Chili vegetariano - 168

I've heard this recipe called Winter Vegetable Chili, but if you're a vegetarian, or a person in search of more meatless meals, you could make it any time of the year. I made it yesterday because we were having a group over for dinner, and two of the people present were vegetarians.

The basis for chili when I make it is three kinds of beans: pintos, rojos y riñones (kidney). I soak my beans overnight, and then rinse them in clean water before cooking them most of the day on the stove top or in the large crock pot. I cook them with water and epazote, which is a Mexican seasoning.

When the beans are tender - and not one moment before - I add canned chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce. Note: if you add tomatoes before the beans are cooked, they will usually remain hard and difficult to digest. At the same time, I sauté cut up winter squash, zucchini, carrots, bell peppers and onions. When they are just fork-tender, I add them to the bean and tomato mixture, and then start in with the seasonings. I like to use good quality chile powder, cumin, some crushed red peppers, salt, and a tablespoon of sugar. I find that the bell peppers and onions do the rest.

I served the CHILI VEGETARIANO in bowls at the table, and in the middle of the table I had arranged chopped fresh onions, grated queso fresco, sour cream, and a very hot salsa for those who like their chili muy picante.

I had also made my favorite corn muffin recipe - the one from La Ciudad de Mexico which I call "Featherlight Indeed." Here is the history behind that unusual name: years ago I clipped the recipe from a magazine in which people could write in and ask the writers / editors for recipes from their favorite restaurants around the world. Someone had written in requesting this recipe for corn muffins from a restaurant in Mexico City, saying that the muffins had been "featherlight." When I clipped the recipe out of the magazine, I neglected to clip the name, but went right to the recipe and instructions where the writer had written "These are featherlight indeed." Since I don't have the real name, this is the one that has always been at the top of my clipped magazine recipe for corn muffins, which are also my favorite - and probably because they're full of butter!