Here's to the Super (Vegan) Bowl (of Chili)

Well, it's that time of year again—the time of year when you get together with all of your friends to sit around, drink some brewskies, catch up, watch the big game, and load up on mad amounts of vegan chili. 

Wait. What do you mean you don't eat vegan chili at the Super Bowl? What do you mean you've NEVER had vegan chili at all? What do you mean "ew, vegan"‽ 

I've been vegan for...well, for a cray-cray long time. And I've been a picky eater with high standards for even longer. So take it from me, dearest sir and/or maddam—I know a thing or two about making some seriously good vegan food. So I emplore you, whether you make it for this weekend or not—make this chili. You'll thank me.

"Where's the beef," you ask? Well, we used to make this with one of those frozen ground-beef-style vegetarian soy protein things you can find in most grocery stores—which is 100% fine. It's good stuff, taste-wise, it's just that, of late, we've been attempting to reduce the degree to which we consume overly processed foods, so we go with a homemade seitan here. With growing concern over gluten alergies, we're considering giving it a try with some sort of mushroom base for the meat substitute...but not for the Super Bowl, my friends.

So, friendly warning—this is a pretty spicy chili. I know, I know. You can handle it. But—just in case—you can control the spice level by keeping an eye on how much chipotle you put in there. If your a cheese fan but want to keep this vegan (c'mon, give it a try), you can hoof it on over to Park Natural on Court to give Daiya a try. It's a pretty cheese substitute made from...ahem...pea protein and tapioca, among other things. It melts superbly though and has a nice, if not completely cheesy taste. Sprinkle some on top when you're done and see what you think. Really though, this stuff can stand on its own. Anyway, the recipe—

Smokey Jo's Chili
- 2 Large Vidalia Onions (or some sweet, yellow onion), diced
- 2 Large Green Bell Peppers, diced
- 5 Cloves of Garlic, smashed, peeled, and chopped
- 4 tbsp Olive Oil
- 5-8 Chipotle Peppers, depending on how spicy you like things, chopped(these can be found canned in a lot of stores now and dried in specialty shops)
- 15-20 oz of Seitan, finely chopped so it begins to resemble crumbles or ground protein (two loaves or so if it's homemade, which is ideal, two pack or so, store-bought—here's a word or two on good seitan recipes)
- 40.5 oz Red Kidney Beans (or equivelant dried beans, sorted and soked overnight)
- .25 cup Teriyaki or Sweet Soy Sauce
- 28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes (go Sclafani and never look back)
- 14.5 oz can Diced Tomatoes (you can go with whatevs, but we like using flame-roasted ones)
- 4 tbsp Chili Powder
- 1 tbsp Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor
- 1 tbsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 tsp Salt
- 2 Bay Leaves
- teaspoon of Berbere powder (optional)
- pinch of Ground Ginger
- pinch of Cinnamon

Dice the onions into small, roughly 1/2-inch pieces or smaller, chop the garlic into tiny bits, and roast over medium heat in a cast iron skillet with olive oil until the onions are starting to become translucent and garlic browns a little. Add the seitan, stir, and brown for about five minutes. Add the hickory smoke, quickly stir and cover so the mixture absorbs the smoke taste, cooking for about five minutes. Uncover and stir, scraping the mixture from the bottom of the pan if need. Cover and cook for another five minutes. Add diced chipotle peppers and teriyaki/sweet soy sauce to give the mixture a spicy sweetness. Simmer for another five minutes, covered, adding a bit of water or broth if the mixture starts to dry out or sticks too much. Add diced green peppers, again about 1/2-inch pieces or smaller, cooking covered for five minutes or until the peppers become deep green, but not too dark or too soft.

In a separate large pot (8 quart or so), toss in the drained kidney beans (not rinsed) and all the tomatoes. Back at the skillet, add 1 tsp of salt, 1 tbsp chili powder, the Berbere (if using—it's a SUPERB Ethiopian spice mixture that I guaruntee you'll become addicted to upon using) and cook off most of the liquid for 2 minutes or so, leaving the mixture a little saucy. Once that's done, give it a taste. It should taste pretty good at this point, but very concentrated in it's sweetness and spiciness. Carefully toss the mixture in the large pot with beans and tomatoes, mix it all together and put it on medium-low heat. Bring it to a low simmer and add the bay leaves, the rest of the salt, rest of the chili powder, and all of the remaining spices. If you like things more on the sweet side, add a little more cinnamon. Spicy? Add a bit more chili powder and black pepper. Simmer all that covered on low for one hour, stirring every so often to make sure it's circulating and the bottom isn't burning at all.

This'll make, I don't know, 74 servings? So feel free to freeze some after your initial meal. It keeps.

Have a great weekend! And go Jets! Wait...