Vegetarian Chili

Alright mes amis. Not everything I make is vegetarian. It’s just that mostly, it is, because mostly, what I like to eat is vegetables, I guess? It’s not really an ethical thing, ok, except that once this schmuck I was dating made me watch this PETA video at the end of a Morrissey concert video. Ick.  No, it was totally cool though, it just meant eating a tofurkey for thanksgiving. Ick.

Ok, that said, here is a recipe for vegetarian chili, which, while not as good as a big bowl of Dinglewood chili dumped on a scrambled dog (yeah you columbus folk know what I’m talking about), is pretty good.

1. Chop up: an onion, a green bell pepper, and, a squash of your choice depending on the season. I used a zucchini for this one. Put a garlic through your garlic press, or, if you don’t  have one, mince.

2. Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet (I use my cast iron) . Throw in the onion and green bell peppers, let them get soft for five minutes. Then stir in a tablespoon each of cumin and coriander, two teaspoons of chili powder, and a pinch of mustard. Then, add the zucchini. Then, if you are really adventurous, which I am, throw in a packet of frozen Boca beef crumbles. OR, if you really, really need meat, I guess you could add beef, though I’d recommend that after the onion and before the bell pepper.

3. Meanwhile, cut up either a 28 ounce can of tomatoes, or peel and cut up three or four medium sized tomatoes. Throw those in a soup pot along with two cans of your favorite beans. I used white and kidney. you can use whatever you want. Except garbanzos. That might be kind of weird.

4. After everything in your other pot has gotten good and soft, empty it into the soup pot. Let that simmer for like ten minutes.

5. Ok! Almost done! Now, just serve it with cilantro, cheese, and/or sour cream. Because I am a fatty, I used all. ALL!

Ok. So make that. And THEN, go see this movie.

It’s very dark, but very, very good.

It’s about a girl trying to track down her meth cooking pop who may or may not be dead, but who certainly put the house up as collateral for his bond. She’s got a whacked out mom and two kid siblings. I want to read the book, which is by Daniel Woodrell, who visited our workshop a few years ago, and who was a really nice guy and a really good workshop leader.

Ok, so you’ve made chili, you’ve watched Winter’s Bone, and now, you will make this artichoke dip from The Pioneer Woman. I had some last night, with this wonderful bread that Amanda had made for me. I wish I’d taken a picture, but it was so good that I literally just inhaled the whole thing.

D’accord. C’est tout pour maintenant.

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