Texas Farmers’ Market Chili

From the farmers’ market:

1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
6-8 cups torn kale, collards or Swiss chard
3 medium onions
6 cloves garlic (smashed)
1 pound ground beef
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

From your pantry:

1 small can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce or 3 dried ancho peppers reconstituted
1.5 cup beans (black, kidney, pinto are all great)
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
28 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
salt
pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Dice the onions and saute them in olive oil until they’re soft. Add the garlic and let it soften, too. Add the oregano, some salt and pepper, a bit of cumin, and 2 teaspoons of chili powder—more if you like really hot food.
  2. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring, until it loses its redness.
  3. Puree 3 or 4 of the chipotle or ancho peppers and stir that in along with the tomatoes and another teaspoon of your chili powder. Add the chicken stock (preferably homemade) and let it all simmer at a slow burble for a couple of hours.
  4. Add in the beans, balsamic and the kale, one handful at a time, so that it cooks down and can all fit in the pot. Simmer for another 30 minutes or so.
  5. Now it is time to taste and adjust for flavor Add more salt, chili powder or something else like dark chocolate or fish sauce to change the flavor profile.
  6. Serve with cilantro, green onions, cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, avocado slices or whatever else strikes your fancy!

Both locations for TFM – Lakeline (Saturdays 9 am – 1 pm) and Mueller (Sundays 10 am – 2 pm) – are for now, STILL OPEN at their regular weekend day/time, but with strict guidelines as they work with the City of Austin and health officials. They are providing an essential food access location for the community to purchase healthy, local, sustainable food items needed right now.

You can check TFM social media platforms for the list of vendors and who are also offering advance online ordering, with items to be picked up at the market.

Events, music, compost drop off, and food consumption on-site have been canceled at both locations. Extra sanitation steps are being taken with extra hand sanitizers on-site, vendors washing hands at least once per hour, and no hand-to-hand exchanges. More of a pick, they wrap up, you pick up routine.

For social distancing, the booths are spread out further apart, as are the aisleways. Layouts of booths/vendors are posted every Friday so you can plan your shopping trip accordingly. Shoppers need to arrive, get their items and not linger. The markets are rain or shine.

For more information click here texasfarmersmarket.org/texas-farmers-markets-covid-19/.

This month is Texas Farmer’s Market 10th Anniversary at Lakeline. For even more details go to TexasFarmersMarket.org and give them a follow on social media @TexasFarmersMarket.