Vegetable Bean Chili

(recipe adapted from May All Be Fed: Diet for a New World by John Robbins)

2 cups cooked kidney beans
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, with leaves, finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, plus more to taste
1 16-oz. can unsweetened tomato sauce
2 medium tomatoes or one 14-oz. can unsweetened tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 cup vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups thawed frozen corn

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper, and garlic, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes.

Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, bay leaves, salt, and pepper, and stir for 30 seconds.  Stir in the cooked beans, tomato sauce, tomatoes, and vegetable stock.  Cook, partially covered, until thickened, about 20 minutes.  Stir in the corn and cook for 5 minutes, or until heated through.  Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Spicy Chili Beans with Tempeh and Dried Peaches

(recipe from The Vegan Gourmet by Susann Geiskopf-Hadler & Mindy Toomay)

2 cups dried pinto beans
1 cup dried adzuki beans
3 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried red chili flakes
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large white onion, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. mustard seeds
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
8 oz. tempeh, crumbled
1/2 tsp. salt
1 can (4oz.) chopped green chilies
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1 can (28 oz.) chopped tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped dried peaches or apricots
1 Tbsp. molasses

Sort the beans carefully and discard any small stones or discolored beans.  Soak the two types of beans together in plenty of water at room temperature several hours or overnight.  Drain off the soaking water and rinse the beans, then place in a stockpot with 10 cups of water, bay leaves, chili flakes, and half of the chopped garlic.  Simmer over low heat until beans are barely tender - about 1 to 1 1/2 hours - adding more hot water, if necessary, to keep the beans submerged.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Sauté the onion, the remaining garlic, oregano, mustard seeds, cumin, chili powder, and tempeh.  Add 1/4 tsp. of the salt and stir and sauté until the onion is becoming limp and the tempeh is nicely browned, about 10 minutes.

When the beans are tender, remove the bay leaves and stir in the remaining 1/4 tsp. salt.  Add the tempeh mixture, orange juice, tomatoes and their juice, green chilies, peaches, and molasses.  Simmer, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes.  Serve hot.

Spicy Sweet Potato Stew

(recipe origin unknown)

2 Tbsp. olive oil (I used coconut oil)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (or leave seeds for heat)
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cayenne
2-3 cups vegetable stock
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Two 14.5 oz. cans stewed tomatoes, chopped if needed
Two 14.5 oz. cans small red beans or white beans, drained
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp. orange peel, grated (I omitted this)
Juice of 1/2 a lime

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté until golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Add jalapeno and spices and stir 1 minute.  Add broth and potato.  Cover; reduce heat to medium and simmer until potato is almost tender, about 10 minutes.  Add tomatoes with their juices, and beans.  Simmer uncovered until chili thickens and potato is very tender, about 10 minutes.  Mix in cilantro and orange peel  Squeeze in the lime.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heirloom Tomato and Melon Salad

(recipe from Whole Foods Market)

Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 hot chile pepper, such as serrano, seeded and minced (I used a Hatch chile)
1/8 tsp. sea salt
3 cups diced seedless watermelon
3 cups diced cantaloupe
1 lb. green-striped, yellow, or other heirloom tomatoes, chopped

In a large bowl, whisk together lemon zest and juice, chile and salt.  Add watermelon, cantaloupe, and tomatoes, and toss.  Let sit at least 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend; serve at room temperature or chilled.

(Kind of like a gazpacho.  I imagine if you chopped everything up finely, this would make a really nice salsa, too.  The melon-tomato combo is surprising and tasty.)

Tempeh Chili

(recipe from DrWeil.com)

2 tsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 8-oz. cake of tempeh, crumbled
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 small can chipotle chili en adobo (optional)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan.  Add the chopped onion, red and green peppers, jalapenos, and crumbled tempeh and stir-fry for 5 to 6 minutes.  Stir in the cumin and salt.  Add the canned tomatoes, kidney beans, chopped cilantro, and chipotle pepper.  Allow the mixture to simmer for about 40 minutes.

(Super easy.  You really can't go wrong with tempeh chili - you could add any veggies you like to this.  The chipotle pepper makes it killer!  So good.)

Cynthia's Chili

(recipe from Christina Cooks)

This was a macrobiotic recipe for chili that I added all manner of nightshade vegetables to, with good result.  Also, I doubled everything listed below to create a huge pot of chili:

1-inch piece kombu
1/2 cup each cooked pinto beans and kidney beans
1/2 cup each winter squash, carrot, onion, and celery - large dice
1 cup millet
soy sauce
generous pinch cumin powder
1-2 tsp. chili powder
water or vegetable broth

Place kombu in the bottom of a soup pot.  Layer the onion, celery, squash, carrot, millet, and beans.  Add the cumin and chili powders.  Add water or broth to cover all ingredients and sprinkle lightly with soy sauce.  Cover, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 35 minutes, until millet becomes creamy and chili takes on a thick, "meaty" texture.

At this point, I added two chopped tomatoes, about a cup of tomato puree, and about two Tbsp. of tomato paste.  I also added two jalapeno chilis, chopped and mostly seeded.  I also threw in some cilantro.  Then I simmered it some more.

(I made this 10/29/11 for "Soup Night" with Joann and Alison.  It snowed!  We avoided Meghan and Tim's Halloween party and instead watched Love, Actually.  We enjoyed this chili with some red wine and crusty bread - it was tasty!  Leaving some of the jalapeno seeds in gave it a little kick, which was nice.)