Vegetable Chili for the Football Game

Yesterday I made a  big pot of veggie chili for the football game. 

I never make this the same way twice as I use whatever vegetables I have on hand and whatever else I get from the store.  This batch was exceptionally good.

I started by sautéing a small onion and 1 clove of garlic.  Once the onion started browning I threw in a cube of tofu which I had cut up into very small pieces.  I seasoned the tofu/onions/garlic with some chili powder, cumin, cilantro, and of course cayenne.

As that was simmering, I cut up

• 2 carrots
• about 1 cup of butternut squash
• 1 small potato
• 1 very small beet
• 1 small turnip (not the big one that is actually a rutabaga, but if I had one of those, I would have used about 1/2 of it in the chili!)

I started cooking all of these vegetables in a big pot with some water.

I then added the onion/garlic/tofu mixture and a big can of whole tomatoes.  If I had fresh tomatoes, I’m sure that would have been even better!

Next I added some kidney beans, black beans and navy beans.  I used canned beans (well rinsed) as I didn’t think about making this the night before, and so I didn’t have time soak the beans.

I kept adding more water as needed.

As this was cooking I cut up

• small zucchini
• small summer squash
• red bell pepper
• a bunch of mushrooms
• broccoli–separating the stems from the flowers
• I didn’t have any eggplant but I have used eggplant in the chili in the past and it was great!

I added these to the pot and simmered for about 45 minutes.  Last I threw in the broccoli flowers and added about 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon.

I served the chili in a  bread bowl — delicious!  

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