Chili & Cornbread

One of my favorite meals is some good chili with cornbread. So satisfying! Especially on a cold windy day. I like to mix things up when I make it, so use this as a jumping board for creating your own version (and let the rest of us know what you do!).

Using canned beans will make this meal a lot quicker to throw together, but if you have a pressure cooker, it doesn't take much more to use dried beans instead. My pressure cookers are possibly my favorite kitchen tool and I highly recommend investing in one. They will make it easy to make your own beans, cut down on your cooking time for lentils, rice, etc. I've got a four and an eight quart cooker myself. The four quart is plenty of space for making most meals, but it's fun to have a big one and it also means I can make two things at once! When you are cooking dried beans, throw in some kombu. It will add essential minerals to your meal and will also make the beans more digestible. It's located in the Asian foods section of the grocery store, along with other dried seaweeds. Use a four to six inch piece for a large pot of beans. For this recipe, I did 1/2 cup dried black beans with kombu in the pressure cooker - they take between 15-18 minutes to get soft without presoaking them. I also did 1/2 cup aduki (or adzuki, azuki) beans. They're a bit smaller, so they only take between 8-10 minutes to cook. I also like using kidney beans, chickpeas, or blackeyed peas. Pick a couple of your favorites, and you're good to go.

Chili

2 cups of beans, cooked

2 15 oz cans of tomatoes, or one 28 0z can (I used Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes w/ chilis)

1 med onion, chopped

4-5 cloves garlic

1 red pepper, chopped

1 med zucchini, chopped

1 cup broccoli

1 cup carrots

1/2 cup sweet potato puree (save yourself some time - use baby food!)

2 1/2 tsp cumin

3 tsp chili powder

1 tsp Mexican oregano

3/4 tsp cayenne (or add some jalapenos, chipotles, or habaneros if you please)

2 handfuls of nutritional yeast

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil for 3-5 minutes. Add vegetables and spices. Let cook for an additional 6-8 minutes, until beginning to soften. Throw in tomatoes and nutritional yeast and let simmer for another 12-15 minutes to let spices come out. Taste and adjust as needed!

Feel free to mix up the veggies - spinach or other greens are also delicious, sweet potatoes, or whatever makes you smile. I normally do a half of a can of pumpkin instead of sweet potato puree, but didn't have other plans for pumpkin in my life right now. Other additions to boost your protein and add some texture: crumbled tempeh, TVP, Lightlife Smart Ground, or quinoa.

Throw a dollop of sour cream, some cilantro pesto, or a dash of hotsauce and you're set!

And onto the cornbread....I have gone through a couple of phases of searching for the perfect cornbread. My latest quest is of the gluten-free type. This one was inspired by a recipe in Simple Treats, but I made a lot of variations. I thought it tasted pretty good, but I still am trying to figure out how to make gluten-free goodies less crumbly! I was going to work some more on this recipe before posting, but Aurelia kept saying "yummy!" after every bite. With such hearty approval from my four year old testers, I decided it was worthwhile as is. Be on the lookout for other recipes as I continue to experiment. I used a 9" cake pan to bake it and it was nice and thick - plenty to go around!

Gluten-Free Cornbread

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
2 3/4 cup quinoa flour
2 T baking soda
2 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup agave
1 1/4 cup almond milk
2 T apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Add the wet ingredients and stir until well mixed. If the batter is too dry, slowly add more almond milk until you reach the desired consistency. Pour into a greased 9" square or round cake pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.