Maps and Mexicans

2 days into my trip to New York this Winter (fall) and my sister and I decided to walk over the Brooklyn bridge.  It was a beautiful day, sun was shining, the air was fresh and the sky so clear that the skyline of New York was overwhelming.

When we go to Brooklyn we opened the map and found where we wanted to have lunch - a lovely little bistro tucked away in the middle of nowhere. It looked a bit posh, a bit classy, a real rustic place.  We followed the map, we follow it exactly.  We did.  Exactly. So WHY COULDN'T we find this place!!!  We ended up in some run down council estate on the edge of Brooklyn, having lost our way, our sense of adventure and our sense of humour! We gave up.

We wondered around deciding we'd head back to where we came from and start again.  We were disheartened and hungry and I was a bit annoyed that I'd proven my boyfriend right again by messing up instructions!

But then we turned this corner and found this tiny little 'shack'.  This colourful, vibrant, quirky shack.  my sister and I crossed the road to get a better look.  It turns out to be a small Mexican restaurant.  We walked in and were greeted by friendly waiting staff, welcomed by the smell of fresh, home made Mexican food.  The atmosphere was homely and unpretentious and immediately we knew we were going to have a feast.  And so we did, great food, great chat, great margaritas and a chance to laugh at the earlier incident.

When we get to the end of our plan, God has something better. I used to pride myself on not being a quitter, but over the years I think this has been to my detriment rather than my assistance.  When I give up, when I stop forcing life into my expectation or box, I find that God has something else, a different route.
He doesn't send us back to beginning to start again.  He takes us on a detour.

Day 5: Three Bean Mexican Chilli

Serves 4

1 tblsp olive oil
1 large carrot, chopped into small pieces.
! large celery stick, shopped into small pieces.
1 med onion, chopped finely
1 clove of garlic chopped finely.
1 red chilli or 1/2 tsp of chilli flakes.
1 tblsp tomatoe puree
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick or 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp soy sauce
1 400g can of chopped tomatoes.
1 pepper, any colour, chopped into small pieces.
100g can each of kidney beans, aduki beans, black eye peas,butters beans or any other type of bean you fancy!
Handful of chopped coriander
Quark/creme fresh.sour cream.
Wee bit of cheese grated.
1 avacado sliced.

Method: 

1.  Add carrot, celery  , onion, garlic and fresh chilli to the oil in a large pan on medium heat and sweat until onion is translucent.
2. Add tomato puree and stir for 30 second, then add cumin, coriander, bay leaf and cinnamon, smoked paprika and dried chilli flakes.  Stir.
3. Add chopped tomatoes, pepper, soy sauce and bring to simmer, cover and leave on low for 10-20 mins or veg is cooked through.
4. Add all the beans, stir, bring to the simmer, cover and cook on low heat for a further 10-15 mins until the beans are hot Add a couple of tblsp if water if it becomes dry.
5.  Serve with wholemeal pitta, adding the sliced avacado, quark and cheese on top!

Enjoy!


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