I’ve always said October was my favourite month.

First comes the leaves. Then Thanksgiving. And shortly thereafter, my birthday.

Yesterday. 

I turned 26 the way I would have pictured turning 26 when I was 16. I spent the day with collegues at work wearing brogues and a sweater vest and doing very serious important work which I care deeply about. And then I came home, tidied my one bedroom downtown apartment, put on a fresh pair of stockings and headed out to spend the evening among friends.

It was beautiful. And silly. And a little debaucherous.

But all in all it was all I could ask for. Which is saying a lot, because now that I’m 26 (a grown up) I have pretty high expectations. 

I’m using all of this as a preface before the real highlight of my day (the first of my 26th year), a pumpkin spiced chili recipe I whipped up off the cuff that turned out to be an absolute gem. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

Pumpkin Spiced Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp coconut flour (optional, but helps for thickening)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 heaping tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3-4 whole cloves
• 1 cup pumpkin, mashed (I used a freshly roasted pie pumpkin but I’m sure canned would work just fine)
• 1 cup of crushed tomatoes
• 1 large or 2 small cans of black beans, with liquid
• 1-2 tbsp honey or agave
• a few dashes of hot sauce (cholula = ❤ )

Directions

1. Warm coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Sautee onions, garlic, carrots and celery in oil until soft and fragrant.
3. Add spices and coconut flour, followed by a half cup water. 
4. Add tomato, pumpkin, beans in liquid and honey.
5. Bring to boil and then reduce to a simmer. 
6. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently and adding 1/2 cup of water as needed.
7. Adjust seasonings to taste. I did not need any additional salt, but I ended up adding in a little extra cinnamon, cocoa and honey.

Serve as is or use half a roasted pumpkin as an edible bowl! Enjoy.