As we head in to Fall at a rapid clip, I'm finding myself with more tomatoes than I know what to do with (at last!). Orange oxheart, teeny currant tomatoes, chocolate cherry, yellow pear and my favorite, super sweet orange cherry tomatoes have been flooding our counter tops along with romas and camparis. I was planning on making some salsa and caprese salad after hearing the weather report for today, but when I woke up to the pitter patter of rain I decided to change course.
For me, there is no better way to spend a cold, rainy day than cooking up a storm, unless of course its snuggled up with your sweetheart, but today I was on a mission to turn my rainbow of tomatoes into some belly warming chili and marinara sauce.
For my chili, I turned to my slow cooker and took a cup of dried kidney beans and a cup of driedblack beans and tossed them in with enough water to cover them with two inches of water on top and turned the slow cooker on high for 4 hours. While the beans were soaking and cooking I diced a half onion and mixed it with a half jalepeno diced and about 4 heaping cups of my various tomatoes chopped, sliced or diced depending on size. I added 3 chopped garlic cloves and 3 tbsp. of chili powder, 1 tsp. cayenne, and a shake of salt and pepper.
Once the beans had cooked for 4 hours and were tender I added my tomato mix and 4 veggie meat balls( you could sub for real meat if you choose) and cooked for another 4 hours. Top with some chopped green onions and shredded cheese. This chili would be perfect with a green salad and some cornbread and a nice Jubelale.
*My favorite salad of late has been a walnut, bleu cheese and blackberry salad with spinach and balsamic vinagrette. The sweetness of the blackberries is a lovely contrast to the salty tang of the gorgonzola.
The marinara sauce was amazing, and super easy, thanks to Fashionably Foodie for sharing:http://fashionablyfoodie.blogspot.com/2008/08/fresh-tomato-marinara-sauce.html. I plan on making more of this soon, I used fresh basil and oregano and used about 5 large basil leave and 2 tsps. chopped oregano.
As much as I will miss summer, thoughts of veggie pot pie, autumn hikes, pumpkin cheesecake and winter gardens will help me make the transition from sundresses to cozy sweaters!
Cheers!
