Time for Chili! (vegan / vegetarian)

Busy busy week. Or it is supposed to be busy week. Presentations and deadlines around the corner, lectures to attend and tons of academic writing to be completed; but I have a massive writers block and so just stare at screens hoping inspiration will strike. I even went to a lecture about writers blocks, but I think it might have made it worse.  The main advice I got from it was 'just write, start small, but write. no excuses and no distractions'.  Easier said than done.... but I am sure I will get there somewhere this week...  Motivation will hit eventually... ( or is that sheer fear? ) 

In the mean time I will do some writing that is not absolutely necessary...  so much easier! So I thought I should tell you about a dinner we like to have on a regular basis. So easy, and ideal for when there is no fresh vegetables around the house anymore, but you really can't be asked to do groceries.  Chili is ideal because all ingredients come either from the pantry or the freezer, and despite a lack of fresh vegetables it is full of healthy protein and vitamins. Of course, if you do have the fresh produce, these would be good ingredients too!  You can combine it with so many things; you can eat it in wraps or with pita bread, with rice or bulgar wheat, or like we did last night with home-made oven fries. 

I think this chili tastes really great, and I feel healthy eating it because of the many colours in this dish. The spices in this dish make it very warming, and the beans make it really filling and satisfying.  The version here is vegetarian because of the fake mince ( I used Quorn), which often contains some animal products like eggs, but there must be vegan varieties of fake mince out there.  The dish is also really nice without the meat replacer, so it is entirely up to you! 

What you will need: 

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion
corn (canned, fresh, or frozen)
peppers ( fresh or frozen)
mushrooms (fresh or frozen)
tomatoes ( fresh or tinned)
chili or kidney beans (tinned)
baked beans (tinned)
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of paprika powder

optional: vegetarian fake mince meat ( or any other vegetarian or vegan meat replacer that looks like mince)

What you will need to do: 

If you are using it, cut your fresh veg, and the onion, then heat up some oil in a pan.   Add the Onion to the oil, followed by the fake mince. After about 5 minutes add in the corn, peppers and mushrooms. Wait a little then add in the beans and the tomatoes.  Although both kidney beans and chili beans work fine, I prefer the chili beans. They come in a sort of chili sauce that helps add moisture and taste to the chili ( I know this is sort of cheating ... ).

Let the chili simmer for a little bit until it is properly heated through and through, then add in the chili powder and paprika powder to taste.   Serve with anything you fancy, and happy eating!