Sweet Jumpin' Chili Beans! And A Revelation.

Cooking Adventure: Black Bean & Chocolate Chili

Source: Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates*
The Bellydance Soundtrack: Lela by James Brown & Featuring Hakim

Prep Time: 20 min.

Cook Time:25-30min.

*A thank you to Carolyn over at Eat Well. Live Well. Be Well. for posting the recipe as well. I went and returned the library book before remembering to copy down the recipe. Not only that, but I had a vegetarian friend coming for dinner last weekend and was really needing the chili directions quick. Thanks, Carolyn for saving my butt twice. :)

"I am not required to write about magick."

This was my mantra this morning for a good while. For a long time now I think I've falsely led myself to believe that just because I'm Wiccan and I run a blog, I need to be jumping into magickal writing. You know. Sharing spells. Exploring the deeper meaning of tarot cards. Dream interpretation. Psychically communing with the spirits of the dinosaurs. Well, not that last one...yet. I suppose that was what Chocolate Month was an attempt to do - an attempt to find the spiritual blogger in myself. Yet, while I appreciate and admire the bloggers who do have the dedication and insight to do this, I just can't keep it up.

My spirituality has been and always will be in the things that I do. I may not bless my ingredients before I cook, or consecrate my crochet hooks. And I may not come up with spells that often. And I may have a really bad habit of forgetting the full moon every single time until one or two nights after. But damn it, I don't really care. Pagans all have their own way of worshiping (Hence why public rituals seem to run on hippie drum circle time: "You know, man. It will all just come together when people show up."). My way of worship is in my cooking, my dancing and my crafting. I don't need rhyming or correspondences to do them, I just go with my instincts. And with this recipe, my instincts told me that if chocolate tastes good, and chili tastes good, then together they must be magickally delicious! ...Okay, I'm groaning with all of you on that one.

I will finish chocolate month because my mom never let me quit anything and that behavior has been drilled into my skull for good("But Mom, I don't want to go to Jessica's party! I didn't know it would be a Mary Kay party & they're going to make me do glamor shots! I'll have to wear a dress and I'll be covered in gobs of hair spray!" Three days later I was the prettiest, most flammable 10 year-old on the block.). So for those of you who enjoy keeping up with the insanity: expect much more to come. And for those of you who do have magickal blogs: know that I love you and that I steal your ideas all the time for personal use. :)

Meanwhile, enjoy the food for the day! This is extremely easy to make and has been husband approved for your convenience. Wo0t for the power of chocolate and love apples!

Ingredients

2 T. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 small fresh chile, minced
1 T. ground cumin
2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1 t. ground coriander
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. chopped bell peppers
3 c. cooked or canned black beans
2 c. undrained crushed canned tomatoes
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 T. soy sauce
1 1/2 oz semi-sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
chopped scallions

Directions:
1. In a saucepan, warm the oil on medium heat. Add the onions ad garlic and saute until the onions become translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery and chil, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes.e
2. Reduce the heat and stir in the spices and bell peppers. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, until the bell peppers begin to soften. Stir occasionally to keep the spices from burning. If needed, add a little juice from the canned tomatoes.
3. Add the black beans, tomatoes, lemon juice and soy sauce. Bring the chili to a simmer, cover, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the chocolate. When it is melted, adjust the salt, black pepper and lemon juice to taste.
4. Garnish with chopped scallions.