Here we go, kids! It’s Day One of The #GreatHallowTweet Bloghop! Eighteen of your favorite bloggers are doin’ up Halloween all week long and we want you to join us on the haunted trail leading up to the big day, itself!

You’re going to need something warm and filling before going out for an exciting evening of Trick or Treating, so let’s warm things up with a bowl of hot and spicy Butternut Squash & Black Bean Stew with Kale. Yes, I said kale. I don’t usually much care for it, either – except maybe as chips – but in my never-ending quest to figure out how to make all these dark, leafy greens you’re supposed to eat taste good, I think I’ve nailed this one. ‘Cause just about anything tastes better in a spicy bowl of stew, right?

Just tell the kids (and your spouse) that it’s “Bugs & Lawn Clippings Stew”. It’s Halloween, right?

Butternut Squash & Black Bean Stew with Kale

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
3 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped (about 2-1/2 tsp.)
1 tsp. kosher salt
4 cups butternut squash, cut into approx. 1/2″-3/4″ pieces)
1-1/2 tsp. ground chili powder (I used chipotle, of course!)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs. Worcestershire (I used Oxford Falls vegan)
3 cups vegetable broth
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 29 oz can (or 2 15.5 oz cans) black beans, drained & rinsed
1 small bunch kale, chopped (about 3-4 cups, packed)

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a 6 quart pot, over medium-high heat, and add the onion, garlic, and salt. Sauté until the onion begins to turn golden-colored, about 5-6 minutes. Add the butternut squash, chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, and Worcestershire sauce, and stir to combine.

Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juice, the black beans, and the vegetable broth. Stir thoroughly and bring to a boil. When the stew begins to boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the squash becomes tender, about 10-15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

Add the chopped kale to the pot and stir to combine completely. (If you prefer, you can substitute Swiss chard) Allow to simmer for an additional 3-4 minutes, till the kale wilts but retains a bright green color.

Are you warmed up, yet? Great!

In case you missed it, check out my Wilton Halloween post from earlier this month – lots of good stuff there, too!

Now go take a look at the #GreatHallowTweet blog list in the sidebar there on the right, and hop on over to the next blog on the list! Or go somewhere you’ve never been before! We’ve got some great bloggers who are just BATTY for Halloween waiting for you – and do they have some Tricks and Treats – all week long!

Spicy Butternut Squash & Black Bean Stew With Kale

Okay, I was all set to go with a delicious Mango Chili Sauce that I canned up back in August. I said to the hubs, “Hey! the Can Jam theme for October is Chillies! I can just take a couple of snaps and write up a quick post. I’ve got October covered!” And then, I made a discovery. Guess what’s in season in South Florida right now. C’mon, guess! Oh. You saw the title of the post, didn’t you? Hmmph.

I’ll tell you anyway – Carambola! You look confused. It’s also called “Star Fruit”. Most folks have only seen them in a fruit salad or as a garnish. They’re very striking when you slice them and you’ve got a slice of fruit – shaped like a star! Cool, huh?

So, the hubs and I were at a favorite breakfast joint the other morning, when I glanced over at the muffin counter and saw a big bowl of carambolas with a sign that said “3 for $1.00″. When I went to pay the check (we’re very liberal, that way), I asked the owner, “How much for the whole bowl?” And we played the game of “How much do you want to pay me for the whole bowl?” “Well, do you have anymore in the back? Or is this it?” She went in the back and came out with one of those plastic shopping bags, half-full. They were mostly runty and some were still half-green. “Hmm…”, I said, pursing my lips. The woman dumped the bowl of carambolas into the bag and said, “$5 and they’re all yours.” Turns out she’s got a tree and the fruit is dropping like mad. Done! I think there was at least 10 pounds of ‘em!

Hubs has stopped looking at me quizzically when I come home with bags full of produce. In fact, he’s pretty much stopped eating produce at home without my express permission, fearing cries of “I was going to can that!” And I do have plans for these babies.

But, Kaela of Local Kitchen chose “chillies” as the theme for October’s Tigress’ Can Jam. Remember? ->Sigh!<- By the way, I know many people spell it “Chiles”, but I’m not going to get into the whole “Chili is the pepper. Chile is a country in South America.” thing. Anyway, there was only one thing left to do: Carambola Pepper Jam!

I made a micro-batch of this, as M was very clear on the point that he doesn’t like pepper jelly or jam. So, for the purposes of the Can Jam, I made one jar. Seriously. One half-pint jar. Plus whatever’s in that bowl you see in the photos. So, if you’re at all hesitant, or you’ve been mesmerized by that pile of weird-looking fruit at the store and you just don’t know what you’d do with it anyway, I’m going to give you that micro-recipe:

Carambola (Star Fruit) Pepper Jam
(Makes 1 half-pint plus a little for the fridge)

Ingredients:

2 cups of finely chopped carambola (plus a few whole slices, for fun)
1 Tbs. lemon juice
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs. honey (I used a local orange blossom honey)
1 ripe (red) habanero pepper (seeds & pith removed and chopped super-fine)

Preparation:

Put a small plate in the freezer for gel-testing later. If the carambola has any brown on the “fins”(perfectly normal!), trim that part off with a sharp knife before chopping the fruit.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, put the carambola, lemon juice, and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and add the habanero pepper and honey. Continue to boil and stir periodically for about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and do a gel test. (Put a small amount of the liquid on the frozen plate, return to the freezer for 2 minutes, and push it with the tip of a spoon or your fingernail. It’s ready to can when it’s no longer runny and wrinkles on the plate.)

