Well friends, I’m sorry I’ve been gone for a bit. I promised you Pumpkin Chili and then the election broke my heart and I’m sorry to say I’ve been downtrodden and springing into action on figuring out how to continue to fight for civil rights & keeping our country from moving backward. But now that I’ve added that to my schedule, joined a group of like-minded people and called my senators and representative, I’m ready to get back into cooking.

This chili, which I promised you awhile back, has a lot of ingredients but also a ton of flavor. As all good soups, it comes together easily and is great reheated. You can make it with ground beef, too, if you’d like, but I used turkey because I love it so. I combined green peppers, sweet potatoes, and carrots in this one along with a couple of beans, I used a whole can of pumpkin because life is short, folks. I reject the notion that pumpkin has to be sweet all the time – savory here we come!

The recipe is below, and I am thinking of making this only using the leftover turkey comin’ my way this Friday. (By the way, who else is beyond excited for Thanksgiving?!)

Type: Main Course, Soups

Author: Jennie

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30-45 minutes

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 red onion
• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 28 ounce crushed canned tomatoes
• 3-4 carrots
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 2 green peppers
• 1 can pumpkin
• 2 cup chicken broth
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• sour cream
• cheese
• avocado

Directions

1. Chop onion and garlic. Put about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the bottom of a Dutch oven. Add ground turkey, onion, and garlic, and cook until almost done, seasoning with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon cumin.

2. Add crushed tomatoes and bring to a boil, then simmer.

3. Meanwhile, chop carrots, sweet potatoes, and green peppers. Add all to the pot, along with the can of pumpkin and chicken broth.

4. Drain beans and add to the pot. Add Worcestershire, apple cider vinegar, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and salt to taste. Simmer about 20 minutes - serve when veggies are soft.

5. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and avocado slices.

Happy Election Day, y’all! I am so happy that today’s the day we’re all voting for a new president. I am working the polls today, but I wanted to give you something to make tonight to feed the heart and mind after a stressful election season. I hope tonight we will elect the first women president, and I am hoping I can celebrate that election over a giant pot of chili.

Guys, I love chili. It’s easy to make, it’s easy for a crowd, and it’s full of veggies and chicken broth and delicious beans. Recently, I made two great chilis that were both awesome in completely different ways. One was Pumpkin & Turkey chili, and one was Chicken & Corn chili, and they were both crowd pleasers. The Chicken & Corn chili is lighter and great for lunches, and the Pumpkin Chili was super hearty and perfect for chili nights.

I’m going to give you the recipe for the white Chicken & Corn Chili today, and later in the week I will leave you the Pumpkin Chili. Mix and match beans and veggies as you see fit. I liked keeping the white chili simple with just corn and an onion, but there is no reason you couldn’t add carrots or a squash.

Cooking up two chilis in one day left me with a couple freezer containers of chili and lunch all week. Plus dinner for a couple of nights. What could be better than that? I’m usually not one for cooking a bunch on a Sunday for the week, but when it’s cold out there’s something quite lovely about a house wafting of chili and leftover containers portioned out for your week’s meals.

If you’re an American, I hope you took time out to vote today – Happy Election Day, lovelies.

Type: Soups

Author: Jennie

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 6 cup chicken broth
• 2 cans cannellini beans
• 2 cans diced green chiles
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 bag frozen corn
• 1 rotisserie chicken
• 1 avocado, diced
• tortilla chips, for serving

Directions

1. Dice your onion and garlic.

2. Add olive oil to a Dutch oven, then add garlic and let it sauté for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add onion and let sauté for 5 more minutes.

4. Add your chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, drain your beans, then add to the simmering broth. Add chiles, spices, and corn.

5. Meanwhile, shred chicken off the bones then add to soup. Bring to a boil and let simmer about 20 minutes.

6. Serve hot with avocado and tortilla chips.

November, November, how I love thee. It’s time for the month of root veggies and potatoes without guilt and all the squash. I am so, so ready for this hearty veg month y’all.

