Farewell To Winter: Part 3

I'm really hoping that this can be my last "Farewell To Winter" post! I know that everyone expected spring weather to be here by now (seeing as how it is officially spring), however it snowed today in Kentucky, so I think it's safe for me to do another warm, comfort food recipe. 

Today I'm featuring one of Jon's recipes! This man has never been scared of cooking and has probably never even seen a recipe, let alone followed one. Jon's motto is "taste, taste, taste". At every stage he is constantly tasting to make adjustments. How much of a spice should you use? Don't ask Jon. He'll just tell you to taste and see. How long should you cook something? Don't ask Jon. He'll just tell you to wait until you hear a certain noise, or smell a certain smell. Well, Jon... we can't all be so in tune with our cooking skills.* That's why I was so thrilled when he finally wrote out one of his recipes for me to share with you guys! So, without further ado... Jon's Chili!

Tempeh Chili

Makes about 6 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 package tempeh, cubed**
• 6 oz. light beer (the other half is for the cook), optional
• 2 cans of red, white or pinto beans (or 3-4 cups cooked dried beans)
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 hot pepper, seeded and diced 
• 1 can diced tomato
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1 T dried oregano
• 1 T paprika
• 1 T cumin
• 1 t chili powder, or to taste***
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups broth or water

Isn't Jon so nice and organized?

1.) Saute onion, garlic and pepper over medium high heat until soft 

2.) Toss the tempeh in with the onion, garlic and pepper and add a good pinch of salt; pour in the beer and let the tempeh steam for about 5 minutes (if not using beer, just add 1/2 cup of water)

3.) Add the spices and toss everything so that the tempeh is well coated; cook 2 minutes (until you smell the spices toasting)

4.)  Add canned tomato, tomato paste, beans and broth or water

Don't worry. This is before we added the broth,
so your chili shouldn't be so thick!

5.) Let everything come to a boil and then turn heat to medium low and let simmer until it's reduced to your liking (about 25 minutes)

Chili is one of those amazing dishes that truly is a blank canvas. As long as you have a basic recipe (like this one!) you can adjust it to your liking very easily. Don't like spice? Leave out the hot pepper. Love spice? Use two hot peppers and leave the seeds in. Feel like using more veggies? Throw them in the pot, too. Feel like a deeper flavor? Use a dark beer for steaming the tempeh and throw the rest of the beer in with the broth. Like it soupier? Add more liquid.

So let's all be more like Jon and use our senses to really fine-tune our cooking skills! 

*Yes, I am jealous of him!

** I love tempeh, but I didn't always. It's a fermented soy patty that is very earthy and meaty. If brown rice and mushrooms had a love child it would be tempeh! So if you're not keen on this choice of protein or if you're allergic to soy you could leave it out and just use more beans. Just skip step 2 and move on!

*** I LOVE spicy food! Jon does not. This is a very mild chili, so if you want it hotter, I'd add more chili powder and some Tabasco.