Recipe: Squash with Beans and Kale

We went vegan the other night.  We didn't mean to.  I hadn't thawed out any animal-based proteins for dinner.  Usually my husband will simply delcare it to be a pizza day and I will admit that this would not have met with a huge amount of resistance from me.  I had suffered a relapse of my Horrible Creeping Crud and was feeling distinctly not up to anything as active as cooking.  He did not suggest this and I didn't really push back.  I wasn't feeling energetic enough to push back on much and frankly I'm sick of all of the options around here.  Plus, the next day was Farm Share Day.  I needed to make room in the fridge for the next week's crop.  I looked at what we had and threw some stuff together, and this was the first of three dishes.  

At no point did any of the three of us feel that we were missing anything with this dish or this meal.  (The meal was also gluten free come to think of it; that just occurred to me now, but with so many people needing to avoid gluten these days I suppose it's worth mentioning.)  We didn't go out of our way to avoid meat or gluten.  We didn't go out of our way at all with this meal.  We just went with what we had and enjoyed it, and that's fine.  We didn't use substitution ingredients.  Everything we used was in its proper place, used the way it was supposed to be used.  There was no sense of deprivation.  It was just good.  I would in fact eat this again, repeatedly, given the opportunity, and I don't even like squash.  

Squash with Beans and Kale (serves 4; approx. $3.25/serving)

3 onions, halved and thinly sliced

3/4 teaspoon ginger salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 carnival squash, diced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 1/2 cup white wine

1 15-oz can black beans, with canning liquid

1 bunch kale, trimmed and chopped

Equipment:

• Large, deep saute pan with a lid

1. Heat the oil in the saute pan.
2. Add the onions and ginger salt. Cook over medium-low heat until the onions are very soft and golden brown.
3. Add the squash.  Saute 4 - 5 minutes, until the squash are well coated in the pan mixture and fragrant.
4. Add the spices and the beans.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook about 10 - 15 minutes.
5. Add the wine.  Return to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the squash are significantly softened.  .
6. Add the kale.  Continue to cook until the kale is tender.  If the squash is still not tender enough to eat, pop the lid on the pan.  This will give the kale an unpleasant color but will not affect the flavor at all.  
7. Serve.