Beets
Carrots
Delicata Squash
Green Beans
Kale
Onions
Potatoes
Turnips

Here are some of our fave November recipes…

First of all, this is a great way to use your beet greens which are edible but for some reason often get thrown away – the worst. Don’t be afraid to eat them! They’re delicious in this Beet and Citrus Smoothie.

Next up, you’ve gotta make this Lentil Pumpkin Soup. It’s got carrots, it’s got pumpkin, and you can even throw in some squash pieces if you feel so inclined. Plus, it’s onion-heavy, because onions go good in all soups.

This is Ana’s Kale Salad, and we eat it about once a week because it’s so good and easy to put together. Lemon, avocado, some sriracha, and of course all the garlic and kale. It’s a great after-Thanksgiving dish (in case you indulged too much) as well, but we like it on the regular because hearty leafy greens are where it’s at.

This weather calls for cassoulet. This Mushroom Cassoulet features leeks and onions as well, and is a perfect showcase of fall. I would even add potatoes, sweet or otherwise, if you’re in the mood.

What is your fave thing to cook in November?

November 1! The best month of the whole year is here! Rejoice in the month of Thanksgiving, the month of elections, and the month of fall finally gracing California (we hope!) I am so happy that November is here and that we’re ready to start planning Thanksgiving in earnest and think about food for the next 24 days. Here’s to baking pies and mashing potatoes and roasting birds. Here’s to cool days and cold nights and cider on the stove and cinnamon wafting the halls and democracy doin’ its thing. Enjoy this month, lovelies!

Happy Halloween, folks! In honor of the day, I wanted to repost these babies that Corelyn and I made awhile back in honor of her trip to Harry Potter World in Orlando! I also wanted to give you a round up of great recipes to make today to keep you going when you’re handing out candy.

First off, Cauldron Cakes: we started with a peanut butter cup cookie recipe like this one. Essentially, you make a cookie in a mini-muffin tin and pop a peanut butter cup in right as you pull them out of the oven, so it creates a slightly sunken cauldron-like shape.  Let them cool before the next step and consider freezing them for a few minutes to avoid crumbly cookie pieces. Also, if you’re feeling really ambitious, you can use a piece of licorice (we went for chocolate flavored licorice) to form a cauldron handle, but only about half of our handles stayed in once the cookies cooled.

To make little cauldron “feet” we dipped the bottom of these cookies in melted chocolate and set them on chocolate covered pomegranate seeds. Why chocolate covered pomegranate seeds? We were out of chocolate chips. If you plan to make these, definitely use the chocolate chips. They’re much more reliable and uniformly sized. Afterward we let them freeze overnight to set the chocolate.

Then came the final flourish — filling the cauldron cakes with “magic potion.” I made three colors of icing glaze and filed in the indentations of each cookie to cover up the peanut butter cup. To make it a little more fun, I mixed my icing together with a toothpick to give it a marbled effect, then topped with a few sprinkles!

Looking for other holiday fare? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. How about some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies? They’re perfect to eat while you’re handing out candy. They’re basically the usual cookie recipe with some pumpkin for good measure, because it is Halloween after all.

Speaking of pumpkin, if you have extra canned pumpkin, you should definitely make this Mason Jar Pumpkin Jar. It’s great for breakfast, a snack, and it’s great to eat while sitting on a lawn chair on your porch giving Reese’s and chocolate bars to tiny monsters, princesses, and astronauts.

If you’re trying to keep warm after opening your front door over and over again, I suggest this Swiss Chard & Barley Soup. It’s chocked full of veggies and barley and a perfect zest of lemon that adds a little something-something. Plus, it keeps on the stove if you happen to have friends and family arriving or manning the doors at different times, so y’all can eat in the round.

Now that you’ve got soup, pumpkin-y treats, and cauldron cakes, you’ve got everything you need for a Halloween that’s balanced between healthy (you’re welcome) and of course, sweet for the holiday. So put out some decorations, heat up some cider & brandy, and answer that doorbell!