Taste O' Autumn

It's too fucking hot. Let's all get sentimental about the best season of the whole year! AUTUMN!

From a fantastic food blog.




Hearty Autumn Chili
with pumpkin, black beans, and chocolate

1 large onion, chopped
1 heaping tsp. cumin seeds
5 cloves garlic, pressed
2 heaping tsp cumin powder
1 heaping tsp coriander
1 tbs dried chopped oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup chili paste (see below)
1/4 cup espresso
.5 Liter dark beer
6 cups cooked black beans
2 cups cooked pumpkin puree
2 cans tomato chunks or diced tomatoes
1 cup water from soaking ancho chilies
50 g unsweetened chocolate
1/2 tbs cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 big tbs tomato paste
16 oz Kidney beans (drained)
salt (to taste)
olive oil

Chili paste:
2 big tbs chipotle paste (to make this, I take one small can of chipotles in adobo, remove all the seeds from the peppers (except for maybe one), and blend it up in a blender, sauce and all. I keep this in my fridge or freezer at pretty much all times. I find if I don't remove the seeds, its way too hot)
2 large dried ancho chilies, soaked in a cup or so of water for at least 30 minutes
1 tbs of the soaking water

First, make the chili paste. Take the soaked ancho chilies, remove the seeds, and chop up. In a blender or food processor, combine the chipotle paste, chopped ancho chilies, and a tbs of the soaking water. Pulse it until it is fairly smooth. Scrape it out into a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a few tablespoons olive oil in a large, heavy pot. Add onions, season with salt, and saute over medium heat until they start becoming clear (around 5 minutes) and add cumin seeds. Cook another 5 minutes or so (don't let onions brown).

Add garlic and let it saute for around 1 minute, then add cumin powder, coriander, dried oregano and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine and let cook for a minute or two more. Add espresso and stir.

Add the cooked black beans and combine. Stir in the chili paste, then pour in the beer. Let foam subside then stir to combine everything well. Stir in pumpkin, then tomatoes (with liquid) and the water from the ancho chilies. Stir everything well and let it heat up for a few minutes.

Stir in the pieces of unsweetened chocolate until they are melted and combined, then the sugar, vanilla, and tomato paste. Cover and let simmer on low heat for around 3o minutes.

Add kidney beans, then honey, then slowly stir in the cocoa powder. Stir up every thing real good, then let it simmer on low heat for around 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Taste and season with salt (or additional chili paste or cayenne pepper if you want more heat) as necessary

Get in the mood for Jack O' Lanterns....


Get in an autumn forest mood....


See a nostalgic autumn horror movie....

(All parts are available on YouTube "Dark Night of the Scarecrow")

My very favorite Halloween-feeling movie ever....

(All parts are available on YouTube "Shattered Silence" Made-for-Tv 70s movie will take you back to 70s Halloweens--big time!)

I seriously recommend you follow TVTerrorLand on YouTube--lots of 70s made-for-tv movies--hallelujah!



Make the place smell like Halloween. Bath and Body Works has a Spooktacular shop open.

Be sure and do like me and go to Octoberfarm every day. Jaz is the Martha Stewart of Autumn, cooking, hobbying, collecting, decorating, making the season freaking over the top!

Comments

  1. I really want the fall to get here. It is my favorite time of year. The chili looks good!

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  2. I am definitely making that chili this autumn with my famous homemade black rye bread loaves, warm with cream cheese on top. Yummers!

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  3. I love 70's productions, down to the cinematography and wardrobe. I was laughing my butt off watching that random establishing shot over which the title cards played. Why they couldn't run the credits while following the car is beyond me. LOL!!

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  4. Haha. Cullan. Damn! I have a post coming up soon about TVTerrorland and all the awesome 70s made-for-tv horror they have on there. I curl up with my laptop at night and watch ones I had forgotten like Crowhaven Farm and Satan's School for Girls and such. I am so digging it! Why can't we have that part of the 70s back? We need more made-for-tv movie nights with creepy atmospheric horror. Damn! Yeah, and the fonts and music give away the 70s music every time, if the cars don't.

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  5. Sounds fabulous! I can't wait for fall - I even posted a 'goodbye' poem to summer recently, hoping to hurry it on its way.

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  6. Here's to fall coming early for everyone--we've fucking earned it!

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  7. Oh my good GOD! I can not wait for the season to change!

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  8. Hey, Melanie, here it isn't autumn until early December. Sucks, huh? I am going north so I can experience it when it's supposed to happen--September.

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  9. Oh, this looks good and tasty. Feel free to send some my way!

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  10. Good plan...it has started cooling off here..but it could be 100 tomorrow and then snowing by Sunday, 'cause that's how we roll. Autumn is usually pretty stable...here's hoping!

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  11. Yeah. I want to make that with a loaf of my super tasty black rye bread. Steaming hot. Maybe melt some cheddar on top of the chili. Have a cold pumpkin ale. Damn! Okay, you name the date and I'll make it, but it'd be up to you to find your way here. No one wants to come to the desert in autumn. It's like going to the beach in winter.

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  12. Dark Night of the Scarecrow is a true gem, truly rising above the mediocrity of TV movies. Autumn, if you want to see a really cool costume from that movie, I recommend you go here:

    http://thescarecrowspost.blogspot.com/2010/11/bubba-scarecrow.html

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  13. HN;
    That's brilliant! Love that blog! Put it on my blog list. Yahoo!

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  14. Autumn Yes! That is the season, my season too!

    Tomorrow I will give you a little bit of Autum!

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  15. Okay so you just made me hungry, sentimental and pissed off that is still summer in like 2 seconds! Autumn is my favorite season, for all of the reasons, food ( I love to cook, especially when there is great produce out) the fashion!!!!! I'm a sweater girl, I love me a dress with tights and a cardigan! And the weather of course. We have beautiful autumns here!

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  16. Random; See? You just to got me pissed off that I have to spend autumn in the fucking desert! Yeah, I hate it here. I'm an autumn gal. I love to make pumpkin bread, drink pumpkin ale, roast pumpkin seeds, bonfires, sweaters, cold noses and fingers, burning leaves, hot chai tea, hot cocoa, scary movies, fireplaces, lap blankets....

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