Smoky Black Bean Chili

As cooler temperatures move into Canada, I begin to think once again of comfort food. And nothing speaks comfort like a warming bowl of chili. The smoky flavour in this dish comes from a blend of toasted cumin, mustard and fennel seeds. Of course, it's spicy too, as my regular readers have no doubt come to expect.

Indian-Style Smoky Black Bean Chili

1 1/2 cups of dried black beans, soaked overnight
4 cups of water
a generous handful of serrano, jalapenos and green chilies, seeded and minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated or finely minced
small handful of dried curry leaves
1/2 cup of fresh parsley or coriander, chopped
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
dash or two of asafoetida powder
1 tablespoon of chili powder
dash of cayenne
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, and chopped
2 cups of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup of bulgur wheat, soaked in 1/3 cup of hot water for 10 minutes
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds

Drain the beans. In a large pot, combined the drained beans, and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, add the peppers, ginger, curry leaves and half of the parsley. Reduce the heat to moderately low, cover and simmer for about 1 - 1/2 hours or until the beans are tender.

Puree a small portion of the beans with a hand blender or transfer some of the beans to a blender, puree and return to the pot.

Dry roast the cumin seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the seeds have darkened a few shades, toss the asafoetida into the pan, stir and immediately transfer to the cooked beans. Add the tomatoes to the beans, along with the bulgur and salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, for another 15 - 20 minutes.

Put the mustard seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat and cover. Shake the pan from time to time. When the seeds begin to pop, add the fennel seeds, cover and continue to fry until the seeds stop popping. Pour into the pot of beans, stir in the remaining parsley, cover and let sit for a few minutes before serving.

Serves 6 - 8.

Blueberry macarons

Making macarons – talk about a brave decision! And here I thought that chopping off 4 inches of hair, like I did a couple of months ago, had been a bold move.I’d had an eye on these pink beauties for quite a while but it was Helen’s wonderful tutorial that gave me the courage to finally try making macarons. And even though they don’t look like hers or the Master’s – which I was lucky enough to

Dark chocolate oatmeal cookies

Eating fibers and grains is a key element for one’s good health – I have no problem there, but know that many people can’t stand them, especially kids. And my husband. :SOne alternative is tricking the kids into eating oats by adding them to baked goods - I have already done that with my nieces, without much success.It’s like Brad Pitt’s “rich” acting skills - they only become tolerable with

Cannellini and Grape Tomato Salad with Lemon Dressing and Rosemary-Garlic Infused Olive Oil

As pretty on a patio table in the summer time as it is refreshing and delicious, this light and cooling bean salad is a favourite — and a wonderful idea if you're being buried under fresh garden grape or cherry tomatoes. Little preparation time is needed for this simple recipe adapted from an old Canadian Living magazine entry.

This is my contribution to Eating with the Season, a food event hosted by Maninas.

Cannellini Bean and Grape Tomato Salad with Lemon Dressing and Rosemary-Garlic Infused Olive Oil

Salad:

2/3 cup dried cannellini (white kidney) beans
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
large handful fresh parsley, trimmed
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
3 garlic cloves, peeled and slightly mashed
1 teaspoon lemon zest
juice from 1 lemon
fresh ground black pepper

Rinse the cannellini beans under cold running water and soak overnight covered in several inches of cold water with a little yogurt whey or lemon juice added. Drain the beans and cover again with cold water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour or until the beans are soft but not falling apart. Drain and set aside to cool.

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat with the sprig of rosemary and the garlic. Once the rosemary begins to sizzle, just a few minutes, remove from heat and let stand for 20 minutes to let the flavours of rosemary and garlic infuse the oil.

Discard the sprig of rosemary and remove the garlic from the oil. Set aside the oil and add the garlic to a small food processor along with the lemon zest and lemon juice. Process until smooth. Season with pepper.

Drizzle the dressing over the beans and let stand for a few minutes for the flavours to absorb. Gently fold in the tomatoes, parsley, Parmesan cheese and the reserved olive oil, and serve.

Serves 4 to 6.

Cinnamon apple cake

Moving can be quite stressful and tiring, but also good for finding things we don’t remember we own anymore.After unpacking my cookbooks and magazines, I found a folder filled with very old print outs from other blogs and websites. There were some great recipes there and I did not recall them at all; The one I post today was among them – I printed it almost two years ago!My dear coworker Gisele

Baked Whole Wheat Crêpes with Apple Blueberry Sauce

Not really a crêpe at all, of course, but these thin soft baked pancakes are just as ideal for filling and rolling as the traditional pan-fried version — and with far less fuss and chance of error, these are guaranteed to come out perfectly every time. The ideal solution for when you only want a couple of crêpes … as with a nice breakfast or dinner for two.

A thick apple and blueberry sauce is perfect for late summer and early fall, evoking memories of the just-past blueberry season and anticipation of soon-to-come apple picking, but just as with crêpes any sweet fruit or savoury cheese, vegetable or mushroom filling that comes to mind may be used to as nice an effect. Tart apples are my own favourite, but more sugary varieties may appeal to your sweet tooth … or just add a little extra honey to the sauce.

Baked whole wheat crêpes with apple blueberry sauce

Crêpes:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of ground cardamom
dash of sea salt
1/3 cup whole milk
4 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Apple blueberry sauce:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 apples, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup apple juice or cider
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 pint blueberries
1 tablespoon corn starch

Preheat an oven to 400°.

Sift together the flour, cinnamon, cardamom and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk in the milk and egg yolks. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks just start to form (no need to overdo this). Stir in with the rest of the batter.

Place 1 tablespoon of butter in each of two 9-inch pan plates and put the plates into the preheated oven. Once the butter melts and just slightly begins to scorch, remove the plates from the oven and swirl to coat the bottoms. Pour in half the batter into each of the plates and return to the oven. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove and slide onto serving plates.

Meanwhile, melt the butter for the sauce over medium heat in a small saucepan. Toss in the apples and sauté for about 10 minutes, until the apples are softened and browning. Add the apple juice, honey and lemon zest and bring to a gentle boil. Stir in the blueberries. In a small bowl, dissolve the corn starch in 1 tablespoon of hot water, and add to the pan. Continue to boil, stirring gently, for a couple of minutes until the sauce is thickened.

Spoon a generous amount of sauce onto each of the pancakes and serve.

Little hazelnut tartlets with caramel fudge icing

Bad hair days. Those merciless, cruel days when you look in the mirror and all you see is a member of some band from the 80s.
We can have bad hair days when it comes to cooking, can’t we? This recipe qualifies as one.

In some pans, the batter overflew and the ones that didn’t delivered funny-looking tartlets. To make me feel even worse, the icing wasn’t spoonable as the one on the original