Tag Archives: stew

Kale and White Bean Stew

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Julie • 0 Comments

I can’t believe I’m posting a recipe for kale stew on a 78 degree day in early March. Isn’t March supposed to be “in like a lion?” Well, maybe it is. If the lion came from Africa and brought the weather with it. What is this, people? Back in my day we were still having blizzards in March, and weathering them with old-timey patience and probably a lot of gumption. We also walked to school in them, uphill both ways. We earned our winter stews back then, I tell you.

I might be earning myself a reputation for being cranky about unseasonably warm weather, but trust me, there are worse reputations to have, and I’m standing by my insistence that winter goes until the spring equinox, regardless of whether it’s 8 degrees or 80 degrees. Give me stew or give me death!

Kale and white bean recipes are a dime a dozen – I’m not sure what makes them go so well together, but there’s something about the creaminess of the beans with the hearty, slightly bitter kale that just makes you want to hunker down and eat your way through the depths of winter. This particular recipe started out as a way to do just that – one snowy evening last winter, I went on a pantry raid to try to cobble together a nice dinner without having to put my boots on and trudge out in the cold. This quickly became a favorite and a weeknight staple both for its hearty taste and hardy makeup – this fast dinner transforms beautifully into even better leftovers. I strongly suggest eating it out of an oversized mug under a blanket, even if you have to turn the air conditioner on.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Main Dish, Soups, Vegan

Vegetarian Five Bean Chili

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Julie • 4 Comments

Look, I like spring. Who doesn’t? New life in the air, the bitter chill of winter replaced by the still-crisp promise of coming warmth, the hardiest of crocuses fighting their way up through the solid remnants of the last frost…that’s all well and good, but here’s my problem:

IT’S NOT SPRING.

Today is the first of February, and I’ve just been informed by my usually dour but suddenly cheery local meteorologist that it’ll be 67 degrees today. Tell me that on the first of April? I’ll be ecstatic. But right now, I feel cheated of my winter. Where are my evenings huddled under blankets with mugs of spiced (and spiked, obviously) cider? Where are my hushed mornings laced with the whisper of falling snow? Most importantly, where is my chance to ceaselessly mock the panicked hordes buying the grocery stores out of toilet paper and bread? No, I’m not ready for spring yet, and I will kick, scream, stubbornly wear my winter coat, and make hearty comfort food until 11:59 on March 19th. So there, spring.

I’m sharing my favorite chili recipe on this particular day, a 67-degree February day, as an act of peaceful protest against this winter’s apparent desire to go out like a lamb without ever really roaring in. I will call it Occupy: Winter. When we get two feet of snow in three weeks, you’ll likely point me back to this post and laugh, but I’ll just be patting myself on the back for a successful campaign.

All bitterness about floundering winters aside, I can eat this chili in any weather (although you might want to ask me again halfway through a DC July). It has a ton of flavor, and is extraordinarily hearty for a vegetarian chili thanks to its two special ingredients – peanut butter and cocoa powder. No, before you ask, I did not have a glass of wine and accidentally shuffle my chili recipe with my peanut butter cup recipe – I know it sounds strange, but these two additions make this chili everything wonderful that it is. Although you can’t taste it, the peanut butter adds a rich flavor that tempers the heat, and the cocoa a subtle depth and beautiful color. Together with five different beans, you can taste winter in every bite, even when it’s 67 degrees. Something you can also taste? An incredibly easy one-pot meal that’s perfect for Super Bowl Sunday.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Main Dish, Vegan