Eats: Minnesota Winter Chili

My in-laws bought me the book Eat and Run by Scott Jurek. I finished before the end of Christmas break. I loved every word of it. Scott details his journey from being a child raised in rural Minnesota whose food consisted of what they could hunt, fish, and grow to becoming a bad ass Ultra-Marathoner who also happens to be a vegan. Each chapter ends with a vegan recipe as well as running/ultra-marathon tips. One of these recipes is the Minnesota Winter Chili which he in turn got from the Moosewood Cook book (which I subsequently bought). Its delicious and an easy vegan recipe that will appeal to the masses. I've made it twice and have single portions frozen for a quick weeknight dinner or weekend lunch. I've tweeked the recipe simply because I can never manage to actually buy all of the ingredients required for a recipe. I guess this is making me a better home cook. Usually, I solve my missing ingredient problem my sniffing spices until one smells somewhat similar, pick a spice that begins with the same letter, or make up some logical substitution. This usually works, although my first batch was very spicy since I used Red Cayenne Pepper in lieu of Chili Powder.

Minnesota Winter Chili

Ingredients (lots of veggies):

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 8–10 medium mushrooms, finely chopped (I bought a giant jar of dehydrated mushrooms from Costco)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper (Yellow also works)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
• 1 jalapeño pepper or other hot pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 tablespoons chili powder, or to taste (I used Cayenne Pepper and last time Turmeric which I really liked)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 15-ounce can tomato purée (I sub'ed 1 tbsp of Tomato Paste and a little can of sauce. I imagine that's how you get puree)
• 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
• 1 15-ounce can red beans, drained (Pinto beans for us)
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup dry bulgur wheat
• Hot sauce or cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro, for garnish

Directions:

1. Add oil to pot. Saute all veggies and spices through the Black pepper over Medium to Medium-High heat for about 10 minutes or until tender. Add water if veggies start to stick.
2. Add remaining ingredients except cilantro. Simmer over Med-Low heat covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and stir. Recover and continue to simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes until veggies are cooked through.
3. Serve with cilantro and other spices if you like. Jon always add Frank's. He puts that shit on everything. Freeze left overs.

Bon Apetit!

TOD 1/29/2013

Morning: 3.4 mile glorious trail run. Seriously, this morning's run was amazing. Perfect weather and perfect trail conditions. Day dreamed about it all day.

Evening: Go Native Fit