come and give me cuddles on a regular basis.....
Now about the Olive Drab Chili.
Back in July, when it was summer, I did a post about freezing courgette (zucchini).  
Now I have to think of ways to use it....
The set-up:
I love soup of any and every kind.
Mon mari likes soup, but doesn't like the 'broth' of stock-based soup.  He eats all the chunks and ignores the broth.
I wanted to make the 'White Chili' I was seeing on blogs over the holidays.
The solution: 
Use the courgette soup I had frozen to thicken the stock.
The verdict:
Nutritious and Delicious!  Definitely a keeper - but it wasn't 'white'.