Vegetarianism and Football? In Alberta?? You Bet!

Yes, Ben and I went skiing this weekend, and yes, we had fun throughout, with dinner, drinks and boardgames with friends - but I thought you might be tired of hearing those stories. Instead, I decided today to offer some thoughts on my foray into vegetarianism, since it's now been six months since I began this metamorphosis. I've survived (even flourished) with no more than a few bites of meat and some fish now and then. Although Ben still loves bacon on Sunday mornings and a good hamburger on occasion, he has said he's pretty happy with the vegetarian dinners I cook and he does not miss eating meat every day.

It's amazing how much healthier I feel - I think I get more vitamins and nutrients than I ever did before, as I used to put very little thought into what I ate. I've discovered that I actually LOVE cooking and appreciate quality food more than ever. What has surprised me the most, though, is that I've not craved meat like I thought I would. Plus, now that I've adapted my grocery shopping habits, whipping up a quick dinner is easy (just stock the freezer with veggie burgers and frozen vegetables, and the fill pantry with whole grains and beans). Of course I was nervous about maintaining my new-found diet when we moved to Alberta, one of the beef capitals of the world, but it's been easier than I expected with the plethora of good veggie options now available at most grocery stores. Even cutting meat out of your meals for few days out of the week can lower risk of heart disease, certain types of cancer, obesity and more ... plus it's great for the environment. :)

Anyway, enough of the reasoning behind my choice and on to the good stuff! For the Super Bowl yesterday, we had friends over - all of whom thoroughly enjoy meat - so I knew I needed to make something hearty for them to feel satisfied without it. I've tried a few versions of veggie chili but decided to try a new recipe yesterday and serve it with cornbread muffins. I found both recipes online and adapted them a bit, and wowee was I happy with the results!! Alicia and Almudena perhaps were just being nice, but they said both were better than the chili and cornbread from a local restaurant that we have all been raving about. My love for this chili, I must admit, might be borderline obsessive - but it's so easy, the ingredients are cheap, the recipe makes a ton, and it's packed with protein, veggies and tastes great. What's not to love? I must mention that the muffins were so yummy that they almost stole the show!

So without further ado, here are the recipes for anybody interested in giving this delish vegetarian meal a try (I promise you won't miss the meat one tiny bit!):
The Best Vegetarian Chili Ever

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, chopped (I used 1 green and 1 yellow)
  
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (12 ounce) package vegetarian burger crumbles - mexican flavored if available
  
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  
• 1/4 cup chili powder (or less for milder chili)
  
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
  

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, bell peppers, jalapeno pepper and garlic. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving. (I also added a bit of hot sauce for some extra zing)

Sweet Cornbread Muffins

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used organic pastry flour)
  
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup milk (used vanilla soy milk and it was delish!!)
  
• 3/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease or line 12 muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, honey, eggs and salt. Mix in flour, cornmeal and baking powder; blend thoroughly. Stir in milk and corn. Pour or spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.