Delicious Black Bean Chili

This is the latest box as of November 7th

I found this recipe a couple of weeks ago and knew as soon as a new box came I would be making it. As the temperature has slowly dropped  I have been wanting to make chili.

The kale and butternut cut up.

I loved that this one included butternut squash and greens which I would not normally think of  putting with chili. I used kale instead of chard and I substituted one of the cans of black beans with a can of Cuban Style Black Beans from Trader Joe's. As I started to cook I realized I didn't have chili powder, so I put in a tablespoon of cayenne and a tablespoon of paprika. So there might have been a little bit more of a back end heat than there should have been. I loved that the kale added a good crunch and it still held up reheated in leftovers the next day. It was so good that we each went back for seconds. And it's completely vegan  or enjoy with a square of cornbread and a little onion and shredded cheese on top.

Black Bean Chili in all its glory. Even the colors look like fall.

Labor Day Stew

Labor day brings around the symbolic close of summer. While in southern California we may continue to have warm weather for a while but as an early celebration of the fall equinox I made a Chilean Bean Stew courtesy of

Moosewood Restaurant New Classics.   Which is one of my favorite cook books. The reason why I picked stew is because of this early fall visitor, the butternut squash.

 

 Still using the summer produce available such as fresh corn and using the very autumnal butternut squash, this a perfect in between seasons recipe. The recipe calls for 4 cups of butternut cubed but I think there was more than that, or I just need to work on my cubing skills.

The stew was full of flavor with sweetness from the squash and corn, had a little spice from the cayenne, and  a good amount of protein and fiber. I am a huge fan of colorful food and it evokes the colors of fall and summer. It has a good amount of crunch and is completely vegan. My only problem is that in using fresh corn I cut a little too close to the cob and got the weird root kernel part of the corn in the stew. Aside from that I am definitely going to make this again because it was delish.