Succeeding with squash

There are moments, when I really do feel like I might be succeeding as a parent. That I might be having a modicum of positive impact on my children's futures, and that they might just turn into responsible, healthy, NICE adults. Not the moments when they are hitting each other over the head with lego guns, or the ones when they are singing along to the latest hit song and inserting the words 'pooh' and 'pee' in random places to their great amusement. No, those moments give me a different feeling entirely. It could be fear.

No, the moments, I'm talking about are those like last night when my daughter entered the house and smelled the contents of the slow cooker, which were bubbling away in the kitchen. "What's for dinner?" she asked, and when met with the reply, "Squash and Black Bean Chili," she broke into a huge grin and cheered "Yay! It's squash season!" Yup. An open expression of enthusiasm for nutritional ingredient from squash family and its place in a healthy, home cooked, vegetarian meal. I believe I will savor that moment for a while... at least until she next slams her door on her brother's finger whilst shouting "Get out of my room!" At least that long. As Lady GaGa would say, I live for the applause, and failing that, I'll settle for full tummies and no complaints.

The chili was indeed pretty good, but I have come to expect nothing less from author Judith Finlayson. I sometimes read her recipes and, looking at the list of ingredients, I'm not convinced, thinking that they sound a bit simple, but I have never been let down when I actually try them out, and this one was no exception. Yes, youngest son studiously (OK, not studiously, let's call it irritably) picked out every hint of squash from his bowl, but the other two lapped it all up, and went back for more.

This particular recipe is from her book The Vegetarian Slow Cooker. The only tweak I made was to leave out one chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, as we wimpy Farrars tend to baulk at the heat they lend to a dish. I served the chili over a bed of rice, with a sprinkling of fresh cilantro and some sharp cheddar (the latter was a crude, and failed attempt to disguise the squash. Jessica Seinfeld, I am clearly not).

Squash and Black Bean Chili
Serves 6

1 TBSP coconut oil (or canola/sunflower oil, if you can't get this)
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 cinnamon stick (around 3" long)
1 28oz can diced tomatoes with juice
1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups cubed butternut squash
2 green bell peppers, diced
1 4oz can diced mild green chilis (if you can't find this, use one fresh jalapeno pepper, finely chopped)
finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) to serve

1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onions until softened. Add garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt and cinnamon stick, and cook for 1 minute more. Add tomatoes with juice and bring to boil. Transfer to slow cooker.
2. Add beans and squash and stir well. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours, until squash is tender.
3. Add bell peppers and chiles and cover and cook for a further 20 minutes on high, until bell pepper is tender.
4. Discard cinnamon stick. Serve on bed of rice sprinkled with cilantro.