Sweet and Spicy Chili

It is soooo good to be back posting on Vegan Mofo!  I have fallen behind on my posts as I was out of commission.  You see I was down with the flu for the last week and I could not even consider looking at food let alone cooking it or eating it.  So you can understand how wonderful it feels to be able to think about food with delight again instead of turning green inside and out.

Anyway, here’s my 6th post for Vegan MoFo, Sweet and Spicy Chili adapted from Robin Robertson’s Vegan Planet Cookbook.  My husband loves this chili!  I would call it a pantry chili since much of it comes from cans and spices so that it’s quick to throw together.  I changed it up a bit by using pinto and kidney beans and using spicy sausage vegetarian crumbles, but you can use whatever beans and vegetarian meat substitute you prefer.  Or leave the veggie meat out altogether and throw in some pumpkin or butternut squash.  And of course, always double so that you have some to freeze!  Yum!

Make sure to check out some of Robin Robertson’s other recipes on her blog.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small sweet yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

one 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

one 6-ounce can tomato paste

2 cups apple juice

one 4-ounce can diced hot green chiles

one 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

one 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups vegetarian sausage crumbles

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in chili powder, brown sugar, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne.  Add tomatoes and juice, tomato paste, apple juice, chiles and beans.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, stir in the veggie crumbles and simmer for 30 minutes.  Adjust seasonings to taste.