Vegan Chili

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I don't 'crave' chili like some people do. I don't even necessarily like it enough to say 'hey, let's have chili tonight!' But this day was one of those blustery, rainy, nasty days where all you want to do is stay inside in front of the fire and watch movies. It also happened to be a Sunday. So, while honey watched sports, I decided to have a go at making some chili. I found a random recipe then 'Ellen-ized' it... as per usual :)



As you may know by reading former posts, we like spicy food; this one topped the charts though. It was really TOO spicy due to my overzealous use of the chipotles in adobo sauce. You make the call when you're cooking it :)



Need:

Oil for cooking

One onion, diced

2 bell peppers, diced (I used one red and one green)

4-6 carrots, cut (if the 'circles' are really big, cut them in half too)

2 or 3 stalks of celery, cut (same with the big ends)

2 Tablespoons ground cumin

1 /12 Tablespoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons oregano

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1 Tablespoon paprika

2 or 3 cups vegetable broth (start out with one or so and add more if you want it to be soupier)

2 Tablespoons canned chipotles in adobo sauce (here was my fatal mistake... I put the WHOLE can in. Yeah, I had no idea they were so hot! Play with the heat and put in as much or as little as you like)

3 cans diced tomatoes (the regular size cans)

3 cans red kidney beans (regular size)

Salt

Pepper

Vegan ground 'meat' (optional)

Tofutti sour cream

Chopped fresh cilantro



Do:

In your pot, heat oil and saute onions and peppers. Add the carrots and celery, reduce the heat and cook until tender. Best to cover with a lid so the carrots soften. About 5 min, stir every once in a while.



When the veg is soft, add the cumin, coriander, oregano, cinnamon, cloves and paprika and cover to cook some more, still stirring often.



Open your chipotles and either tear or chop them into smaller pieces. Add your veg broth, chiles and diced tomatoes to your cooking mix. Drain your beans and add them too. Mix everything together and let simmer covered but stirring often. Add salt and pepper. Let cook for about 20 minutes.



Add your vegan ground 'meat' at this point, if you want to put it in there. I suggest it; it adds more protein to the soup and tastes yum!



While everything is cooking, chop some cilantro and mix it into some of the vegan sour cream. When you are ready to serve, this will be your topping.



Serve:

Ladle chili into a bowl and top with a dollop of your sour cream/cilantro mix. Garnish with a bit more cilantro and serve!