I’m not a vegan, or a vegetarian. I don’t follow any diet explicitly. I try to keep to a mostly paleo diet because that’s when I feel my best, but I love cheese and crackers and chips and salsa. I just try and make sure I eat veggies every day and avoid grains, dairy, and sugar as much as possible. Both of my children are vegetarians, my oldest starting when he was 12; this meant preparing a lot of double meals over the years. I have read about how the mass meat industry affects our environment and I eat local, clean meat for the most part. I have yet to figure out how to blend a paleo and vegetarian diet, nor have I done a lot of research on it. I’m not sure where I stand with soy products, but feel like an occasional soy swap for beef is probably an OK thing.

It’s raining and cold here in California (if you consider a high of 55 cold). Chili has been on our radar for a while; I have a favorite paleo chili recipe that I make a few times a year and love. Today I was going to make a regular batch and a vegan batch since I have a vegetarian friend coming over and then though- WTF do I want to make double? The answer was no so here’s the result.

First off, our kitchen is tore up right now and we aren’t sure when it won’t be. I wanted to take a couple pics of what my cooking situation really looks like. Although I haven’t had a gourmet kitchen ever, this is a little extreme. That being said, I still love cooking and have been playing in my kitchen as much as ever the last month or so.

• 

• 

A couple things that I do with this chili that are different than recipes I’ve seen in the past- I use ground meat and sausage (or meat crumbles and soy-rizo), there are carrots in it, I add the spices to the aromatics to sauté before adding liquid, I add some apple cider vinegar, and I add kale at the end.

• 

• 

Chili:

• 1 pkg. Lightlife Smart Ground
• 1/2 package of soyrizo
• 1 med onion
• 1 med carrot
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1T. each- oregano, cumin, paprika
• 2 T. chili powder
• 3 c. veggie broth
• 1 14 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes
• 2T. tomato paste
• 2 t. apple cider vinegar
• 1 bunch lacinto kale, chopped

Brown the crumbles and soyrizo in a couple T. of olive oil. Add onion, carrot, and garlic and sauté till soft. Add the dry spices- cook and stir for about a minute. Deglaze pan with 1 c. broth, then add the rest of the broth, the tomatoes, paste, and apple cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to low and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and add kale. Salt & Pepper to taste.

I made some beans which I served separately (that’s another recipe I need to write up) Top with cilantro, fresh jalapeno, avocado, onions.