Metaphysical Club for Development ... and Turkey Chili

About 2 months ago we started a little "club" at Bill Easterly's urging to get together and stake out new and unexpected directions to take development. Last night we hosted it at our place, which meant I needed to cook something that would not have me leaning over the stove at the last minute--it needed to be all done and ready by the time people showed up. Hence turkey chili, although in fact it got significantly modified both intentionally and unintentionally--but with good results, it seems. People really liked it. This comes from Bon Appetit by way of Epicurious, and my modifications are included. (and I'll try to remember to take pictures next time).

I served it ladled over brown rice.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 jalapeno pepper chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
1/4 cup chili powder [the unintended substitute was Berbere powder, because I thought I had chili powder, but didn't. I used a tad less than 1/4 c of berbere since it's hotter than chili.]
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
fresh kale, washed and chopped--quantity really depends on how large your pot is. It reduces a lot, but at the beginning you will be limited by the headroom in your pot
3 15-ounce cans small white beans, rinsed, drained

Shredded cheddar

Chopped red onion
Chopped fresh cilantro
Plain low-fat yogurt or light sour cream

preparation

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and pepper; sauté until light brown and tender, about 10 minutes. Add oregano and cumin; stir 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high. Add turkey; stir until no longer pink, breaking up with back of spoon. Stir in chili powder, bay leaves, cocoa powder, salt and cinnamon. Add tomatoes with their juices, breaking up with back of spoon. Mix in stock and tomato sauce. Add washed chopped kale. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add beans to chili and simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes longer. Discard bay leaves. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium-low heat before continuing.)

Ladle chili into bowls over rice. Pass red onion, cheddar, cilantro and yogurt separately.

Serves 8.