espresso chili, cheddar cornbread and kale slaw

Here's a great winter menu: hearty, rich espresso chili, with a crispy cheddar cornbread for dipping, followed by a wintery and fresh kale slaw

Who doesn't want a big bowl of chilli after a weekend of skating and sledding? Well, no sledding yet, still waiting for that snow, but I've definitely been breaking in my new hockey skates.

This chili is a nice departure from plain old tomato-chili powder-onions fare. Every time I make a staple dish (vegetable stew, quiche, squash soup), I like to try out a new flavour combination or recipe. It keeps things interesting! This one is from David Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. The cornbread is also from his cookbook, but I added cheese, corn and green onions to spice things up.


(Even my cat thinks it smells delicious.) The kale slaw is from the Moosewood Collective's Cooking for Health, except I used my own favourite salad dressing instead of their suggestion. Like other vinaigrette coleslaws, it keeps well in the fridge for a few days.


espresso chili
3 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder
1 can diced or crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup strong coffee or espresso
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 cups dried pinto or black beans, soaked overnight and cooked
(or 2 14-oz cans of cooked beans, rinsed)
salt and pepper to taste


In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, and cook 5 minutes. Add garlic and chili powder, and cook another minute. Add tomatoes, coffee, brown sugar, cinnamon, beans, salt and pepper. Simmer for 1 hour, covered, on low heat, stirring every once in a while. Serve with this delicious cornbread...

cheddar cornbread
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 green onion, minced
1 cup frozen corn kernels

If you have a cast iron skillet, use it! Preheat the oven to 350, and pop the skillet in the oven with the butter. (Preheating the skillet with help develop a crispy, buttery crust.) If you don't have a skillet, grease a 9x9 pan with the butter. Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, beat together the egg and buttermilk. Combine the flour mixture and the egg-milk mixture. Stir until just combined. Stir in cheese, onion and corn. Pour into skillet or pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a fork comes out clean and the edges are browned.

kale slaw
1 apple, grated
1 carrot, grated
1/4 head of cabbage (about 1 cup grated)
4 or 5 large dino (aka black) kale leaves, stems removed, sliced finely
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp grainy mustard
salt and pepper

In a bowl, combine apple, carrot, cabbage and kale. You want to kale and cabbage sliced as finely as possible - use a grater attachment on a food processor, or a mandolin if you have one. In a jar, combine oil, vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, salt and pepper. Close the jar, and shake to help emulsify the dressing. Pour over salad, mix, and let sit at room temperature for half an hour. This helps soften the kale and cabbage.

wonderful experiments!

Cornbread Quiche

Here's some almost-local quiches. I used gluten-free cornbread from Dufferin Grove market (locally made, some non-local ingredients). The wild garlic and mushrooms come from just outside of Toronto, and eggs, yogurt and feta cheese are available from numerous organic farms around the GTA all year round.

*Note - this makes 4 mini quiches. They keep well for a few days in the refrigerator, and reheat in the toaster oven.

4 slices of cornbread
4 tsp olive oil, more for sauteing
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 stalk wild garlic, minced
3 eggs
1/2 plain 3% yogurt
1/4 crumbled feta cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. This is a three part recipe. First, the vegetables. Saute the mushrooms and wild garlic in some olive oil in a pan. 

While the vegetables cook, make the crust: oil four muffin tins with olive oil. Press slices of cornbread into muffin tin, creating 4 mini crusts. Don't worry about crumbling or squishing the cornbread - just mold and press, then cook for 3 minutes. 

Meanwhile, the custard: combine the eggs, yogurt, feta, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk with a fork. 

Combine everything: take the crusts out of the oven, fill with mushrooms, then top with the egg mixture, and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the egg is set. Remove from the muffin tins.

You could really make these with any vegetable filling you like, or switch up the cheese! Say, tomatoes and basil with mozzarella, or broccoli and cheddar. Also, you could try using plain old whole wheat bread, or even filo pastry for the crust.