Chili!!!

2002-07-27 - 4:19 a.m.

For the record, the chili turned out pretty good, but it's really spicy. Long ago, maybe even less than two years ago, my chili would be consumed with a nice glass of milk, but we've phased milk out of our fridge, replaced it with soy milk, which is fine for cooking and cereal but really gross to drink, and besides I'm at work right now so have no access to either milk or my other chili-as-comfort-food staple, bread-and-butter, so owie, this stuff is burning my tongue.

But, I am now going to post my recipe, as I emailed it to a co-worker, for the best vegetarian chili that you will ever taste. You could add real meat to it, I guess, but then I would have to never talk to you again.

> -----Original Message-----

> From: The Magus

> Sent: Monday, April 01, 2002 6:51 PM

> To: Some Coworker

> Subject: The Mystical Magickal Chili Tour

> Here it is...

> I tend to make it different every time, and the spices, like most things, depend entirely on how hot you want it. Also, as with most things, you can always add things you like and remove things you don't (as a suggestion: fiddle around with tofu chunks and/or chick peas).

> For a big pot of chili you need:

> A large pot (this is important! It is very, very easy to underestimate how much space all the canned goods will take up. BUT if you find you've filled up your pot, you can always divide it into two pots. No one will tattle. Can I have some pot?)

> Two or three large tomatoes (buy local!)

> One green Pepper (local!)

> One or Two onions (these should be local, too).

> equivalent of 1-2 pounds of veggie ground round (dry, Yves Cuisine, whichever works for you)

> 1 Can of some sort of tomatoes (I like stewed, but chopped or even pureed will do)

> 1 Can of corn (the extra sweet stuff, which I picked up by mistake once, doesn't taste so good, IMHO, so be careful)

> 3-4 cans of kidney beans (you can use the dry stuff too, if you want, but remember to prepare them as per package instructions)

> some frozen vegetables, your choice, between 1/2 a cup - 1 and 1/2 cups (I usually just add what I feel is appropriate...and these can be that peas/carrots/corn medley, frozen peppers, even broccolli if it makes you feel good).

> Garlic (powder, minced, or fresh...or a combination of all three) to taste

> Chili powder to taste

> Dried Chili pepper to taste

> tabasco sauce to taste

> salt and/or pepper to taste (not too much though....there's a lot of salt added to all those canned products)

> Optional: chick peas, other lentils, mushrooms, firm or extra-firm tofu, CHEESE! (dairy or veggie, up to you), french fries (put the chili on top...Pookie (Ed. note: Of course I used Pookie's real name here. Only special people, like Pookie, get to hear me say "Pookie" out loud.) likes to do this, I sometimes find it too heavy)...

> Okay, that's the ingredient list and I'm developing a new respect for those people who have to write recipe books.

> In a large pot over medium-low heat:

> Now, the first step depends entirely on your meat substitute. If it's the Yves Cuisine, or, well a non-dry option, put that in first. Add your minced or chopped garlic (I usually add the dry spices later). Then follow the instructions, except for where it says "add dry meat substitute". When it says that, you can close your eyes, plug your ears and sing "I used a non-dry meat substitue! La la la!"

> If the meat substitute is dry, then the first thing you want to add are your fresh tomatoes, chopped up Then add your fresh onions and green pepper (chopped up), and minced or fresh garlic. When the tomatoes begin to get soft, then add your canned tomatoes, canned corn and canned kidney beans. Now that you have a fairly liquid medium, add your dry meat substitute ("La la la!"), and let the whole thing cook, stirring occasionally, for five-ten minutes.

> Now, in a major upset, you can add your dry spices, your tabasco sauce, and all of your frozen vegetables. Stir!

> Then, let it simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. You can eat it now, but I guarantee the chili gets better with time. If you like a wetter chili, simmer with the pot covered, and if you like a chunkier chili, leave it uncovered. In both cases stir every five minutes or so, or whenever you feel it might stick to the bottom.

> If you have the time, after about 15 minutes, just turn the heat down to low or one level above low...the low simmer will keep it from boiling too much.

> And then it's done!

> The great thing about this recipe is that the chili only gets better with time. Day two of leftovers is better than day one, but not as good as day three. But if you can keep the stuff longer than three days without it being eaten, please let me know if day four is good, too, since I tend to inhale the stuff for every meal when I make it. I'm a garlic fiend, too, so this is not good news for my boyfriend.

> I suppose you could freeze it, if you wanted to. And this stuff really nukes up well in the microwave, so it's ideal for making a huge batch of it and then bringing it to work in a reuseable container. Now you're being considerate of animals -and- the environment!

> Enjoy!

Sorry for the formatting. I'm gonna see how that looks and then try to fix it in html. Or I might not. Because I'm lazy and eating chili.

Cheers,

The Magus

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