Winter's a-comin

...And all I want to do is hibernate. No more school? No reason to leave the house, that's what I say. As high temps barely skim 30 degrees (although with the wind chill, we're closer to 15 F), it's a good time to bake, simmer, and generally make hearty meals. Winter cooking is definitely a thing I buy into - as I type, a big pot of vegetarian chili is almost ready, with a little mini-pizza to take the spicy edge off as a side.

It's also a reflective time of year, to think back through the years, even if it's just via the Year in Facebook application (I was surprised by my own amount of snow-related posts from the early part of this year). And, as I get closer to finishing law school (July, but who's counting?), a time to think about my career and what I want to accomplish with my education. Lucky for me, I actually have some time to ponder these things for another few weeks. And before I forget this recipe, because it's pretty darned tasty: the veggie chili. My variation is 'borrowed' from about six different versions. I'd like to think that this combination is tops.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 medium onions, chopped (I used 1/2 red, 1 yellow, but I doubt it matters)
• 2 bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
• 2 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, and diced
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes + 1 fresh diced tomato
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle porter or amber ale (I used 21st Amendment Fireside Chat)
• 1/2 cup coffee (instant coffee dissolved in water did the trick)
• 10 oz. red kidney beans (I used dried, after soaking for 10 hrs)
• 10 oz black beans (same as above)
• 4 oz chickpeas (ditto)
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 chipotle chilies in adobo, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
• 1-2 tsp kosher salt (to taste) 
• 1-2 tsp black pepper
• A few stalks of fresh thyme and 1 bay leaf
• 3 or so cups of water

Pour oil into large pot. Turn heat to medium and add olive oil, onions, jalapenos, and pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until onions are soft but not brown, about 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes with their juice, beer, beans, coffee, water, garlic, coriander, cumin, bay leaf, thyme, and chipotle chilies in adobo. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer for 1-1.5 hours. Stir every 5 minutes or so. Using a wooden spoon, break up tomatoes into small chunks. Season with salt to taste. Easy as pie - when it gets to the texture you'd like, throw in the bell peppers for another 5 minutes, and after that it's ready to eat!

Add yogurt, cheese, cilantro, and anything else that tickles your fancy as a topping.

For the side dish, I baked up some puff pastry mini-pizzas, topped with Trader Joe's Bruschetta topping, red onions, sliced tomatoes, pre-baked butternut squash chunks (I'd drizzled the pieces with olive oil, salt, and pepper and baked for 25 mins), and goat cheese crumbles. Oh, and fresh thyme, the leftovers of which went into the chili. 

Yum.