Where's the beef? Black bean chili

Annalena has written about chili before, and how , in her view, it does not include beans. Well, there is a clarification in order. Annalena does not mix meat and beans in her chili and almost always makes a standard, meat chili. Indeed, in a recent contest where Annalena judged, but was not permitted to compete, her meat chili was the best item there, if I do say so myself.
But there IS an argument for vegetarian chilis. And I want to share a wonderful one with you.
I have also written about the wonderfull vegetarian restaurant "Greens," found in San Francisco . I wanna take my friend Bobby to Sunday brunch here one day. Well, as in all SF restaurants, the menu changes constantly. One item, however, has been on the menu since the day the restaurant opened: their black bean chili. There is a reason for this: it is GOOD. It is time consuming, but it is GOOD. And it is easy to do. You do need to do some shopping for this, but you will not regret having these items in the house. And for the two vegans out there who read this blog, if you do not add the dairy accountrements, this is vegan.
Chili in the summer? Why not.

Now, this is going to sound like a long list of ingredients, and it is. But think about them. You will use everything again. They are standards : staples. If you cook, you need these things in the house.

YOu start with a pound of black beans. Dried ones. I am partial to small black beans from Rancho Gordo, but use what you got. Wash them, and then put them in a big pot, covered with water, and let them soak overnight. (this takes commitment, I told you). The next day, drain the beans, while you collect your other ingredients: three onions, and four cloves of garlic. Peel and chop those, and keep them separate. (you have that stuff in the house. I know you do). Here's where you may need to start doing some shopping. You need cumin SEEDS. Not ground cumin, the SEEDS. Also, dried oregano. You will also need a chili powder of some kind. I strongly recommend you get a "varietal." You can now buy chili powders based on one type of chili, and ancho is called for here. You will also need some cayenne pepper and paprika (THOSE you have in the house) and a bit of chipotle pepper. You can use a dried one, or a powder, but that you probably dont have in the house. Chipotles are dried jalapenos. I guess you could use a fresh jalapeno if you had to. Finally one bay leaf and a large (28 ounce) can of tomatoes (use 35 if that's all you have).

Okay, put the drained beans in a really big pot and cover them with 2 inches of water. Add the bay leaf and start cooking them at a low simmer while you get the rest of the stuff ready. Get a small but sturdy frying pan, and add the cumin seeds. How many? Four teaspoons. That's a tablespoon and a teaspoon. Shake the pan, and keep an eye on the seeds. They will darken and start to smell toasty. Add the same amount of oregano leaves, and when you get more aroma, pour that all off into a bowl. Add 2 TABLESPOONS of the chili powder, as well as four teaspoons of the paprika and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

Now, get out an old coffee bean grinder. You have one somewhere. If not, invest in one. They cost about ten bucks. Grind the spices. THIS IS IMPORTANT. You have to grind the spices yourself. When they're ground, pour them out and add half a teaspoon of the chipotle, or one diced fresh jalapeno.

Let's cook. Pour three tablespoons of vegetable oil into a very largepan and add the onions with a teaspoon of salt. When the onions soften, add the garlic and cook for a minute, then add that spice mixture and stir it all up. Lower the heat, while you open that can of tomatoes. Pour it into the pan, and push down on the solids, breaking them up. Stir this all together, bring it to a simmer and cook for fifteen minutes. Now, pour the mass into the beans, lower the heat, and go and read a book for thirty minutes. Taste for salt. You'll want more, I guarantee it. So do so, then go back to reading for another 30 minutes. Your beans will probably be nice and soft now, but if they're not, keep on cooking till you get the texture you like. Add salt along the way as you see fit. The water will go off, you'll get a brick read product, and it will be spicy.

That wasn't hard, was it? And you've got enough food for at least 8 hearty appetites. You can eat this just as it is (which is how I love it best), or add some sour cream, or grated cheese, or more hot peppers, or cilantro, or whatever you like with your chili.

This also freezes beautifully. So, if you have the time make this. There are worst things than having a nice container of beautifully fragrant, tasty chili in your freezer for the night when cooking is NOT an option.

Annalena will lend you the spices if you need em. And you're nice to her