Saturday, February 23, 2008

Chili!

Here's the part where I tell you all about the chili, then give you some variations, then some pictures followed by a recipe. So, yeah.

For Christmas this year, I gave my friend Roman a coupon book full of things like coupons for cupcakes, coffees, drinks out and stuff like that. I also included two coupons for cooking lessons. For one of them he wanted to learn how to make chili. So, I modified my favorite chili recipe a little bit and made it super easy to prepare. Roman isn't much of one for cooking, so even if you feel like boiling water is hard for you, you can totally do this. Though, really, most chilis are quite easy to make in the first place. The good thing about this chili is that it has a bunch of veggies in it. If you have kids or friends that think they don't like vegetables, I betcha they'll eat this and love it. And then you've shoved some much needed vitamins in their picky little faces. So there. Take that you annoying picky food people!

Now for some variations! Obviously you can add more stuff if you want. I suggest adding some chopped up jalapeno peppers. Another fun thing would be to add half black beans and half kidney beans instead of all kidney beans. Instead of adding red wine, add some beer! The dark beers are great in chili.

Personally, I prefer not to use the store-bought crumbles, but to make is easier, that's what this recipe has. Instead, why not try using some tvp or better yet - bulgur! If you use either of those, you'll want to change the way you're making the chili a little bit. Heat up some of the tomato juice until almost boiling and pour it over the tvp or bulgur. Stir, cover it and let it sit for around 10 minutes. At this point it should have soaked up most of the liquid and you'll probably have to add more. Go ahead and add this to the rest of the stuff and then you can judge better how much more liquid you'll want to add. When I make chili like this, I typically buy a large bottle of V8 and just keep adding it until it's about the consistency that I like.


veggieChili



Very Veggie Vegan Chili

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 bell pepper, chopped (any color is fine, but I like to use green ones)
1 teaspoon basil, dried
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
dash cayenne (add more if you like it hotter)
salt & pepper to taste
2 cans chopped tomatoes, fire roasted if you can find them (or around 3 cups fresh)
3 cups tomato juice (I like to use V8 or something similar for more veggie power!)
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 - 1/2 cup red wine, optional
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 package soy crumbles

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and saute for another 5 minutes or so. Add the bell pepper, spices and wine and saute for another 3 minutes.

Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato juice, tomato paste and crumbles. Stir, raise the heat a bit and bring just to a boil. Now turn the heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes, covered and stirring occasionally. You might need to add more tomato juice to thin out the chili a little bit, that's totally fine. Add as much as you need to get the consistency that you like.

Top your chili off with some soy cheese, crackers, tortilla chips, cilantro - whatever! Just enjoy it. :D

9 comments:

  1. What a cool gift idea for your friend! I might have to steal that idea...

    Oh man do I love chili. There are so many variations out there... Daiku and I would eat chili 3-4 nights a week if we could, and often we do!

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  2. Ooooo! Looks yummy! I like to use V-8 instead of tomato juice in things like this too. Gives it more pizzazz.

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  3. I love making chili... good ol' standby for me. I've been thinking that I need to mix it up though, cuz I always make the same ol' recipe. Never thought of putting wine or beer in chili... you've got me thinking now! Great photo, too. :)

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  4. I heart chili. Yours looks so yum-e!

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  5. Oooh, that looks amazing! i've been begging my friend to send me her chili recipe, but maybe I will just try yours instead!

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  6. Chili is so good, so easy and so kid-friendly with tortilla chips and rice - will definitely be trying out your recipe!

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  7. I like your variations, especially the jalapenos, I'm a sucker for some spice. I'm planning on making some vegan chili this weekend using black, kidney, and navy beans, so we'll so how that turns out. I like your blog by the way.

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  8. Hi! You've been tagged! Check out my blog for details. Hope you'll play along! :)

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