Black Bean Chili for a Spring Sunday

I wanted to make chili for the guys today - it's a gorgeous spring day but still a bit cool and I needed to use up some ground beef in the freezer.  Some of the stuff I used can be substituted for other things in the frig and pantry.

3 T. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste along the way
1 cup chopped red, orange, yellow peppers
1 cup chopped shallots
3 garlic cloves

1 tsp. ground coriander, roasted garlic flakes and celery salt
1 T. dried cilantro, cumin, minced onion, and chili powder (more to taste)
1 can chopped jalapeno peppers
2 cans chopped tomatoes with garlic, oregano and basil
1 qt. of vegetable or beef stock
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 T. molasses or sorghum*
any kind of mole, enchilada or chipotle sauce, if you have it.

2 pounds ground beef, browned
4 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 c. Wondra flour
1/4 c. cornmeal
Williams-Sonoma Tacolicious Mole Rojo
*Muddy Pond Horsepowered Tennessee Sorghum

I heated up 2 T of the olive oil with salt and pepper and threw in a bag chopped red,orange and yellow peppers (about one cup) I had frozen. I don't like green peppers and this was a great substitute. I added about a cup of chopped shallots and sauteed it all with three garlic cloves, sliced thin. I threw in 1 tsp. of ground coriander, 1 tsp. of celery salt, 1 T. dried cilantro, some roasted garlic flakes, 1 T. cumin and 1 T. chili powder.  I sprinkled on some dried minced onion and cooked this all together, adding some vegetable stock to keep it from sticking to the pan.  I then added 2 cans of chopped tomatoes (with garlic, basil and oregano) and 1 can of chopped jalapeno peppers.  To this I added about 1/2 cup of some Williams-Sonoma Tacolicious Mole Rojo.

I tossed this all in a crock pot and set it on High (4 hours) with 1/4 cup real maple syrup and 1 T. Muddy Pond Horsepowered Tennessee Sorghum.  Some molasses might work just as well for flavor.

I added 1/4 cup cornmeal to this and mixed well, topping off with the rest of the quart of vegetable stock and let it all start cooking.

I browned 1-1/2 to 2 pounds of ground beef and placed this in a colander to drain the fat. I added it to the chili and let it all cook for about 2 hours.  When it was bubbling, I sprinkled on 1/4 cup of Wondra flour and mixed it in very well so as not to lump or clump.  I then added four drained cans of black beans.

I cooked this all on High for four hours and then set it to 12 hours warm until the guys ate it later with chips.

If I had had grated cheese, more chopped onion, fresh corn, sour cream, chopped cilantro and sliced avocados, I would have served it with these - but I didn't.  They loved it anyway.

Baked Eggs with Fresh Cheese and Uncured Ham

Yesterday, we traveled about on the South Coast and found a small shop called Milk and Honey in Tiverton, RI. I must admit, we were a bit disappointed in the fact that there was very little honey in this shop, but there was a great selection of cheese.  I bought something called Cloumage which is a fresh cheese like a softened buttery cream cheese in a tub. It wasn't too expensive (we also bought some Rubiolo which was a bit pricey.)

This morning, I melted butter in some medium, deep crocks (see photo - these are like ramekins but are deep and not tiny.)
I lined the crocks with three slices of uncured Trader Joe (no nitrite) Black Forest Ham. I sauteed two shallots in butter, salt and pepper until they were nice and golden and limp and placed them on the ham. Then I spooned about 3 T of the fresh cheese on top and sprinkled it with about 12-15 fresh cilantro leaves. I dropped in two fresh eggs (without breaking), topped with fresh pepper and sea salt and lightly sprinkled with Trader Joe Bread Crumbs. I baked them for about 20-25 minutes in a 400 degree oven until I could see that the whites were cooked and the yolks not completely.

Yummy! We had no breads in the house so I added Asiago and Cheddar Cheese Crisps.