Black Bean Chili

I have a confession.

I hate beans. I have since I was young. They're bland and gritty and just...ew. I've tried to like them, really I have. In college, I learned to tolerate them if they were covered in sinful sugar (aka baked and ranch-style), but with the new dietary restrictions, those went right out the window. But beans are good for you, you say? Believe me, I know. I want to eat more of them.

What about in chili? NEVER! Chili is something I love. Something dear that I have always been appreciative of, whether slow cooked until chunks of beef melted into deliciousness or just that satisfying glob of grease that was scooped from a can. Chili dogs, Frito pie or just on its own with lots of cheese, I wasn't too picky. Well, except for one thing. No beans!

So what on Earth drove me to try a black bean chili? Honestly, I'm not sure. But I have been wanting to eat more beans and I wasn't going to if I didn't start somewhere. I found a recipe in The Mayo Clinic Willians-Sonoma Cookbook that looked doable. I was short a can of black beans, but I did have an extra of chickpeas. I figured stock would add more flavor than water. I didn't have oregano or cilantro, but hey if it was decent I could always try it next time. I was a bit wary about the bell pepper (which I also hate) and celery (which seemed counter-intuitive to what I think of chili as a Texan), but I gave it a go.

First taste, ew. Super bland. I looked back at the recipe only to realize there's no salt listed. I guess that makes sense for a health cookbook, but it also makes for a lackluster chili, in my opinion. Salt added, I tried again. Better, but still missing something. A lime really woke it up. And I couldn't resist trying some yacon syrup in it, as I have a weakness for chilies with just a touch of brown sugar.


Wow. Just...wow. I am genuinely surprised. These beans...aren't so bad actually. I would eat them again. Hell, I have no doubt I'll finish off this pot. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how it ages (as chili tends to improve, for those that aren't as familiar with it). It even excited me to try more chili recipes and see what else I can do to improve it. If ya'll have any ideas (I know some of you make fierce chili), please leave a comment.

Chard Taco Salad

Howdy!

I know I'm a bit overdue; I tried to get to this all week. But at least I'm here now and with a delicious way to get in some of those healthy leafy greens. And I'm definitely always looking for more of those. The base of this recipe came from a Chard Taco recipe over on Allrecipes.com. I had never eaten chard and after a disaster with mustard greens, I have learned that not all greens are created equal, especially as far as flavor is concerned. There was a bit to tweak, but it certainly seemed do-able.


I haven't come up with a manageable bread-like wrapper yet, so I figured I'd make this a salad. Of course, if tortillas are on your menu, by all means, wrap these puppies up! I hope to try it myself, having just heard about Trader Joe's Brown Rice Tortillas (or even if I wait to try corn again). I made a pound of ground turkey ahead of time, just seasoned with a little salt. I like to have it in the fridge for a quick bit of protein for a meal or snack. Otherwise, the rest is actually pretty easy and not that time consuming (by my somewhat skewed whole food standards).

Eggplant Pancakes

Say what? I know, ya'll are probably as skeptical about this as I was when I first came across the idea. Heading into week three, I've had a lot of recipe failures. And those that worked...well, there's only so many times one can eat the same thing the same way, you know?

Thankfully, I came across How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. Normally I'm against cookbooks with no photos, but this book is amazing. He's included tons of techniques and variations, so even if you aren't inspired by one flavor combination, there's six more on the next page to shake things up. It's an awesome book for ideas to encourage creativity.

In it, I was introduced to pureeing. Obviously not a foreign concept, but something I hadn't considered outside the realms of the starchy potato family or flavorless baby food. Boy was I wrong. And after pureeing my first eggplant, it was an easy jump to pancakes.

Now, these pancakes aren't sweet and don't cry out for butter and maple syrup. They're moist, flavorful, and (one of the best parts for me) reheat nicely in a toaster oven.