Black Bean and Golden Ball Chipotle Chili

No matter what is going on in my life, this keeps happening.

There's really nothing I can do to stop it, it just keeps whispering to me.

So I decided to just stop resisting, and life seems to be better that way.

My bean urge sprouted on me at noon.. which is normally too late, because I like to do an overnight soak before cooking.  I tried to resist the urge, but before leaving I had unknowingly rinsed a cup of back beans, chopped a bunch of different veggies, and placed all this in the slow cooker.

Life is definitely better with beans.  The difference this time is the addition of golden ball turnips.  I have worked these previously alongside some roasted duck and I was swept off my feet.  They are nutritious, so it's a good thing to include them, but they didn't quite shine alongside all the other additions.  I couldn't taste the distinct sweetness of the golden balls through the creaminess of the egg, the crunch of the cabbage, the spice and smokiness of the chipotle pepper, and the tenderness of the beans in their deep dark broth.  It was a good idea, though, for nutrition's sake!

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 cup dried black beans, rinsed but I forgot to soak them and it was ok

2 bay leaves

1 Tbsp coarse sea salt

1 large chopped red onion

3 small golden ball turnips, peeled and cubed
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, some chopped
1 small can non GMO corn

1 tsp ground cumin

Juice from 1 lemon

1 Tbsp cracked black pepper
8 cups water (less if beans are soaked)

Garnish:
shredded red cabbage

chopped red onions
chopped cucumber
soft "boiled" or steamed eggs (optional)

Directions
1.  Put everything but the garnish in the slow cooker and set on low for 7-9 hours.  Remove bay leaves.

Serve with rice and arrange your garnish.

I've decided that bay leaves are the magic that remove any undesirable effect from beans.
I've also decided that beans are the simple things in life that bring me immeasurable amounts of joy... which is probably why I have an entire cupboard stocked with different varieties of beans and lentils.. but black beans just have this grasp on my heart which can only be felt, not explained.

Especially after the bed is unmade...