The Perfect Autumn Chili

This is Autumn in a bowl - the perfect thing to fill up on after a cold, crisp day raking leaves or visiting the apple orchard. The type of thing you want to eat after a long evening trick or treating or after sitting through extended regulation, in the rain on the cold metal bleachers as you watch your team pull out a win.

It is packed full of flavor from chipotle and ancho chilis. It is full of heartiness and nutrition from the black beans, kidney beans, and pumpkin. And it has a deep richness from the chocolate, espresso and dark beer. Its spicy and hearty, simple and inexpensive - all the things a good chili is supposed to be.

It has a lot of ingredients - but most of them are your average pantry staple making this pretty easy to prepare. It is also relatively healthy and low fat compared to your average chili. It is great over a baked potato, polenta, or rice. You can top traditionally with sour cream and shredded cheese if you like - I recommend trying shredded monterrey jack or crumbled cotija as an alternative to cheddar.



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.

Wild Mushroom & Leek Soup

As an artist, I am always thinking about the things that are catching my eye - those things that are a source of inspiration to me at the moment. It may be colors, patterns, or light at a certain time of day.

Right now, its Autumn that is inspiring me. Specifically - a sort-of storybook idealistic European Autumn with dense, fragrant woodlands full of changing leaves, cool brisk breezes, and warm sunlight peeking through the trees. Everything is beautiful shades of brown, taupe, burnt orange, mustard yellow and sage. In this idealized Autumn scene I have a basket in my hand and I am collecting blackberries, chestnuts and wild mushrooms.

Naturally, all those delicious wild mushrooms would just love to be a warm and soothing soup. A soup enjoyed in an over-sized arm chair in front of the hearth, a soft afghan over my lap and a good novel in my hand.

This recipe really fit that bill. It is low-fat yet still very rich and filling and right now with all the mushrooms in season its easy on the pocket book as well. This makes a great main dish but would also be a beautiful first course at a dinner party (followed of course by things like roasted pumpkin, sweet corn and warm apple and pear desserts).


Wild Mushroom & Leek Soup
350 g Chanterelle Mushrooms, chopped (about a cup and half)
350 g Baby Bella/Cremini Mushrooms, sliced (about 5 or 6 cups after sliced. These are just called Brown mushrooms in Germany)
2 large Leeks, chopped - white parts only (about 3 and half cups after chopped)
5 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon dried chopped Rosemary
1 teaspoon dried chopped Thyme
3 Tbs flour
1/2 cup Red wine
2 cups Beef or vegetable broth
3 cups water
1/2 cup 2 percent milk (you can of course use cream instead - just use much less and add it just as you are taking the soup off the heat. Or you can just leave this out and make this vegan as well)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper


Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the chopped leeks and season with a bit of salt. Let saute for around 10 minutes or so. Add the baby bella mushrooms and let saute for around 3 minutes. Add Chantarelles, herbs, garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine and let saute for another 3 to 5 minutes.

Sprinkle in the flour and stir until combined and coating all the vegetables. Add the red wine and let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the broth and water. Raise heat until soup just comes to a boil, then reduce and let simmer uncovered for around 30 minutes. Stir in the milk and let simmer for another 10 minutes or so. Serve warm.

I topped this with caramelized shallots and Chantarelle mushrooms, which gave it a little something extra. Would also be good with toasted hazelnuts and a thick hearty whole grain bread to soak up the broth.

Simple & Spicy Black Bean Soup

I love cheap and easy recipes. Like, more than any other kind of recipe. I like to make things that cost next to nothing, feed me multiple times, and can be made all in one pot with only a handful of ingredients.


And lets face it, just about everyone right now is trying to learn how to be a bit more frugal, right? Whether you are facing a lay off or are just trying to pay off loans or are saving for a rainy day, its nice to not spend all of your cash on food. I love food - cooking is one of my main hobbies - but I still wish I could spend less money on it. And most days I don't really feel like spending any effort on it either.


This is one of the mains reasons I love both beans and soup. Beans are cheap and versatile, there are like a million different kinds, and soup goes a looong way. I like to make a large pot of soup and freeze all the excess in individual sized containers for fast and easy meals later on. This is one of my brainless week-night go-to soups - its ridiculously simple using just a few ingredients from my pantry (which makes it that much easier on the cash flow) and easy to make and clean up. Its just a simple thick and slightly spicy soup; you can dress it up with sour cream or crema, cotija cheese, rice or polenta, and it can stay in the freezer for up to six months.


See HERE for some of my other favorite soup recipes.

For more info on beans, including tidbits on nutrition, frugality and preparation and storage - check out this awesome post on Phytophiliac.

Black Bean Soup
1 lb black beans, soaked overnight
1 large yellow onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 tbs lime zest
3 tbs cumin
1 tbs chili powder
1/2 tbs cayenne
1/4 cup lime juice
1 heaping tbs sliced pickled jalapeños (of course you could use fresh peppers instead - but I tend to just use things I always have in my pantry, and this is one of those things)
4 cups chicken or veggie stock, 2 cups water
olive oil
salt and pepper

In a large stock pot, heat a few tbs olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and saute until soft - around 10 minutes. Add the garlic and lime zest and saute until fragrant, around 1 minute. Add cumin, chili powder, cayenne, jalapenos, and lime juice. Let combine for around 30 seconds. Add the black beans and toss together.

Add the liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer, uncovered, for around 3o minutes, then cover and simmer for another one and a half hours or until beans are very soft and liquid has reduced somewhat. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on it - sometimes you might need more water. (I know this sounds like a lot of cooking time, but you can just get it simmerin' and then go about your business)

Taste and season as necessary. Blend with an immersion blender (or in a blender in batches) until smooth. Serve warm with any of the following: baguette, polenta (my favorite), a scoop of rice, sour cream or crema, fresh cilantro, crumbled cotija cheese. So many ways to liven it up :)