Friday, February 25, 2011

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.

7 comments:

Ailie said...

'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.'

Ooh, been there, done that, got the flaming. I don't know if it's different for you but I got overrun by people anxious to correct my technique (does tarot reading or poppet making even need a technique?) and direct me to the wun twoo way :(

Besides, there's plenty of magic in everyday life, especially for a kitchen witch, and even more so when there's chocolate involved!

J.Moehring said...

So, I laughed so hard at your "Psychically communing with the spirits of the dinosaurs" I love it. I kinda wish I could.....seriously, wouldn't want to talk to a t-rex? (I always get the quote, "I have a big head, and little arms!" running through my head for this.) And I agree with Lilith^^ there is magick in everyday life. And just because you don't preach about it or let it consume your blog doesn't mean that you are any less magickal or that your blog is anyless magickally delicious (hehehe sorry had to use it ;) ) I write about my path because honestly, I have no other outlet for it. But I won't ramble on about that :P Just know I love you and your blog, and you inspire my inner chef and kitchen witch. <3 LOTS OF LOVE!!!!! <3

Mrs BC said...

Don't go changing, Blue!! I love your blog the way it is. If you only wrote a magical blog then it might not leave room for crocheted creatures/yummo recipes/belly dancing tutorials; and anyway, if you communed with a TRex I'm sure you would tell us what he or she said. I love that you are a well rounded witch, & I'm not talking your shimmying hips!
Big hugs
Mrs BC
xxx

Carolyn said...

Hi there Blue Faerie - Glad I could help you out with that recipe. I too copied it down from a library rented Moosewood cookbook. It is totally a keeper! I mean chocolate in anything... yes please!

I'm not at all familiar with "magical" or "pagan" ideas, so I might just check out your blog to get clued in.

Keep on keepin' on.
Carolyn

Anonymous said...

Sing it Sista! I was nodding my head while reading your post and couldn't agree more. My Spirituality is in everything I do, therefore, I rarely feel the need to "add to it" with chants or rhymes or "trappings" that some people, IMHO, get so caught up in they lose touch with their true Spiritual self.

Great post!

Danni said...

Seriously, how bad-ass would it be to psychically commune with the spirits of the dinosaurs? I call dibs on the plesiosaur!

(Wanton love of dinos aside, I completely 100% love this post.)

Heathen said...

Blue Faerie you rock! Do what you do and don't let anyone tell you you're doing it wrong.