Let's rest our bellies with some vegetarian chili

Because, ragazzi, we're going to be looking at some very rich dishes next week.  After all, we do have to plan for Christmas don't we?  So while we will be looking at some dishes that call for lavish use of cream and fat and sugar and other good things, let's look at something simple now, and make a good, heartening, and really rather satisfying and good for you, VEGAN chili.

Annalena has said, and she will say again, that beans are not used enough in our meals.  Annalena is as guilty as this as is anyone.  Yes, they  are easy to prepare.  They are  RIDICULOUSLY easy to prepare.  But when all is said and done, you then have SO MANY of them.  And what do you do?   Well, Annalena wants everyone to take a pledge with her and promise to use more beans, and when cooking with them, share the dishes.  Like she did this chili.

She found the recipe in her Penzey's catalogue, or at least the outline of it. As Annalena went through it, she felt that it needed tweeking (as compared to twerking), and she's glad she did.  The original recipe was sounding good: beans, tomatoes, onions, spices.  But there's opportunity here, ragazzi, to get your fiber up, with some more vegetables. And it's very easy to do. So, let's get to it.

Now, first, the beans. PLEASE start using dry beans, preferably heirloom, and preferably organic.  Annalena used rattlesnake beans for this, but any would do.  Use your resources, find something good, and then get to work.

You start by putting a pound of dried beans under water, such that there is two inches over the top of the beans.  Then, leave the alone for a night.    This begins to prep them .

The next step is controversial.  Annalena learned that the soaking water from beans should not be used for cooking water.  Recent research tends to say that dumping this water is a waste.  Perhaps it is, but Annalena does so.  She was taught that noxious, gas causing molecules leach into that water, and do not decompose in cooking. So... you make your choice.  Annalena does change the water, and covers the beans again, by two-three inches of water.  You will probably need a bigger pot at this point, because those dried beans will have expanded.    Get the to a low boil, or even a simmer, and cook them, uncovered, for about an hour.  Check from time to time and cover them with more water, as needed.   You probably will need to do this about twice during the cooking time.  In the last 20 minutes, add a heaping teaspoon of salt.   Then drain them.

Your beans will not be cooked through at this point, and that's fine, because they're going to cook for a while longer.    Since they're cooking at a leisurely pace, you have time to collect what you need:  two medium sized onions (yellow are better here), two large, peeled carrots, and 2-3 stalks of celery, with the leaves.  Annalena peels and quarters the onions, and cuts the other veggies into chunks.  Then, into the processor they go, in batches, and pulsed to a fairly fine dice.

Get about a quarter cup of oil - olive being preferred - and heat it up in a big pot. Add the veggies and stir, adding another teaspoon of salt.  Cook at a low heat, while you gather your spices.

Now, these spices will make a very spicy chili. Cut it back if you like.  Annalena used a tablespoon of ground cumin, a tablespoon of chili powder, and a tablespoon of berebere, which is an Ethiopian hot spice.  You need more than two tablespoons of stuff,  so think about things, and make up your own mix.

Sprinkle that into the onions, together with six chopped up garlic cloves  (we chop these separately, ragazzi, so they don't burn with the other veggies.  )  Stir everything for about two minutes,  and then add your beans, and a large can of fire roasted, chopped tomatos (Muir Woods is Annalena's favorite brand of these. ).  Stir it all together, and then  REALLY lower your heat.  If you have a head disperser, this is when to use it.

This all cooks for a MINIMUM of 1.5 hours at real low heat, and maybe as much as 2 hours.  You can tell when you're done when the water is out of the tomatoes, things are thick and the beans are soft and creamy.

Now, you adorn it as you like, or best of all, not at all.  Just cook up some rice, and sit back and feel virtuous as you eat this for lunch or dinner.  Because very soon, you'll be making cheesecake brownies.  Or mushroom bread pudding.  Just wait ragazzi.

And if you decide not to share, this makes about 8-9 cups of healthy chili.  You selfish folks can eat that a few times and feel more virtuous than those of us who are eating our brownies.