Last autumn my daughter Rachel and her baby, Jackson, then just 4 months old,  met us for a few days of fun and sun in Scottsdale.  What I adore about Arizona in early November is that it is still summertime there.  Apparently nobody informs the state that it is actually Fall.  I love this. The pools are open, the sun is shining and it is the perfect place to decompress before the holidays hit. I highly recommend a pre-holiday vacation if you can swing it. It helps you store up strength for the coming onslaught of perpetual goodwill and cheer, and the work that goes with it.

Before Rachel arrived,  I created what I thought would be a healthy vegan dish for her to enjoy with a few ingredients I’d packed and bought. As it turned out we both enjoyed this impromptu creation aLOT.  One afternoon we packed this yummy, super-healthy veggie concoction into a plastic tub and put it in the beach bag, along with a sack of tortilla chips and paper plates, carrying it all to the swimming pool for lunch. There we devoured it like a dip, scooping  up every last drop with the chips,  as we sipped our chilled fru-fru drinks and watched the baby snooze in the shade of his stroller.

Once I was back  home in Denver I realized, to my shock and surprise, “I’m craving that veggie bowl again.”  Do you know how wonderful it is when  you actually crave something healthy, instead of a Caramel Macchiato with a side of chocolate cupcake?

About once a month, since then, I get the hankering for this concoction and indulge my craving without a shred of guilt,  and a lot of smug self-satisfaction.  There’s also something about the smells  of this veggie mixture simmering on the stove that remind me of my grandmother’s kitchen, only with a South-of-the-Border kick.

The temperature in Colorado was in the 50s and rainy today, and this dish  hit the spot for something comforting, warm, nutritious and delicious.I ate a big bowl full and felt so good about myself that I went to bed at mid-day with a book, as the rain softly drizzled down the window, and indulged in an hour long nap.  After all, being so good to your body deserves a little reward.

1 T. olive oil

1 chopped  red onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 16 oz can butter beans (NOT lima beans), with juice from can

1 16 oz  can kidney beans, with juice from can

1/2 large tomato, diced

1 big bunch kale, ribs trimmed away and chopped in about 1 inch pieces

1 can hominy, drained

1 roasted green chili chopped (or a small can green chilis or 1/2 jalepano pepper that has been seeded)

1/2 t. grill or steak seasoning (or 1/2 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper)

2 t. brown sugar

1 t. smoked paprika (gives this dish a bacony flavor)

2 t. Tabasco or buffalo sauce to taste

1 t. cumin

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are fragrant and tender crisp in your largest deepest skillet.  Add all the other ingredients, one by one, into the simmering pan.  Cover and simmer at medium heat for about 10 minutes or until kale is soft and not overly chewy.

Uncover, and let simmer until the liquid reduces and turns nice and creamy.  Test to see if it needs more salt and pepper.

Serve with crushed corn chips or cornbread.

Variations:  Add a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes to make this into a stew-like soup, rather than a veggie bowl.  (It may need more salt and pepper if you do this.)

Meat lovers can add sliced, sauteed Kielbasa sausage to create a one-bowl-meal.