When winter hits, thoughts of a steaming bowl of hearty, vegetarian chili makes the wind slapping my face, the ringing chill in my ears and frostbite in my fingers seem a little less awful.  A stockpot of it warms up our house and our bellies for a few days.  I like to top mine with shredded, cheddar cheese and fritos (yes, as in Frito O’Lays –  great for scooping up the chili) but it’s also just as good plain, topped with diced, raw onions or with a dab of sour cream. 

Not only is a bowl of chili warming but it’s main ingredients store well.  In our house, a few extra cans of beans, stewed tomatoes, vegetable broth, soy crumbles, frozen corn and chili seasoning are staples so I keep them on stock.  One of the biggest reasons people don’t cook is because they don’t have time to first go grocery shopping.  So, the next time you go to the grocery store, stock your kitchen with these…that way, you can make chili on a whim without a lot of prepping and pre-planning – all you’ll have to do is pick up the fresh produce.

*I use Simply Organic spicy chili seasoning.  It’s a mix of sea salt, red chili peppers, garlic, cumin, cayenne, oregano, coriander, black pepper, cloves, allspice.  To be honest , it’s almost exactly the same stuff that’s in taco seasoning so when I can’t find chili seasoning, I use taco seasoning. Depending on how spicy your seasoning is, one packet may be enough.  We used taco seasoning this time and needed two. �EUR�
**Tofu is a good, though less chewy substitute for crumbles.  Take a block of tofu and crumble it with your hands.  Pan fry with a little oil until golden.