Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili and a Book Review #SundayFunday

This delicious, colorful, vegetarian chili is so hearty that your carnivores won't even realize that it doesn't contain any meat.

It's National Sweet Potato Awareness Month.......

The Sunday Funday Bloggers are sharing recipes featuring Sweet Potatoes today.

November is National Sweet Potato Awareness Month.  I love Sweet Potatoes, so I asked the Sunday Funday bloggers to share some Sweet Potato Recipes with us today.  Let's see what they cooked up.......

• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Beef and Sweet Potato Stir Fry 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili 
• Food Lust People Love: Miso Honey Roasted Hasselback Sweet Potatoes 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Shakkariya Nu Shaak
• Culinary Cam: Spiced Sweet Potato-Red Lentil Stew 
• Sneha's Recipe: Sweet Potato Patties 
• Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking: Sweet Potato Sushi

I was inspired to make chili after finishing our October Lit Happens book selection, The Essential Elizabeth Stone.

Lit Happens is an online book club where members take turns choosing a novel and posting discussion questions on our Facebook page.  There is no requirement to post a review and/or a recipe in this book club, but I seldom read a book or watch a film that doesn't inspire me to cook.

This book tells the story of Billie Abbot, who reinvents herself as Elizabeth Stone, an entertaining expert on par with Martha Stewart.  The storyline travels from the present day, after Elizabeth has died, leaving her legacy in the hands of her daughter, Jules, to the past, telling the story of how a young Billie Abbot became the authority on all things entertaining.

After her mother's death, Juliet begins to question her identity, now that she is no longer Elizabeth Stone's daughter.  She is approached to write a biography about her mother and is assigned a ghostwriter, Noah, to assist her.  

As they begin to delve into her mother's past and childhood, Juliet discovers that her mother's entire life was built around lies and fears that she, Jules, very existence was just another ploy in her mother's fantasy life.

This book is filled with food.  Food on nearly every page.  Simple Food, Fancy Food, Elaborate Dishes, Dishes that are thrown together hurriedly, Food that turns out exquisitely, Food that fails.  Foods eaten at parties, at restaurants, at parks, and at home. 

But this sentence, near the end of the novel, is the one that caught my attention......

"She perched on a stool at the marble counter, a pot of chili bubbling away on the stove, winter giving way to spring, the crocuses in her mother's garden pushing their heads up through the wet soil, searching for the light"

This sentence describes Jules' state of mind when she first starts to understand and forgive her mother's secrets.  Her winter is turning to spring, and she is the crocus searching for and finding the light.

I am excited to share this book review, paired with a delicious chili recipe featuring sweet potatoes, our theme for this month's Sunday Funday.  I am linking up with Foodies Read. Stop by and see what the other foodies are reading this month.

Soup, Chili, Vegetarian, Black Bean, Squash

Entrees, Soup

Mexican

Yield: 4 servings

Author: Wendy Klik

Black Bean and Sweet Potato

This delicious, colorful, vegetarian chili is so hearty that your carnivores won't even realize that it doesn't contain any meat.

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 20 HourTotal time: 20 H & 20 M

Ingredients

• 1 T. olive oil
• 2 small or 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 Vidalia onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 T. chili powder
• 3 t. cumin
• pinch of salt
• 2 1/2 c. water
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes with juices
• juice of 1 small lime
• 8 t. sour cream, if desired

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potato and onion, cook, stirring often, until the onion is fragrant and translucent.
2. Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, and salt, stir and cook to coat. Add the water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until sweet potato is tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the beans, tomatoes with the juices, and lime juice. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until slightly thickened and reduced.
4. Divide between 4 bowls and serve with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.

Notes

Adapted from a recipe found at Eating Well.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

379

Fat (grams)

7 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

2 g

Carbs (grams)

67 g

Fiber (grams)

21 g

Net carbs

46 g

Sugar (grams)

12 g

Protein (grams)

17 g

Sodium (milligrams)

1082 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

5 mg

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