Chunky Chili - vegan

The funniest thing happened to me yesterday. I went out shopping (I was in desperate need for a new pair of jeans) and the whole time I was out I had the worst craving for a bowl of chili. Then, late last night while I was baking GF Mommy's Whole Beer Bread a friend sent me a text message asking me if I had any good chili recipes. I thought that was the weirdest thing considering my craving that day and the fact that I was thinking that chili would be perfect to have with a nice slice of fresh, home-made bread. The thought continued to grow with the rain that started to fall too. So, I decided that I would make a batch of chili so that I could share the recipe with my "other half" (we have the same name and everyone at work called us M-Elle squared this past year).

However, there were a couple of ground rules for this chili.

1. there had to be kidney beans and meat
2. average spice as she is the only one in her family who likes spice

After discussing it via text messaging (what has this world come to?!) I went in search of my favourite chili recipe. Of course this recipe is vegetarian as it is from my high school Home Economics teacher, but how hard is it to add meat? I still haven't added the meat as I never really learned how to cook it being vegetarian as a teenager and into my early twenties, so I rarely cook it myself, relying on the restaurants and my dad. Chicken and fish are all I am comfortable with, and even that is rare. I use to add tofu, but I think that I've had enough tofu this past week, so I'll stick to my vegan chili and my delicious Whole Beer Bread (check it out). However, I have some thoughts on how to make this a meat chili that I will share, along with some other different serving ideas.

Chunky Veggie Chili

1-3 carrots
2-4 celery stix
1 large onion (or 2 medium)
2 green onions
1 large clove of garlic, minced/crushed
1 can (540 ml) of kidney beans
1 can (398 ml) of navy beans (adzuki or garbanzo would also be great)
1 can (398 ml) diced tomatoes

1-2 tsp. cumin
1-2 tsp. chili powder* (recipe to follow)
¼ tsp. oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. tumeric
Pinch of cayenne (optional – if you like spice also add favourite chili peppers)

1 can of Eden Organics Pizza/Pasta sauce (or ½ of preferred sauce in a jar)
1 can of Eden Organics crushed tomatoes
(substitute a can of diced tomatoes for one or the other)

*This was actually a goof up on my part. I had wanted another can of diced tomatoes, but ended up with crushed.

2 small zucchini’s
3 sweet baby bell peppers (orange, red, yellow)

1. Drain & rinse beans, then add to slower cooker (or large pot), followed by can of tomatoes with juice. Chop up carrots, celery, and onions (I like mine to be chunky) and add to the beans and tomatoes. Turn slow cooker on to about 3-4 (mine is permanently stuck there) and add the spices.
2. Mix it all up and let it cook for about half an hour (I actually had to run out for some ingredients, but I think that the flavours blended together really well by doing this). Then add sauces and chopped zucchini and peppers
3. Mix it all together and let cook in the slow cooker for about 3-4 hours (or until vegetables are cooked to your liking), or let it simmer on the stove for about an hour.

For all you Meat Lovers:

• Either substitute meat for a can of beans, or some of the vegetables, or simply added meat along with everything else.
• Add some pre-cooked cubed steak (this would be my preference)
• Turkey or chicken pepperoni

Serving Suggestions:

• Over green salad
• Over rice
• Mixed with quinoa (I am actually working out a quinoa chili recipe)
• Over buttered bread (Sloppy Chili Sandwiches!!!)
• In a bowl with some corn bread on the side

For some more delicious chili recipes, head over to Asparagus Thin and click on her recipe index. Scroll down until you have reached "you want 'nother bowl?". She has quite an assortment of different chili's that I plan on trying out during the cold winter season.