Don’t forget to sterilize your jar (10 minutes in boiling water) and prepare a new lid appropriately! Pour the jam into the sterilized jar, leaving 1/2″ head space, twist on your lid finger-tight, and boiling water process for 5 minutes. Remove the jar to a towel or newspaper-covered surface to cool. And ping. Allow to sit for 24 hours and test your seal. Put the little bit remaining into a container and refrigerate.

Note: The honey makes this jam pretty stiff when refrigerated, so, while you should refrigerate this after opening, allow it to warm up a bit at room temperature before using.

Sweet, with a little bit of tartness from the carambola, and even though I used a habanero pepper, it was a red one (a lot of flavor!) and I did cut out the pith and seeds. You get the heat, but it’s not overwhelming, and the honey really mellows and rounds out the flavor on your tongue.

My favorite way to eat this is as a snack on crackers with cream cheese, but it’s equally awesome with a crusty slice of baguette and a sliver of brie. Try melting a little in the microwave and brushing it on chicken or fish as a glaze, too!

Oh, and M’s verdict? “This is great! Make sure you keep the recipe!” ->Sigh<-

Chris at Blog Well Done inspired (instigated? dared?) me and Elle of Elle’s New England Kitchen (one of my regular co-conspirators in gastronomic excess) to concoct Loaded Fries for a first-ever #GoJunkFood extravaganza in hedonism.

For my first offering, I enlisted (however unwittingly) a group of my friends who came over Saturday night to playtest MJ’s new boardgame (shhhhh!). I wasn’t quick enough – or sneaky enough – to get photos of what they put together, but it was a great excuse to do the deed, right?
Really? You want a recipe?

Chili Loaded Fries

Mixed white potato and sweet potato fries

1 recipe of your favorite chili

Your favorite chunky salsa

White cheddar cheese sauce

Sour cream

Shredded sharp cheddar cheese

For a crowd, I recommend you get frozen fries. They bake up in about 15 minutes in the oven, and no grease mess.

Here’s the chili recipe I used… Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone they weren’t eating meat! Heehee!

For the White Cheddar Cheese Sauce:

1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 stick butter
Approx. 3 cups milk (your choice)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
Approx. 3 cups shredded white cheddar cheese

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour till smooth and just starting to bubble. Add the milk and whisk until thoroughly combined and bubbling.

Add the salt and pepper. Begin whisking in the cheese, a handful at a time, continuing to whisk until melted and completely blended.

Taste your sauce. Not cheesy enough? Add more. Too thick? Add more milk. Whisk completely after each addition and make sure it’s bubbling before making any further adjustments. You want a super-cheesy, pourable consistency. The whole process shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.

It’s Monday once again. Back to school, back to work, and back to the eternal question: “What the heck am I going to make for supper that I can get on the table before someone gnaws a hole in the couch?” “Oh. And yeah. I’d like to get a vegetable in there, somewhere.”

My answer? Taco Salad.

Surprise! It’s vegan! Wait! Don’t run away! First the recipe, then my notes (which includes non-vegan/vegetarian substitutions).

Vegan Taco Salad
(makes about 4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 cup ground beef-flavored TVP (textured vegetable protein)

2 cups hot water

1 16 oz. jar of your favorite salsa (I used Oxford Falls Fried Green Tomato Salsa – a tomatillo-based salsa)

1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes

1 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Mixed salad greens

Riceworks Sea Salt Brown Rice Crisps

1 large tomato, diced

Tofutti “Better Than Sour Cream”

Preparation:

In a large frying pan over high heat, pour the water and TVP, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high. Add the salsa, canned diced tomato, and beans, stir well, and allow to cook until the liquid is almost completely absorbed, about 10 – 15 minutes.

Assembly:

In a large bowl – I like my flat soup bowls – place a bed of the salad greens. Take a large handful of the chips (count out a serving size, if you like), and crush in your hands, sprinkling them over the greens.

Spoon the chili over the salad greens/chips. Top with a tablespoon of the Tofutti “Better Than Sour Cream” and the fresh diced tomato.

Notes:

No, we haven’t given up meat. I guess we’ve always been “flexitarians” before there was actually a name for it. All that means is that we have vegetarian meals a few days a week. That’s just the way we’ve always been, without giving it any thought. Our use of TVP actually grew out of a desire to find non-meat substitutions for dishes we wanted to cook in which you can’t get around the dairy ingredients, in my kosher kitchen.

This is one of the variations of my 15 minute chili / sloppy joes. Okay, so you don’t have to make it vegan, but in the spirit of environmentalism and the movement to eat more meatless meals, I urge you to try it. All of the ingredients are easily available in natural foods markets or online, and this is one painless and delicious introduction to that exercise.

If you keep kosher, feel free to use dairy sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. TVP is certified kosher / pareve.

To make this with meat, substitute the TVP and water for one pound of ground beef. Brown the ground beef and then add the rest of the ingredients as indicated. You can use any tortilla chips and dairy sour cream for your toppings.

To quote the old commercial: “Try it, you’ll like it!”

*Disclaimer: I have not been paid or otherwise induced to use the named products. I use them because I like them. So there.