Chili con canine

This revolting-looking yet delicious meal came about when I was serving up leftovers of my world-famous chili con carne. One recipient reckoned his looked “exactly like dog poop”. In fairness, his helping had fallen in an unfortunate shape amidst some lettuce, and I had to concede the resemblance was remarkable. Of such coincidences are Halloween meals born...

The chili recipe is a good ‘un; I highly recommend it. It probably feeds about 12 adults. The green rice recipe comes from Fine Cooking - I went googling for a grassy-looking rice, and as a bonus this tastes good as well as looks the part. It feeds about 6.

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Step 1: Ingredients

For the chili:
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2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 kg ground beef
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oreganum
1 tsp dried sage
1 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp chili powder
salt
Most of a small can (150 ml) of tomato paste
1 800 ml can of chopped tomatoes, drained
1 540 ml can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped celery
cornflour to thicken

For the green rice:
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1/2 cup fresh cilantro (coriander)
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
1-1/4 cups chicken broth
1-1/4 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups long grain rice
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 finely chopped clove of garlic