February 17, 2004 - Alyce's Yummy Vegetarian Chili

Musings an Online Journal of Sorts By Alyce Wilson
February 17, 2004 - Alyce's Yummy Vegetarian Chili
	Everybody's got their specialty in the kitchen, and mine happens to be a mean vegetarian chili. The Gryphon had the day off Monday for President's Day, so I made him some of my yummy vegetarian chili. He loved it. My chili can vary, depending on the ingredients I have on hand, but each recipe contains some basic staples.
I cook it the chili in a crock pot, which makes for a really easy meal. The best part is, I end up with enough leftovers to last several days. Yesterday's chili included: One 15 oz. can of red beans, drained One 15 oz. can of black beans, drained Two 14 1/2 cans of stewed tomatoes One 16 oz. bag of frozen corn About 7 or 8 mushrooms, sliced About 8 green onions, sliced About 1 1/2 cups of textured vegetable protein (available in natural food stores) 3 bay leaves 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon curry powder 2 teaspoons coriander 2 teaspoons cumin Red and black pepper to taste Put all the ingredients in the crock pot and pour in water until there's about an inch and a half of water covering the ingredients. The textured vegetable protein (TVP) will expand as it cooks, absorbing much of the water. Put the lid on the crock pot and turn it to high. Cook for four or five hours. Serve with a dollop of sour cream (or dairy free sour cream substitute, available in health food stores). When I have other vegetables available, I might include green and red peppers, diced fresh tomatoes or regular onions. The trick to the spices, I've discovered, is in ratios. You want to be certain that you use about two to three times as much of the milder spices, like coriander and cumin, than the hotter spices, such as chili powder and curry powder. So if you prefer your chili to be very mild, you could cut back to 1/4 teaspoon each of chili powder and curry powder and 1 to 1/2 teaspoons each of coriander and cumin, with no red pepper and only a sprinkle of black pepper. Chili made with the recipe above will be a nice medium-hot chili. This makes about 6 to 8 servings. Enjoy!
Moral: Nothing makes a cold day feel balmier than some yummy vegetarian chili. Copyright 2004 by Alyce Wilson Musings Index
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