Chili Powder

As anyone who has ever dug into a bowl of chili knows, the stuff with the potential for making you feel as hot as Mount Vesuvius in its youth is the chili powder. What a lot of people don't know is that chili powder is not a single spice or herb, but a blend of spices. Most of the time, that is. The world of chili peppers can be confusing, featuring more than 300 kinds and even a slew of variations on the word chili itself - which can refer to a stew, the powder of various spices, or the powder of a single type of chili pepper.

Oh, go ahead, try some avocado ice cream. What's a vegetable doing in ice cream, you say? OK. Taste the grapefruit sherbet. But grapefruit's for breakfast, you say? Then how about the guava water ice? What is guava? OK, OK, plain vanilla. But sprinkled with chili powder, right? In Kennett Square on June 7, the corner store La Michoacana marked its fourth anniversary of offering such Latin American summer tastes to the Philadelphia region. "There are plenty of these, everywhere in Mexico," Noelia Scharon said in a recent interview.

Makes one gallon 1.    In a large bowl, dissolve salt in ½ gallon water. Soak cabbage in salt water for 3 to 4 hours. 2.    In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine garlic, ginger and fish sauce and process until finely minced. 3.    In a large bowl, combine daikon, scallions, garlic-ginger mixture, chili powder, 1 tablespoon salt and sugar, if using. Toss to combine thoroughly. 4.    Remove soaked cabbage from water and rinse thoroughly.

As a judge at a recent chili cook-off, I quickly learned that some like it hot, some mild, some with meat, others without. But everyone is passionate about chili. Here is a variation using only vegetables, which makes an easy dinner in this busy season. My chili uses hominy, a grain American Indians introduced to the colonists. It is dried white or yellow corn, soaked or boiled to remove the hulls, and sold canned or dried; hominy gives this chili an interesting texture. The canned version is perfect for this recipe.

The Southwestern look in furniture, tableware, clothing and even restaurants may be wearing thin by now, but Southwestern food still tastes pretty darn good. You can save your nouvelle Navajo tableware for the next time the decorating trend comes around, but to help you keep cooking Southwestern- inspired meals, here is a recipe for Grilled Turkey Steaks With Chili-Lime Sauce. The steaks are briefly (or longer, if you have time) marinated in olive oil, garlic, chili powder, lime peel and lime juice.

A California man won first prize of $25,000 for his " 7/8 Chili" at the recent 22d annual World's Championship Chili Cookoff in Rosamond, Calif. Yes, chili is still a burning national issue, as evidenced by the more than 80 entries submitted from each of the 50 states and the 20,000 people who came to Rosamond, some from as far as Australia. Kenton Stafford, 39, a construction worker from Fillmore, Calif., has been attending chili cookoffs for about five years and has entered about 20 of them.

With the increasing availability of fresh herbs, it's easy to turn winter blues into springlike smiles by using herbs to flavor butters. You can make a small batch for one meal, or do enough to last for several recipes. And herb butters can be stored a few days in the refrigerator or up to six months in the freezer. What's more, frozen herb butter doesn't require defrosting. Slice off an amount equal to one tablespoon and place it on a piece of hot broiled fish or chicken and it makes an instant sauce.

The new edition of Holly Clegg's Trim & Terrific Cookbook has a fresh look, lots of color pictures, and the same successful focus on healthful yet tasty recipes that are easy for home cooks to prepare using familiar, accessible ingredients. Her Southwestern version of lasagna is a popular example; it not only provides a taste twist but also simplifies the recipe to about 15 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes in the oven. Southwestern Lasagna Makes 8 to 10 servings 1 pound ground sirloin 1 (14.5-ounce)

1 cup ketchup 2 tablespoons dill relish 1 can diced chilies (4 ounces) 1 cup sour cream Kosher salt and pepper 2? pounds ground beef chuck 2 tablespoons chili powder 1 tablespoon cumin 1 tablespoon coriander 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling 8 slices cheese 6 sesame seed buns, cut in half 1 head green leaf lettuce 1 jar sandwich-size sliced...

As a judge at a recent chili cook-off, I quickly learned that some like it hot, some mild, some with meat, others without. But everyone is passionate about chili. Here is a variation using only vegetables, which makes an easy dinner in this busy season. My chili uses hominy, a grain American Indians introduced to the colonists. It is dried white or yellow corn, soaked or boiled to remove the hulls, and sold canned or dried; hominy gives this chili an interesting texture. The canned version is perfect for this recipe.

Grocery-store bins and farmer's markets are brimming with winter squash. It's hard to miss these versatile vegetables dressed in oranges and reds, light and dark greens, even pale cream speckled with green. For something different, try tossing some in a salad with quinoa and a lime vinaigrette.   Quinoa Salad With Squash Makes 6 servings 4 cups cooked quinoa 2 cups cubed winter squash, such as butternut 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder 1 teaspoon ground or rubbed sage Pinch of salt 1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

Midwinter is the time to pull out the stockpot and the chili recipes. Vegetarian chili is a wonderful way to win over nonvegetarians and dispel the myth that meatless dishes are boring. Almost any grain, bean, or vegetable is a winner in a simmering pot of big red. As Diana Kennedy, a prolific cookbook author and an authority on Mexican cooking, says: "Chili, it seems to me, is one of the few foods that has its own god. " I agree. I make chili using canned or jarred beans instead of dried ones because they take less time to cook and taste just as good.

Makes one gallon 1.    In a large bowl, dissolve salt in ½ gallon water. Soak cabbage in salt water for 3 to 4 hours. 2.    In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine garlic, ginger and fish sauce and process until finely minced. 3.    In a large bowl, combine daikon, scallions, garlic-ginger mixture, chili powder, 1 tablespoon salt and sugar, if using. Toss to combine thoroughly. 4.    Remove soaked cabbage from water and rinse thoroughly.

OPEN YOUR spice cabinet, and be honest. Do some of your spices predate the Internet? Did you purchase most of them at the dollar store? Is it sometimes difficult to identify a spice in your collection, even if you smell and taste it? If you answered yes to one or more of those questions, it's time to clean house. Although most of us hold onto spices as if they contained the secret to eternal youth, the reality is that the average container of dried herbs or spices has a shelf life of six to eight months.

Oh, go ahead, try some avocado ice cream. What's a vegetable doing in ice cream, you say? OK. Taste the grapefruit sherbet. But grapefruit's for breakfast, you say? Then how about the guava water ice? What is guava? OK, OK, plain vanilla. But sprinkled with chili powder, right? In Kennett Square on June 7, the corner store La Michoacana marked its fourth anniversary of offering such Latin American summer tastes to the Philadelphia region. "There are plenty of these, everywhere in Mexico," Noelia Scharon said in a recent interview.