Pumpkin Peanut Butter Chili

A little while ago, I made Pumpkin Hummus. It was very good. But I did have some leftovers, and while my grandfather visited last week, he thought that it was soup and heated it up and ate it. He said it was very good soup.

So pumpkin and beans and a little bit of sweetness in a soup... I can do that. This reminds me very much of African Groundnut Stew. Except with no chicken and a lot of beans! 

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Chili

2 cans black beans

1 can red kidney beans

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup prepared TVP*

12 oz pureed pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling

1 cup peanut butter or other nut butter

1/4 cup agave syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika, smoked

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tsp cumin

2 cups vegetable broth

1 6oz can tomato paste

1 12oz can of crushed or pureed tomatoes

4 tbsp Chipotle Olive Oil

1 tsp minced garlic

Rinse and drain the beans and put them aside in a large bowl.

Put the TVP, garlic, onion and the olive oil in a large stock pot and heat to medium high. Saute around for 5-7 minutes. The garlic should be nice and fragrant, but the TVP should not be burning.

Add the vegetable stock and the ground spices. Bring it to a low simmer and stir until all the spices dissolve, or at least distribute well. Taste test for flavor and spiciness. Add a bit more cayenne if you want, and a bit more black pepper than you think you need.

Stir in the tomato paste slowly. When it has dissolved around, do the same with the pumpkin and the peanut butter. You want it to be pretty smooth at this point except for the TVP and onions floating around.

Now add the beans and tomatoes. Cover and bring to a high simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Stir in the agave syrup in the last minute or two of cooking. Serve with pumpkin seeds, fried onion bits or really anything you want.

*TVP, or Textured Vegetable Protein is generally a soy based filler food. You find it in so many commercial products, including a lot of store brand chili's! But it is a good substitute for ground meat in recipes. It has lots of protein and takes on the flavor of whatever you are cooking it with. You can usually find it in the organic or natural aisles of your supermarket. Or you can just add another can of beans.

This is a vegan meal, but you could always play with that a bit. Instead of TVP, next time I am going to add some blended garbanzo beans. It worked for the hummus/soup, it will work for this. You can use ground meat if you want and meat broth instead of veggie broth. And if you don't have agave, honey is fine.

Pumpkin Hummus

Oh pumpkin. I have so much love for pumpkin. If you don't, you may want to skip the next week or so of posts!

Pumpkin Hummus

2 cloves garlic

3 tbsp Meyer Lemon Olive Oil

1 can Garbanzo Beans

1/2 can Pure Pumpkin Puree

1/4 cup Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

1 tbsp Citrus Habanero Olive Oil

1 tbsp Greek Honey

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper, plus more for garnish

1 tsp Salt

2 tbsp Tahini

Put the garlic, salt, tahini and the beans into a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the pumpkin and cayenne pepper. Process slowly, adding in the olive oil by the tablespoon until you get to your desired consistency. Fold in the pumpkin seeds. Save a couple for the top.

Top with a little more pumpkin seeds a sprinkle of cayenne and the honey.

Meyer Lemon Chickpea Salad

I have been in the mood for some simple food. You can't get much more simple than this salad. A little chopping, a little opening of cans, and salad!

I took this to our Father's Day picnic. It went over so well I only got a picture of my own bowl.

Meyer Lemon Chickpea Salad

1 can Chickpeas
1 avocado
1/2 a cucumber
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1-3 cloves garlic
2-4 tbsp Meyer Lemon Olive Oil
(optional - a little drizzle of Greek Honey)

Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Add to a large serving bowl.

Dice the avocado, cucumber and the cherry tomatoes. Add to the bowl. Depending on how much garlic everyone likes, press 1-3 cloves. We like a lot of garlic, so 3 cloves it was. Start with one and see how it goes. You can always stir in more later.

Toss everything with the Meyer Lemon Olive Oil and chill for at least an hour. Drizzle with the honey just before serving. (if using)

A Savory April Fools!

Happy April Fools Day!

