white vegan chili (with cheese)

today I decided to peruse simply recipes, a blog that we've featured here before. I was collecting recipes for a work project right now, but all the recipes have to appeal to folks who a) eat meat, and b) don't really want to change their eating habits but know that they should be eating healthier food. so I do a lot of retyping and formatting recipes for "quick beef casserole," and "baked southern fried chicken." a few hours of that and I just want to think about what I'm going to cook for myself, not what would lower a person's high cholesterol (which I don't have).


this here is a white bean chili that was intended for turkey but I went in the other direction. I upped the garlic and the onions and used some red chili flakes. it's yummy. not too spicy, but a lot of flavor and I froze heaps of it for the winter.

you will need:

• 2 cans of cannelloni beans
• 3 cups vegetarian chicken broth
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped - keep each onion separate!
• olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano (recipe called for dried, but I used fresh and it was fine)
• pinch of ground cloves
• pinch of red chili flakes
• 2 4-oz cans chopped green chilies - mild or hot...or both!
  
• 1 package tempeh
• salt to taste

you will do:

• add the beans, the no-chicken stock, garlic, and 1 chopped onion (because you separated them) in a large soup pot. bring it to a boil, my friends.
• while the stock is boiling, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. saute the onions until it's tender.
• add the green chilies, tempeh, and the spices and mix the whole thing up. cook for 5-10 minutes.
• add the chili-tempeh stuff to the soup pot. stir it in and let it simmer for a while with the top off.
  
• the chili will thicken during the simmering process. keep an eye on it so that you can achieve your ideal consistency. for more of a soup, simmer for 5-10 minutes. for more of a chili/stew, simmer for 10-15.
  
• then, if you're a lapsed lactose-intolerant like myself, you put some into a bowl and sprinkle sharp cheddar on it. oops.