Veggie Chili

On a cold night, a warm bowl of chili is a great thing... Serve this one with a good margarita or beer and plenty of Beano!


1 pkg 15 bean soup dried beans
2 Tbl dried onion flakes
2 bay leaves
1/2 c. dried shitake mushrooms (diced)

1 c. tvp granules
1 c. veggie broth
5 cloves garlic (minced)
dash of veggie worcesteshire sauce
3 Tbls oil

3 chipotles in adobo (minced)
7oz can diced chiles
35oz can diced tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
3+ tsp cumin
3-5 Tbls chile powder (used a mixture of standard with ancho powder)
1+ Tbls mexican oregano
1 Tbls paprika
1/2 Tbls smoked paprika
6-8 drops liquid smoke
1.5 Tbls sugar
healthy dash apple cider vinegar
salt/pepper to taste

1/4 c masa harina
1/4 c veggie broth

Soak the beans in water overnight. The next morning discard the liquid and add fresh water to barely cover the beans. Add the dried onion, bay leaves, and dried mushrooms. Put on lowest heat and let slow cook through the day until just barely done, adding water as necessary to keep the beans just covered.

Bring the broth to a boil and reconstitute the TVP in it. Let stand at least 10 minutes. In a saute pan, heat the oil on medium low heat. Add half the garlic and cook until lightly tan and very fragrant. Add remaining garlic and stir to coat in the oil. Add TVP and saute until just beginning to brown. Remove from pan and deglaze with a bit of water or additional broth, adding deglazing liquid to the TVP.

Add the tomatoes, chiles, and spices to the beans. Stir and cook until the tomato paste is incorporated (10-15 minutes). Add TVP. Check for flavor and adjust spices as necessary. Finish cooking until beans are done. Make a slurry of the masa harina & broth. Add 1/2-2/3 to the chili and cook 2 more minutes. If still watery, add the remaining slurry and cook an additional 2 minutes.

Top with cheese and/or sour cream. Serve with tortillas or cornbread.

Winter Warmer

Way too long between postings, but the holidays intervened....

While living in Germany in college, I was introduced to a wonderfully warming beverage to combat bitter Winter chill--Glühwein.  Glühwein is the German version of mulled wine.  I first encountered it at the Christkindlmarkt (Christmas Market) in Regensburg.  My memory of the first experience with it clouds over after the first two cups.  Fortunately, I sampled this wonderful concoction many other places and times.  When I returned to the US, I found a German store in Colorado Springs (I think long since out of business) that sold the spices in a teabag.

In the intervening years, I've taken the basics and made the recipe my own...

Rob's Glühwein
1 large jug of cheap red wine (1.5 l)
1 orange (sliced)
1 lime (sliced)
1 lemon (sliced)
1 cup orange juice
5-6 peppercorns
4-5 whole cloves
6" of cinnamon stick (roughly 2 sticks) broken into 1" pieces
5-6 allspice berries
3 teabags of fruit tea (I recommend herbal blackberry or strawberry)
1.5+ cups sugar (to taste)**
3 cups spiced rum (or more to alcoholic preference!)

Pour the wine into a large pot (with a tight fitting lid) and add everything except the sugar and rum.  Cover the pot.  On low heat, warm the mixture until just below simmer.  This should take at least 60 minutes, for the flavors to properly infuse the wine.  Add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved.  Cover and maintain temperature for another 10 minutes.  Taste to make sure that the concoction is neither too sweet nor too bitter/tannic.  Add the rum and stir thoroughly.  Serve immediately (being careful to not ladle out the spices) in coffee mugs, adding one slice of citrus to each mug.

**For 1/3 of the quantity of the sugar, I usually add sugar that has been "aged" with a vanilla bean for at least 2 weeks.