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Tuesday-Thursday Chili with Mushrooms

10 minutes prep
40 minutes active cooking
50 minutes total

Makes 6 - 8 servings
Print recipe

Does anyone think back on their high school years to fondly remember the food in the cafeteria? Wellspent Market founder Jim Dixon claims he can’t recall much about those long ago days, but he’s never forgotten eating chili every week with a handful of friends. Here’s the story.

In the late 1960s it seemed like everyone in Eugene was a hippy. We protested the war in Vietnam, tripped with the Grateful Dead, and railed against the establishment. My long haired friends and I were too cool for the usual high school student organizations, so we started our own: the Tuesday-Thursday Chili Club.

Four of us formed the club because the cafeteria served chili every Tuesday and Thursday. We were a bunch of smart-asses and mostly talked about avoiding the draft so we didn’t get sent to Vietnam. We also discussed the most recent episode of Star Trek, by then in reruns so we could see it every day.

While we all skipped our 50 year reunion, the original members got together recently. Like a bunch of old guys anywhere, we tried to remember those glory days with limited success. But we did eat chili.

What you'll need

Ingredients

For the shopping list

1 pound of

mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1

onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon of

cumin

3-4 cups, cooked*

red kidney beans - *A half pound of dry beans yields about 3-4 cups cooked beans

From our shop

$9 - Gossen Island - Norway

$27 - Tuscany - Italy

Novo Frantoio

$10 - Cao Bằng - Vietnam

Purple Stripe Garlic

$6 - Naples - Italy

Double Concentrated Tomato Paste

$10 - Portland - Oregon

Akadi Spicy Sauce

* substitute the Akadi mild sauce if desired

$8 - Artes - Spain

Vegetable Broth

* substitute Aneto chicken broth

Equipment

From the kitchen

Large Skillet

1

Measuring Cups

Measuring Spoons

"The cafeteria chili - ground beef, beans, tomato sauce, and vague hint of spice - wasn’t worth replicating, but I wanted something close."

~ Jim Dixon, founder Wellspent and Real Good Food

What you'll have to do

Step 1

Cook the mushrooms with 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to look dry and there’s very little liquid in the pan.

Step 2

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook for another few minutes, then add the onions. Continue to cook until the onions are very soft, about 10 minutes.

Step 3

Stir in 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, and a jar of Akadi sauce. Add 1 cup of broth and the cooked beans, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Taste and add salt if needed.

Shop this recipe

Salt, Herbs, & Spices

Purple Stripe Garlic

Burlap & BarrelCao Bằng - Vietnam
$10
Double Concentrated Tomato Paste
Pasta & Tomatoes

Double Concentrated Tomato Paste

San MarzanoNaples - Italy
$6
Vegetable Broth
Sauces & Condiments

Vegetable Broth

AnetoArtes - Spain
$8
Akadi Spicy Sauce
Sauces & Condiments

Akadi Spicy Sauce

AkadiPortland - Oregon
$10
Kosher Sea Salt
Salt, Herbs, & Spices

Kosher Sea Salt

North Sea Salt WorksGossen Island - Norway
$9
Novo Frantoio
Olive Oil

Novo Frantoio

Novo FrantoioTuscany - Italy
$27

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