RECIPE | vegetarian chili soup & baked sweet potatoes with chili & cheese

Last October I had the chance to host a cooking course as part of a conference called Hacking Happiness. The goal was to show how to make a simple, healthy meal without needing a ton of equipment or time, and I chose to make a vegetarian chili to also demonstrate how to be creative with leftovers. The chili is excellent as a soup with a side of cornbread, or over a baked sweet potato (or "jacket" potato in the UK). At the end of the class, we all sat down to enjoy our meal over a bottle of wine (or two), and went over the tips to eating it mindfully (listed at the end of the post).

This recipe was initially inspired by the cheesy beef chili over jacket potato that I tried at Look Mum No Hands in Old Street, which was delicious but left me comatose for much of the afternoon. I lightened it up by omitting the beef and by using much tastier sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. The pierced sweet potatoes can also be cooked for 5-7 minutes in a microwave if you have one to save time, but will not be as flavorful as oven-roasted potatoes.




VEGETARIAN CHILI TWO WAYS | CHILI STEW & JACKET SWEET POTATOES WITH CHILI & CHEESE

JACKET SWEET POTATO
1 sweet potato per person, scrubbed

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork and place them directly on an oven rack, putting a tray lined with foil underneath to catch any juices. Roast for 45­-55 minutes, until tender when pierced.

BLACK BEAN & KIDNEY BEAN CHILI
olive oil
1 onion, peeled & diced
2 carrots, peeled & diced
2 celery stalks, diced
4-­5 cloves garlic
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp coarsely ground cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika or chipotle
1⁄4-1 tsp red chili flakes (depending on your heat tolerance)
2 cans black beans
2 cans kidney beans
1 680mL jar of tomato passata or 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
2 tsp red wine vinegar or vinegar-­based hot sauce
chopped scallions & cilantro or parsley to garnish
shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS
Sauté the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, oregano, cumin, smoked paprika, and chili flakes in olive oil until the vegetables are tender, about 4­-5 minutes. Add the cans of beans with their juices, the jar of passata or cans of tomatoes, and about 500mL water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer for at least 20 minutes to blend the flavors. Add the red wine vinegar or hot sauce, then taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with chopped scallions and cilantro or parsley, and shredded cheese. Serve with cornbread, toasted sourdough bread, or as a filling for jacket potatoes (directions follow).

TO ASSEMBLE JACKET POTATOES
Turn on broiler. Split roasted sweet potato lengthwise down the middle to open up. Spoon chili, pouring off some of the liquid, into the centre of the potato and sprinkle with cheese and scallions. Broil until cheese is melted and brown, 2­-5 minutes. Garnish with additional chopped herbs and serve.

HOW TO EAT CHIC | TIPS ON EATING MINDFULLY

1. Learn how to cook - you are less likely to inhale your food if you just spent 30 minutes making it. 
2. Sit at a table - set out placemats and napkins and sit down to your meal rather than lounging with a bowl in your lap on the couch. 
3. Plate your food - put effort into the presentation as though you were serving it to someone else. When you don’t just eat out of a bag or dump it in a bowl, you are more likely to savor it and pay attention to portion sizes. 
4. Make eating your focus - try not to watch TV or read while eating, but if you must... 
5. Put down your fork or spoon - put your fork or spoon down between bites and chew. You do not need to be prepared for the next bite while still finishing the current one. Putting your utensils down will help you pay attention to the food in your mouth. 
6. Identify the ingredients in your meal - as you chew, pay attention to the different textures and flavors on the plate. Try to identify the different spices and seasonings in the dish. (This will also help improve your creativity in the kitchen.) 
7. Wait before going back for more - do not go back for seconds on autopilot - wait to allow your brain and stomach to process whether you are really still hungry. If you need to reheat your food you will be less likely to mindlessly serve yourself another portion. Also if you don’t finish everything, remember that you then get leftovers - two meals for the effort of one.

If all else fails, pretend that someone is watching you eat. Would you want Ryan Gosling to see you standing in your kitchen with a spoon scarfing down a tub of peanut butter? Didn’t think so.