On cool days, there is nothing more heartwarming to me than the smell of a giant pot of chili cooking on the stove. In honor of the first week of fall, I'm sharing a vegan chili recipe I created last year. I have had several vegan/vegetarian chilis over the years and frankly, for me this is one meal that doesn’t lack for missing meat. The beauty of chili is derived from the lovely blend of spices and heat. You know when you taste a good chili...and luckily it’s not that hard to accomplish.

For this type of vegan chili, I created a mock meat base. I’m trying not to use oil in my cooking so I used a little bit of veggie broth as a starter, although it did still stick as you can see:

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Mock Meat
Heat some veggie broth in a large pot and add one at a time while stirring:
5 large mushrooms minced
1/2 cup pecans finely chopped
1/2 cup walnuts finely chopped
1 cup of bulgar wheat that was boiled to soften

Cook the mock meat blend thoroughly (until the mushrooms are cooked down and browned).

Add fresh veggies
5-6 cloves of fresh garlic - minced
1 bunch green onions - chopped
1/2 cup grape tomatoes - chopped
2 large green peppers - chopped

Keep adding a little broth to keep it from sticking when you are adding ingredients. Cook all the veggies until they are soft; the onions will be translucent.

Next add
1 large can of green chiles (I found them at target finally! 27 ounce cans!)
2 Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I get cans of these at Aldi)
1 cup of pickled cherry peppers
1 jar of salsa verde (tomatillo, peppers and onions)
1 large can of tomatoes, diced, whole, sauce...whatever you prefer (I use Bionaturae brand)

Spice it up!
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp cumin
Salt it to taste

Beanage
I added the pinto beans last, about 4-5 cups - which were dried beans that I soaked, rinsed, boiled, rinsed to prepare them for the chili. Pro tip: don't ever just drop dried beans in a pot of chili...it's very difficult to get them to cook properly.

I buy these at Aldi and use them in many dishes to add a smokey/spicy flavor.
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Found large cans of green chiles at Target!
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Toppings you ask?

I sometimes use a soft cashew cheese as a sour cream replacement:
http://nutritionstripped.com/classic-cashew-cheese-3-ways/

Corn chips, fresh onions and tomatoes, hot sauce if it isn't spicy enough or my favorite - crumbled up corn bread.

Happy Fall All!!