With tai chi being out for summer break, we can move our Crock-Pot weekday around to suit the rest of our busy schedules in a way we normally don’t during tai chi season itself! I knew I was going to the animal shelter after work tonight (speaking of, did you know that Saturday, Aug. 15, is Clear the Shelters Day? Go visit your local shelter to find your new best friend!), and I also knew I would be ravenously hungry by the time I got home afterward. So a quick pot of chili java was easy to put together before work this morning – and it was the perfect welcome-home meal after a long day away this evening!
I’ve written about chili java plenty of times before – the recipe comes from Robin Robertson’s wonderful One-Dish Vegan – and it never gets old around these parts. I mean, c’mon. Vegan “beef,” with red beans and spicy chili powder, mixed with coffee, of all things? How could I not be in love?
So this morning I put all the ingredients together (the above, plus some others as well – Ms. Robertson has a book to sell, so I won’t get into all the details here!), flipped the slow cooker to Low, and left for work. By the time I got home tonight, the house had taken on a wonderfully rich smell of simmering chili, and LeeLee was circling the Crock-Pot like a shark, waiting for the dinner bell.
He didn’t have to wait long. Ding ding! We dug in straightaway, topping our chili with some vegan sour cream and Daiya pepperjack for good measure.
Y’all already know how this is going to end. Two helpings apiece later, we were stuffed to the gills and loving it. The coffee melds beautifully into the rest of the dish, leaving behind an earthy richness that can’t be beat. And some diced green chilies really give the chili some extra pep in its step, as well! To say nothing of the veggie-beef and beans. (And furthermore, this is a chili that even tomato haters will like – there’s nary a nightshade in the bunch!)
I’m thrilled to know that we’ve got plenty of chili left for lunch tomorrow. Something tells me that it will go quite quickly!
:)