Mustard Seed Chili

This recipe is something of a kitchen sink, but here it goes:

The base:

1 cup of each - black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans

1/2 cup quinoa

0-1 pounds of ground beef (or your favorite meat)

"Vegetables":

1 sweet onion

1/2 purple onion

2 cloves - 1 head of garlic

chopped cilantro 1 - 2 bunches

chopped green: kale, mustard, or chard 1 pound or so fresh

Juice from one lime

Several to many tomatoes

1 or 2 bell peppers if available

Spices etc:

1 part: coriander, black pepper, red pepper, cayenne*

2 part: cumin, mustard, paprika, turmeric,

1/4 cup molasses (black strap if possible)

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

dash of soy

dash of honey

The Beans:

Dried beans are only better than canned if they are fresh; stale, old dried beans come out tasting worse than canned. Looks for large bulk food bins, the size of the bin is equivalent to the stores turnover estimate. Big bins usually means fresh beans. Otherwise seek out an ethnic market or if in dire straights, get canned beans and rinse them off.

Rinse and sort beans (I almost never do this) - bring briefly to a boil in water; remove from heat and let soak in the hot water for 90 minutes or so. Drain them and refill pot with water, 2 - 3 times the depth of the beans - more water if you want to make "wet" chili.

Bring the beans to a boil and simmer for 90 minutes or so.

While the beans are boiling, finely chop and sauté onions for 5 minutes or so, then reduce heat and add and cook for 10-20 more minutes to carmelize (time depends on the size of the pan and flame), your eyes will need to be the final judge. Add some of the "1 Part" spices to the onions while they cook and add some garlic near the end of the cooking. The less garlic and the longer you cook it, the less "garlicky" it will smell. For a bit of tang, hang on to a small amount of uncooked onions and garlic to add at the end, make sure these are very finely chopped.

The Greens:

The greens and bell peppers should be washed and chopped. If using green bell peppers, I would add most of them to the onions, as the greens have a sharper taste. If you want to get fancy, throw some part 2 spices in with the veggies and pan roast them in a large wok with no oil, just long enough to bring out the spice aroma and wilt the greens.

By now the beans are almost done and the onions and greens are definitely done. Add the quinoa in with the nearly done beans along with most of the part 2 spices. If there is a lot of water still in the pot, drain off until the beans are just covered. While the quinoa and beans are finishing, brown your meat with a little of all the spices, a bit of molasses and cider vinegar.

Once the meat is done, toss everything you have into the (hopefully not overflowing) chili pot and stir. It can be eaten immediately, or stewed on low for 30 or more minutes. The longer stewing will blend the flavors and make a wetter, soupier chili. Recommended if serving with a sop.

For a meatless recipe, double quinoa and add sautéd mushrooms.