Death by onion

Is it possible to die from a reaction to onion fumes while you are chopping one into pieces?  Boy, onions sure came up with some natural defense against being eaten, huh?  Maybe one wouldn't die from it, but permanent blindness maybe?  No?

Making chili tonight, I did not expect it to be the onion that took me down.  Like, the "curled up in a ball on the Lay-Z Boy making the type of tortured noises that you might expect from someone who just tore a ligament" kind of down.  Yep.  I did, however, fear that the spices might kill me.

We like to joke that I must be a supertaster because I have some serious reactions to flavor.  It could also be my Pennsylvania Dutch bloodline - give me butter, salt, and pepper and I have all the flavor I need.  ...  Ok, add chocolate to that list.  Spices in particular are really hard for me - and I especially react to heat.  If something packs some heat, like a pepper, it might hurt so much that I truly can't taste anything.  It's beyond taste.

So, similarly, chili is hard for me.  There are always spicy things in chili, right?  So I was very excited to find this recipe because it seemed like one in which I could control the heat without losing flavor and warmth.  And guess what?  I only nearly-died from onion fumes tonight, not flavor heat - I'll accept that as a sign of success for now.  I think I need a pair of these.

Vegetarian Chili

From Martha

Instead of reprinting the recipe, I'm just going to give you a new ingredients list for your shopping trip.  And good news: it's fairly budget-friendly.

2 T olive oil

1.5 small-medium onions, chopped.  Preferably chopped while wearing onion goggles.

4 garlic cloves, minced

scant teaspoon of cumin

small shake of red pepper flakes instead of chili powder. this is where I got worried that all flavor would be lost without the spices and panicked

Kosher salt, and pepper

1 medium-large zucchini, chopped you guys. this adds a SUPER lovely flavor. don't skip the zuke.

6 oz tomato paste the pan starts to get really ugly at this step. beauty will prevail, though, so forge ahead.

15.5 oz back beans

15.5 oz pinto beans

14.5 oz diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano seasoning see what I did there? no chiles for these tastebuds

14.5 oz plain diced tomatoes

Sprinkle of shredded Colby-Jack cheese I just had this on hand... it is niiice

Now just keep following Martha's instructions and you are good to go!  Yum.  Enjoy!

p.s. I have a difficult time writing when momentous events happen in my life.  Words just don't do justice to real emotion, even if it's excitement, and my blog has always been a place to be goofy and mundane.  If you are reading this, you probably know my good news.  Hint: it involves AK, and if you didn't know that you may also not know that I recently switched jobs and moved across the state.  Maybe I'll blog about it all sometime, but I probably won't - only in passing.

p.p.s. I think every little adorable Indian child who lives in my apartment complex is at a SERIOUS dance party next door right now.  It may even be a dance-off. (!!!!!)  I moved into a more diverse community than I have ever before lived in, and these families are very closely knit and you can see - and smell (hello cumin and curry!) - the culture everywhere.  It's awesome - and so is tonight's dance party.  Everything is shaking, the beat is pumping, and the kids are squealing.  As it should be.