Happy September -- Early Signs of Fall

A maple tree at my house, already tinged in red. 

Happy September! As much as I love summer, this year I'm more than ready to see fall. Boring it may be to talk about the weather, but when summer temps break records set during the 1936 Dust Bowl, it seems to be everyone's favorite topic. Now that it's cooling off-- I'm finding early signs of fall everywhere, not the least of which is in my kitchen. At my house, the start of fall is synonymous with a good bowl of chili.

Nancy's Black Bean Chili from Carolyne Roehm's book At Home with Carolyne Roehm.

Before finding this recipe from Carolyne Roehm created by her cook, Nancy, I was not an avid chili fan. I find most chili to be too heavy, too greasy, too spicy and/or to have too many beans. This is a good recipe for the not-so-big-chili-lover.

RECIPE for Nancy's Black Bean Chili, 6 to 8 servings:

4 tablespoons olive oil

8 garlic cloves, sliced

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 each red, yellow, and jalapeno pepper, coarsely chopped

1-1/2 pounds ground sirloin

2 tablespons chili powder

1 pound black beans, cooked (*I use canned black beans, well-rinsed and drained.)

One 28-oz can crushed tomatoes, with juice 

1/2 cup water

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. *I use Lawry's Seasoning Salt

**My add-ins & purely optional: extra jalapenos to taste, seeds removed, 1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, 1 can dark red kidney beans, extra chili powder to taste.

For garnish: 1 bunch scallions, diced, 1/4 pound Cheddar cheese, shredded, and 2 cups sour cream

1. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute garlic, onion, and peppers for 5 min.

2. Add ground sirloin and chili powder and saute until meat browns, 5 min. (*I add salt to the meat at this point.)

3. Add black beans, tomatoes, and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Serve chili with garnishes in individual bowls.

Let me know if you try it out! 

Now, I have a big thank-you to all of you for your supportive comments that you sent about my decision to home-school. Your support is SO appreciated.

And lastly, my husband came home with this single rose. 

"It's your blog's 1st birthday!" 

I had completely forgotten. Happy Birthday, little blog.

And Happy Labor Day weekend to you!