This began as a recipe for “vegetarian white bean chili” that I had found someplace and copied onto a note card. Of course, the loss of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic from Martin’s current diet means that “chili,” in its usual form, does not work for us. So I changed nearly every ingredient in the recipe and came up with something between root-vegetable chili and a stew. It was delicious. Martin ate the chili/stew as is. After Martin went to bed, I set aside a portion for his next-day lunch and mixed the remainder into tomato sauce, which I served with gnocchi for me, Adrian, and our houseguests. Happiness all around.

1/4 cup oil (I used sunflower)
1 cup navy beans, pre-soaked
1.5 cups vegetable juice (I juiced an acorn squash, two parsnips, and some celery)
1 turnip, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 yellow squash, peeled and diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp celery salt (I used my mother’s, which is all celery and no salt)

Half-cook the pre-soaked beans in filtered water, until they are softened but not squishy, then drain. Combine the half-cooked beans with the vegetable juice and squash; cook over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, sauté the turnip and celery in the oil until soft. When the beans are almost cooked through, add the turnip-celery mixture and the spices. Finish cooking.