Sweet & Salty - Take 1

There are many things in life that make a great pair: peanut butter and jelly, orange and blue, Christmas morning and kids, the desire to travel and money, yoga and meditation, calm and assertive...  I could go on and on.  But for the purpose of this post, I want to share my recent indulgence in just one pair: sweet and salty.

I've been on a bit of a cooking binge lately.  I actually made chili twice in the last week!  The first time, I used dried beans from a one pound "bean medly" packet ($1.19 at Giant Eagle).  I put them in a crock pot with a bunch of water and let them soak overnight (no heat, just soaking).

The next day, I dumped out the water, rinsed off the beans, and put them back in the crock pot with fresh water.  And then added lots of herbs and spices: garlic, leeks, salt, pepper, olive oil, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and honestly, I can't remember what else.  And a few big fresh tomatoes.  The smoked paprika was a new spice for me to add to anything.  It not only added a hint of nice woodsy flavor, but it made the chili turn bright orangeish-red!

I let it all brew in the crock pot for over four hours, simmering and flavorizing itself while I went about my day.  When it was dinner time, I served it up with some corn tortillas, squeezed lime juice on top, and paired it with a spinach-strawberry-walnut-zucchini salad.  I even squeezed some lime juice on the salad.  That's right, sweet, salty AND sour all together!

What's this?  Dunking?  Yes, Oreos are an accidental vegan snack!  I followed Dad's directions from childhood (after letting him give me another lesson just to make sure I had it down pat), submersing the cookie and until it stopped bubbling and then popping it into my mouth.  Soggy enough, but not falling apart.  Just watch for the air bubbles to stop rising.  You knew that, right?  :)  Not that the chili had very much salt in it, but these sweet cookies dipped in cold milk were the perfect dessert to top it off!