It's Chili Outside...

...it's chili inside...

...it's a regular f**king chili-fest!

And so it was this past Sunday, friends and enemies. My mom whipped up her White Chicken Crockpot Chili (a recipe which I'm in the process of veganizing) while I busied myself with this oldie-but-goodie from a 2005 Dispatch Food Section.

Often it's hard to find good vegetarian/vegan recipes in newspapers (they're usually relegated to the once-a-year write ups about "crazy" diets/lifestyles) but every now and then I luck out. This particular recipe was still a little patronizing; its headline, "Even 20-Somethings Can Handle This Half-Hour Meal," implying that young people can't cook.

Bah! Humbug! I say to that! So I took the tone as a challenge and using their recipe as a template, created what is now my go-to signature chili dish. The Doc prefers it to meat-based chili and Pap ate two bowls without realizing it was vegan. As with most of my recipes, the secret ingredient is vegetables and wine.

Megan's Patented Tri-Color 3-Bean Chili (patent pending)
(Though I give the original measurements here, I almost always double the recipe)

6 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons chili powder
3 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons paprika (smoked if you have it)
3 teaspoons dried oregano (mexican if you have it)
3 teaspoons chipotle powder
1 very large yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons cheater garlic (4-5 cloves, minced)
1 medium-large yellow pepper, chopped
1/2 bag shredded carrots
2 stalks of celery, chopped thin
12 oz. dry red wine (I usually use a cab or zinfandel)
1 1/2 - 2 bags frozen ground beef substitute (I like Quorn)
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
2 cans diced tomatoes with juices

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add the oil and all the spices. Cook, stirring often for about 5 minutes.
Add the onion and peppers. Cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add the wine, stir well, and bring to a simmer.
Add the meat, beans, tomatoes, carrots, and celery. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring often to keep anything from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While this was simmering, I also made some cornbread. Any recipe (or box of Jiffy mix) will do. I use a pretty basic recipe from The Veganomicon with two slight changes. First, spray your cast-iron pan down with oil and leave it in the oven while the oven is pre-heating and you are mixing up the batter. Having the pan all hot and oily, gives the finished cornbread and nice crispy bottom crust and sides. Second little trick, invented by The Raccoon for last year's "Regular F**king Chili-fest," is to drizzle the top of the bread with real maple syrup or honey about halfway through the baking time. Too soon and the liquid will fall through the batter; too late and it will just sort of puddle and scorch on top. Both mistake versions taste just about as good as the right way, though, so don't worry too much about the timing.