I sense a theme coming on — Easy Sunday dinners!

We've had dreadful weather lately, and braving it out on the barbeque in the rain and the wind, hoping that summer would magically appear!  Well yesterday, the sun was out, and everyone rushed out in shorts and tank tops, madly pursuing summer activities, and I was thinking we might even get to enjoy grilled pizza (and even eat it in the patio!) for our Sunday dinner.

Well we woke up this morning to rain … again.  Grilled pizza urges were suddenly dampened, and I found myself turning to winter-ish food cravings.  So tonight, we're having black bean chili for dinner.

For a smaller amount I make this up in a 4 quart pressure cooker.  Yes, a pressure cooker Virginia.  You can easily double the recipe in a 7-8 quart pressure cooker.

…For those of you with childhood memories of the jiggle-top pressure cookers, and tomato sauce all over the ceiling, have no fear!  The modern versions have built-in safety valves, so they self-correct far before the point of explosion!  They are also very efficient and I far prefer my pressure cooker to a slow-cooker.  I find it preserves the texture and the flavours of individual ingredients far better than a day of stewing in the slow-cooker…   Back to your regularly scheduled programming

Chili is pretty easy to pull together, but I find there are a few things that help amp up the flavours and make a big difference.

• As with most dishes, take a bit of time to develop the flavours of the onions and garlic at the beginning
• Toast the spices before adding the meat, that way the meat browns even more with the spices.  You can do this all right in the pan, with the onions and garlic you've already sauteed.  The toasting really helps deepen the flavours.
• A little bit of cocoa powder added to the pot adds a great deal of depth — think of a mole sauce!
• Smoked paprika!  Once you start using this stuff, its hard to stop

The other favour you can do yourself here is cook your own beans from dried.  I know the canned beans are convenient, but dried beans are much more economical, AND you can control the amount of salt in your meals.  I cook the beans for about 30 minutes at high pressure — no soaking, no muss, no fuss!  You can also freeze cooked beans in a little of the cooking liquid, and add them just like you would use canned beans.

You can certainly make this in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan or a Dutch oven, but you will need to increase the cooking time.  The advantage of the pressure cooker, is that you can go from start to plating (including chopping) in under an hour, and still have about 20 minutes to enjoy a glass of wine or a cocktail while the pressure cooker is doing its thing!

Sunday Night Black Bean Chili

• 1 Tablespoon grapeseed oil
• 1 medium onion, choppped
• 1 large celery stalk, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried epazote (optional)
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 pound ground bison (or substitute about 8 ounces organic tempeh, crumbled, to make this vegan)
• 1/2 large sweet pepper
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 2 cups cooked black beans
• 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes (try and find an organic, no-salt added)
• 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
• salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions and celery over medium heat in a pressure cooker until the onions are just starting to brown.  Add the garlic and spices (thru to smoked paprika) and cook until you can smell them starting to toast.   Add the meat and cook until the meat is almost cooked through.  Add the remaining spices and herbs, and all other ingredients, leaving the beans on the top.  Add up to 1/2 cup water.

Lock the lid on the pressure cooker, and bring up to pressure.  Cook at high pressure for 20 minutes, until all the flavours are melded.  Bring the pressure down, and serve with corn muffins, garlic toast (or however you like it!)

Serves 4 hungry people.