Well, hello there-- (best chili and cornbread ever)

Never did I think my first foray back into food blogging (as opposed to walking blogging-- is that a thing?) would be a chili recipe.  I wouldn't have thought it would be a recipe at all, given that a lot of dinners here lately have taken the form of hummus-pita-carrot sticks or bread-cheese-bing cherries or here-is-a-plastic-tray-of-sushi.  On the other hand, life without recipes has meant the occasional creative masterpiece, which I have proceeded to never, ever tell you about.  The other day I had some stuff I wanted to use up-- actually, not much stuff, just more of the endless supply of green chili peppers I've got in my freezer and half a bag of carrots-- and so I bought a lot of cans of beans and tomatoes and some bulk cashews and made some vegetarian chili, which turned out to be the most delicious vegetarian chili I have ever made, even though most of it came from cans.  This is how it went:

Saute in about 2 T. oil:

• One big onion, chopped
• several fresh (or frozen!) chilis, minced

When onions are softening, add:

• a few carrots, diced

Saute for a few minutes, then add:

• a big 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• small (15 oz.) cans of chickpeas, red chili beans, and black beans, or some other combination of beans (but the chickpeas are essential)
• salt
• really quite a lot of chili powder
• much more modest shakes of powdered ancho chili, white pepper, and red pepper flakes (or whatever similar items you have around to complicate the spice profile) 
• a tomato-can-full of water

Bring everything to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Now add:

• about 10 oz. of firm tofu, diced small
• about 1 c. of whole raw cashews

Stir and adjust the salt and spices to taste.  Add:

• 1/4 c. molasses (yess)
• juice of half a lime

Simmer 10 minutes or so more, adjust any flavors to taste (especially salt), and serve with the most awesome easy cornbread (below).

This chili has a delightful sweetness due to the cooked carrots and onions, naturally sweet cashews, and molasses.  The molasses, as it turns out, also gives it an amazing, complex depth of flavor.  I also like the filling sturdiness of the multiple proteins: several kinds of bean, tofu and nuts all in one place.  And it was very easy and quick.

Now for delicious and quick matching cornbread:

​Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium-sized bowl, mix:

• 1 c. all-purpose flour, or whatever
• 1 c. cornmeal
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. baking powder
• generous 1/2 t. salt
• brown sugar to taste (I probably used about 1/4 c.)

Since you are using brown sugar, I recommend mixing the dry ingredients with your fingers to break up any lumps.  Then add:

• 1 1/2 c. milk

Mix.  It will seem too runny, don't worry about it.  Pour into buttered 8x8 dish and bake about 25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.  Let it cool some and then eat it with butter (and chili).

Brown sugar instead of white took this cornbread to a whole new level.  Both the bread and the chili were addictive.  I kept going back to the kitchen to take little bites.  So will you.  The whole thing took approximately 45 minutes.
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