Pechakucha

A few years ago a friend invited us to dinner and then out to a PechaKucha Night. Pronounced the way it's spelled, pe-CHA-ku-cha is Japanese for "small talk." It is an event model created in Tokyo in 2003 as a way for designers to get together and show their work: 20 images for 20 seconds each. The tradition quickly came to our area and has been going strong for 8 years already.

If you go to one, you'll see a little bit of this and a little bit of that--just like this mild bean chili DM invented. I thought the corn and parmesan cheese were strokes of genius, but I take credit for the bed of spinach. Here it is: a homey one-dish meal.

2 cans chopped tomatoes (optional: with green peppers & onion)

2 cans whole kernel corn

1-2 cans black beans 

3-4 cans miscellaneous beans

2 bay leaves, broken in half

1 tbs chili powder

1 medium onion, diced

1 green pepper, chopped

Drain the corn and beans (mostly) and empty into crockpot. Add tomatoes with their juice, bay leaves, and chili powder. Cook on low heat 5-6 hours. Add onion and green pepper c. 15 minutes before done. Serve over spinach leaves with a healthy dose of dried or grated parmesan cheese.

If you're still hungry, this goes well with carrot sticks, garlic bread, and/or Triskets with tahini for a little extra protein.