Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili with Jalapeno Cornbread

I grew up on Denison's Chili Beans in a flour tortilla with cottage cheese... yup yup and I loved every last bit of it.  Cottage cheese?! you ask, well yes but I can't explain why and I will to this day defend it as nastolgic delicious food that I will never eat again along with fried bologna sandwiches.  We all know that canned chili just does not stand up to the real thing, even if it is covered in cottage cheese.

I am always trying to think of ways to add extra nutrients and whole foods to my recipes so I decided to add sweet potatoes and zuchinni to this version of chili.  I was a little nervous about the sweet potatoes but I really enjoyed the sweetness they added, my lover was not a fan but what does he know about food he is one of those freaks that just forgets to eat... who the fuck does that!?  For the cornbread I used a packaged mix and instead of the honey I used agave and instead of the eggs I used flaxseed (1 tablespoon of flax meal with 3 tablespoons of water heated until an eggy consistency forms).  For jalapeno cornbread just add a couple of chopped jalapenos to the the batter and leave in some of the seeds if you like it on the spicier side.  I liked the jalapenos but I have found better more vegan friendly recipes for cornbread on vegweb.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili


1 tablespoon oil

1 large onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
2 jalapenos chopped
2 zuchini's chopped
1 Giant sweet potatoe or 2 regular sized sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch peices
1 12 oz can of chopped tomatoes
2 12 oz can of black beans (I only had one can of black so I had to use a second can of pinto)
1 teaspoon chili powder or more if you like it spicy
3 teaspoons cumin
salt and pepper to taste
optional toppings: avocado, green onions, cilantro, cashew cheese, vegan cheese, tortilla chips

1.  Heat oil on medium in a large pot and add onion and bell pepper, cook 3-5 minutes until tender.  Then add the garlic and jalapenos and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes until the garlic becomes very fragrant.  Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Cook for  45 minutes to 2 hours, the longer you simmer the better it will taste.  Salt and pepper to taste and add any toppings of your choice and it's ready to go.  If it seems too dry just add a little water or vegetable stock.

Mine is topped with avocado, cilantro and leftover cashew cheese from my eggplant parmesan as you can see...

And once you are finished consuming this delicious recipe you can sing "Beans Beans the magical fruit the more you eat the more you... " Yes I just went there, I just can't help it. I will never grow out of my obsession with fart and poop jokes, just typing the word poop makes me smile:) Happy eating!