chili!

Yeah, my subject line is unimaginative. Talk to the beer I had with dinner, yeah? Yeah.

For whatever reason, the only time chili is appealing to me is during warm weather. Is it because since my outsides are so hot I will not notice the heat coming inside? I don't know, but when the weather gets warm I loves me a big bowl of chili with some oyster crackers. I used to like it with cheese, but that was back in my "pregan" days when eating chili meant opening up a little single-serve aseptic carton of Stagg that I'd get at the grocery store when it was on sale and then nuking it and covering it in cheese. Damn, I can't believe that used to sound appetizing. Since I got my crock pot and started making this recipe, no other chili method will do. It's not too spicy, it's nice and chunky and hearty, and since I only like it when the weather is warm, my crock pot doesn't put off a ton of heat meaning I do not slave over the hot stove sweating and being gross all over everything only to lose my appetite by the time the stuff is done. True, it does take much longer, but that just gave me time to work on a scarf I'm knitting and watch both Goonies and The Dark Crystal.

I got this recipe awhile ago from vegcooking.com, whom have since chosen to change the name of this recipe from "Crock-Pot Chili" to "Slow-Cooker Chili" which means it took me forever to find it and it pissed me off a little, but not too much to say you shouldn't make it because you totally should. It's nothing fancy, but it's damned tastygood. The only changed I made were I used only 2 tsp of chili powder instead of a whole Tbsp, and I used 15oz cans of beans, so it was 2 cans black beans, 1 can pinto, and 1 can kidney. Also, I took a picture, but did you know it's really superdamn hard to take a good picture of chili? It did not look appetizing, and my lack of photo skills and styling ability are not the culprit here, so no picture for you, my effusive apologies.

Slow Cooker Chili

Original recipe here

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup chopped white onion
• 1 lb. veggie burger crumbles (optional)
• Red pepper flakes, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 28-oz. can diced Mexican-style tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 6 oz. tomato paste*
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 28 oz. black beans, drained and rinsed
• 16 oz. pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 16 oz. kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the garlic, onion, veggie burger crumbles if using, and red pepper flakes until the onion is soft. Add the chili powder and cumin and cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until fragrant.

Place in a slow cooker with the remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

*Here is a nifty-ass thing to do with tomato paste that I learned from America's Test Kitchen (I *love* ATK!): If you have a recipe that calls for, say, 1 Tbsp of tomato paste, take the rest of the can and spoon it onto waxed paper in 1 Tbsp amounts. Then freeze it for a few hours or overnight. Once it's frozen pop it in a tupperware or a freezer bag and then in future recipes you can just pluck it right out, no measuring! I love it!