Welcome back from Spring Break!
I hope everyone’s week off was as great as ours: Friends visited, bouncy houses were visited, and Ilian hunted for Easter eggs three times! We also got to see geese, a crane, and all the various songbirds flying overhead as spring has truly arrived in our parts 🙂
To say goodbye to winter, and looking ahead to planting season, here’s a dish reminiscent of three sisters cooking: heirloom beans, corn, and potatoes instead of squash in a smoky chili.
Snowcap beans are the latest heirloom bean find on my try-to-plant list. They look simply beautiful, with one half covered in earth tones and the other in creamy white, just like a snow cap. We saved a few for planting and enjoyed the rest – they have a smooth, potato-like texture and earthy taste and go very well with actual potatoes in a smoked-paprika-infused fire-roasted tomatoes chili.
Stirring the soup, stirring the soup… that’s what Ilian enjoyed doing (and any other Music Together families will recognize 😉 ). The soaked but uncooked beans were not to his taste, but the corn wheels were very much so: easy to hold for little hands and fun to nibble!
Snowcap Bean Chili with Corn Wheels
Ingredients
- 1 lb Snowcap Beans
- 1/2 lb green beans
- 2 large potatoes
- 2 28 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
- 3 corn cobs
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper
- water
Directions
- Soak the snowcap beans overnight in three times as much water as beans.
- Rinse snowcap beans, trim green beans and cut into thirds, and cube potatoes.
- Place snowcap beans into large pot with fire roasted tomatoes and spices. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add green beans and potatoes, cook for another 20 to 30 minutes, until potatoes are soft. You may need to add up to a cup of water to cover all ingredients with liquid.
- Meanwhile, place corn cobs into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cook for 7 minutes. Remove from water to cool until comfortable to handle. Cut into rounds.
- Plate the chili and add corn wheels. Enjoy!
