The sweetness of the cilantro-coconut chutney balances out the spicy heat in the stew and makes a perfect match!

It just so happened I was at the end of my batch of fresh collards from the garden and was able to use them with both my client dish and my own in this beauty and they were delicious. The original recipe I stumbled on did not call for chickpeas but I thought it needed something in it besides sweet potatoes and collards. You know, a little more "meat" (substance).  So I added a can of organic chickpeas (rinsed and drained, of course), and served it up with wild rice. I would typically serve it with brown rice but just used what was in the pantry! Topping it with fresh lime, the cilantro chutney and unsalted peanuts. Trust me, you're going to love this!

Time: 10 minute prep / 35 minute cook time (give or take)
Feeds: 6 people

RECIPE:
Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or grape-seed oil 
• 1 onion, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
• 1 jalapeno, cored and finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 2-inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 large (1-lb) sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened creamy peanut butter
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 bunch collard greens, stems removed and chopped
• fresh cilantro, cooked rice (of choice), roasted peanuts and lime juice for serving

Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, sprinkle with salt and cook for 3 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic, jalapeno, ginger, cumin and cayenne then stir together and cook for about 2 minutes.

Next add the tomato paste and stir together. Add the sweet potato, peanut butter, vegetable broth and water. Stir together then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add the chopped collard greens to the pot, stir, then cover and continue to cook for another 15 minutes, until sweet potato is tender.
Using the back of the fork, mash some of the sweet potato to help thicken the broth. Boil uncovered for 5 minutes. Serve warm with rice and garnish with cilantro, peanuts, and lime juice.  

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1. 1/3 cup grated palm sugar (or reg sugar)
2. 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
3. 3 tablespoons water
4. 1 cup cilantro leaves (medium packed)
5. 1 cup shredded coconut
6. 1/3 cup mint leaves
7. pinch salt

Directions:
To make the coconut cilantro chutney: Place all ingredients in a small bowl & use an immersion blender until finely chopped & well combined. Or use a small food processor. Cover & set aside. Allow to mingle a bit!

In the end, I think you will find this dish extremely satisfying and delightful! A great addition to your "soups and stews" recipe collection and perhaps even your "Winter Favorites". 

Enjoy! And tag me in it, when you decide to go for it!

Now that the weather has started to turn cooler, we're all at the pumpkin patch and it's almost Halloween! We've been dying to start cooking with butternut squash, pumpkin and our fall veggies so I of course, could not wait to make chili and make it vegetarian, cause sometimes (okay most of the times) I don't eat meat. I can live on veggies, legumes and the like but I occasionally have meat. And I cannot nor will I be the meat police to others.  To each his own.

Anywho, I decided to make this chili with what I had in the fridge, cause most of the time I'm cooking for others and forget about eating. That's right. I forget to eat. I'm always at the grocery store, the farmers markets, seafood markets for others and hardly have time (or make time) to prepare my own meals these days. 

I just happen to have a butternut squash, 1 sweet potato, a few organic carrots, a can of corn, black beans, onion and garlic and spices. Viola! The makings of a perfect vegetarian chili, if I do say so myself. May I say, this chili messed with our (my families mostly) heads because the flavors and veggies were way out there when we think of traditional chili. But sometimes I like to go out in left field and do something different. And it really did work. It was a little spicy from the turmeric and chili seasonings, yet the squash, carrots and sweet potato calmed it down, along with the sour cream. I seared the corn at the last minute and threw that on for good measure. It seemed to give it another texture and flavor dimension as well. 

So, if you're feeling a little risky and want to try something super flavorful for Fall this is one great recipe you'll want to try! I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did. And, it's so easy to make you can whip it up in no time. Don't forget to comment below and let me know if you're going to make it, or come back and let me know how you liked it or hated it, for that matter :)

​Bon Appetite! 

AUTUMN CHILI RECIPE

Ingredients:
1 small Butternut Squash (peeled and cubed)
1 Sweet Potato (peeled and cubed)
1 - 2 med Carrots (sliced)
(1) 14 oz can of Tomatoes with juice
(1) 14 oz. can of Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
(1) 14 oz. can of Corn (drained)
4 cups of veggie broth
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 small - med onion (chopped)
1 clove of garlic (minced) more if you like garlic
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of coriander
1 tsp of turmeric 
1 Tbsp of chili powder

Top: with sour cream, cheese, and whatever - serve with tortilla chips

Instructions:
Heat your oil in a medium to large dutch oven or soup pot, add your onion saute until translucent, then add garlic for about 5 minutes. Add your seasonings, cook this for about 2 - 3 minutes then add your veggies. Saute this for a few minutes then add your tomatoes, then your beans, then add your veggie stock and bring to a boil. Then turn down to a simmer and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour, you don't want to overcook your veggies, you will want them to have a little crunch but to be cooked. While this is cooking, sear your corn in one tablespoon of butter (or coconut oil) on med to high heat to char it. Add your chili to bowl, your cheese, sour cream, and serve with tortilla chips or cracker. 

If you are lazy, you can opt to roast all the veggies with a little oil and salt in the oven at 425 degrees beforehand. Once the veggies are roasted, you can start the chili as above and then add the veggies at the last minute, then cook for about 20 to 25 minutes. You will get a nice roasted flavor but be careful not to overcook as your veggies may come out mushy when you put them with the stock and cook.  But, it still works either way. I chose the lazy way (ha ha). 

First off, let me say that though these brownies are DAIRY FREE, VEGETARIAN,  GLUTEN-FREE they are to DIE FOR! 

I know, you're thinking "EW! Brownies with BLACK BEANS?" I felt the same. But after creating a dinner just this past week and having leftover black beans, I thought I would FINALLY give it a try! MAN, was I glad I did. And most of Ya'll know, I really dig sweets! 

When having to switch my lifestyle to Gluten-free it was quite the challenge, especially with baked goods because when baking with Gluten-free flours it is not the same. Am I right? It truly takes practice and a very long learning curve to perfect what used to come easy - and make even BROWNIES eddible.

Well, this recipe is SUPER EASY and is FLOUR FREE using only a few ingredients. Trust me, you're going to love these. You'll see a few black beans in the mix unless you spend a few minutes more at the processor mixing these up. But I didn't have to fool any small children (or husbands) into thinking these didn't have beans in them so I didn't worry too much with that! 

They are super moist, very chocolaty, so scrumptious and packed FULL of Fiber! In addition to these being gluten-free, it uses a cup of black beans. And a cup of black beans has about half the calories that a cup of all-purpose flour has, has 20% of your daily iron, AND it has a slightly higher protein content (15g).

You’ll need to rinse, drain, and puree a can of black beans
(or use cooked, dried beans) to make a good pastey base,
then mix in the rest of your wet ingredients (3 eggs,
3 Tbsp oil, 1 tsp vanilla extract).

In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients
(¼ cup unsweetened cocoa, ⅔ cup sugar, ½ tsp baking
powder, ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp coffee). The coffee can be
omitted if you don’t want to incorporate it and you can use
​decaf if you're worried about caffeine.  But I STRONGLY urge you (see what I did there?) to leave it in. It just seems to
add a depth of flavor. Coffee always seems to work so well with chocolate. Don't you think?

______________________________________

BAKING TIP:
I'm sure most of you know this, but when you're baking,
you'll want most always to mix your wet ingredients with 
your wets and your dry ingredients with your dry. Keep
them in separate bowls then slowly incorporate them 
together after you have first mixed them with LIKE
ingredients.  This helps ensure they get evenly mixed.