Halloween Goul-aaaawwwsh

I never cared for Halloween until I became a mom. When I was in kindergarten, my mom wasn’t familiar with the tradition of Halloween, and I showed up at school with no costume. After that, every October 31st, I pretended to be sick so I wouldn’t have to go to school. At night, instead of trick or treating with the other kids, I would choose to stay home and hand out candy.

As a mom, things changed. I adore watching kids delight in dressing up and adults act like kids. I put together this Halloween stew as a fun way to incorporate pumpkin and some muun chi kvass and CoCoFir. I’ll have it sitting on the stove when the little goblins come to visit.

• 2 T avocado oil warm

Add

• 1 chopped small red onion

• 1 large red bell pepper, nicely diced

• 2 medium carrots - I like them chopped in slices

• 2 ribs of celery diced

• ½ teaspoon salt

Simmer the above for about 7-8 minutes til fragrant

Add

• 5 cloves garlic minced fine

• 2 tablespoons chili or 2 fresh chili peppers chopped fine

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika*

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Bring to a simmer for about 3 minutes. Add the following and simmer for 30 min.

• 1 large can (28 ounces) of chopped tomatoes with their juice

• 30 oz of cooked black beans (I like to buy raw and pressure cook them to break down the lectins)

• 1 1/2 c chopped roasted pumpkin

• 2 cups veggie broth

• 1 bay leaf

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnishing

• 1 to 2 teaspoons classical kvass

Remove the bay leaf, serve warm garnished with chopped cilantro, sliced avocado, chopped onions, or pumpkin seeds. This year I served it with some gluten free orzo. Feel free to use rice or zoodles too and don’t forget that dollop of muun chi CoCoFir!!!!