I was going to make surprise cakes, ya know, mini cakes with things like candied cherries or nuts hidden in the centers... But it's April Fools Day. You would be expecting something like that.

Instead I went literal. Ful, pronounced Fool, is Egyptian for a kind of fava bean dish.

Now, when you think fava bean, pop culture being what it is, you probably hear Hannibal Lecter talking about liver and Chianti.

I have nothing against Chianti, but lets agree that it is just too creepy to put these things together anymore. I'm getting as far away from that as possible here and giving you a breakfast recipe.

This is, from what I read, a popular Egyptian breakfast. I thought it was fantastic! And healthier by far than French Toast.

So Happy April 'Fuls' Day. Lets Eat!

And Happy 1st Blogiversary to me as well!

This is easiest to make with canned beans, but if you can't find them, use dried.

Ful Medames

1 can fava beans, rinsed and drained - 

or, about 1 cup dried, soaked and boiled according to package directions

2-3 tbsp Meyer Lemon Olive Oil

1 lime

2 tsp garlic

1 tsp fresh ginger

cumin

salt

Crush the garlic and the ginger together to make a paste. Add to the beans and olive oil. Mash together with a fork and add the salt and cumin to taste.

Serve with warm flat bread, an egg and a squeeze of lime.

No Meat Chili and Pineapple Cornbread

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Turkey Day.

My day was fun, but my families celebration combined with the cooking I've been doing for you guys, I am turkey-ed out!

To get completely away from turkey, I made this no meat chili. I'm going to show you some good things to do with leftovers this coming week, you could even put shredded turkey into this. But right now, turkey is out and beans are in!

No Meat Chili

2 cans black beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 can chopped carrots,
         or 2 fresh carrots
1 can, diced new potatoes,
          or 1 large baking potato, diced
1 cup chopped or crushed pineapple in juice
1/2 cup juice from the can of pineapple
1 large onion, diced
3-4 tbsp Taco, Southwest, Jerk or Wings seasoning blends
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
2-4 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp Jalapeno Olive Oil
1 cup vegetable stock

Heat the Olive Oil on medium heat in a large stock pot. Add in the onion and saute 5-7 minutes, until they start to become translucent. Add in the potatoes and the carrot and one tbsp of your seasoning blend. Saute 2-3 minutes.

Rinse and drain all your beans. Add them to the pot along with the vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally. Cook for 10 minutes. Taste. Add the rest of your seasonings blend one tbsp at a time along with 2 tbsp of the brown sugar. Simmer 5-10 mins. Taste again. If still too spicy, add a little more brown sugar. If too sweet, add more spices. The spices will intensify a bit as you cook.

Add the pineapple bits, juice and tomatoes and simmer 1- 1 1/2 hours. Sauce will thicken and turn darker.

Serve with Pineapple Cornbread (recipe follows)

Pineapple Cornbread

Take one package cornbread mix and empty it into a bowl. If the directions call for water or milk, substitute an equal amount of crushed or chopped pineapple in juice, plus 2 tbsp of the juice.

Add in eggs if it calls for it, also 2 tbsp Jalapeno Olive Oil.

Stir and bake as directed. Remember to grease your pan well. The pineapple bits make it stick more than usual.

Cool slightly and turn out onto wire racks. Slice and brush the tops with White Pineapple Balsamic. Serve warm with chili.




*If you would like to make a meat chili, I would saute the meat in one of the spicy oils before I put in the onions. I would use Jalapeno for preference, but Citrus Habanero if you are feeling the need to breathe fire. If you do, you may only need 1-2 tbsp additional spices.

Creamy Lemon Bean Salad

Most of what I make isn't the prettiest food. But it sure is tasty.

Creamy Lemon Bean Salad

Serves 4-6

1 can chickpeas

1 can white beans

1 lg avocado

1/4 cup garlic hummus

3-4 tbs Meyer Lemon Olive Oil

Drain the chickpeas and white beans. Mash the avocado with the hummus until smooth. Mix together and drizzle with Meyer Lemon Oil to taste. 

Serve cold with burgers and chicken or just by itself for a quick vegetarian meal!