FIRE ROASTED GREEN CHILE CHILI WITH QUINOA, BEANS AND CASHEW SOUR CREAM | VEGAN & GLUTEN FREE

Happy V-day fam.

I am not really into the commercial aspect of this day but I do like celebrating and expressing love regardless of what the calendar says.

One of my fav ways to do that is through cooking. Which you probably already know if you are a long time reader of this blog.

This chili was the result of not having much of anything in my fridge and really needing to go shopping but I knew my man was coming home from a particularly important day at work and I wanted to have dinner ready.

So I looked through the cabinet and saw that I could pull a chili together. Gotta love canned food for this reason!

Honestly, I am most creative when I appear to have "no food" in the house. When all my staples are dwindling, my ingredients don't match up in obvious ways, that's when the creative kitchen witch in me comes out.

Ok Ok, I get that chili is nothing new, nor very creative lol... my point is that I was about to go shopping then discovered I had some odds and ends I could toss together and this dish ended up coming out delicious and in less that 30 minutes which is how I like to roll.

Ingredients:

Chili

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 medium yellow or white onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup dry quinoa

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne

2 cups vegetable broth

1- 15oz can of fire roasted tomatoes with green chili (I got mine from Trader Joes)

1- 28 oz can of unsalted peeled diced tomatoes (I got mine from Trader Joes)

1 - 15oz can of each garbanzo beans, black beans and kidney beans, rinsed and drained (or any combination of 3 15-oz cans of beans that you have or prefer)

1 tsp liquid smoke (optional but recommended)

Cashew Sour Cream

1 cup cashews, soaked for 30 mins in almost boiling water

1/3 cup warm water (not the soaking water, this is for blending)

1 lemon, juiced

1-2 tsp apple cider vinegar, more to taste

pink salt and black pepper to taste

Garnish:

Green onion

Cilantro

crushed red pepper

Directions:

Start by soaking the cashews in enough water to cover them. Set aside while you make the chili.

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the coconut oil. Once hot, add in the onion and saute for 5-7 mins, until translucent. Add a pink of salt and black pepper. Then add in the garlic and spices. mix for 30 seconds.

Next, add in the quinoa and toast it. Stirring every 45 seconds for about 3-4 minutes. Then add in the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil then lower back to medium.

Add in the tomatoes and bring up to a simmer. Increase the heat of you need to but it does not need to fully boil, just a light simmer. Let the quinoa cook for about 8-10 minutes with the lid off, absorbing both the broth and tomato juices.

Once the quinoa is almost cooked, you can tell by looking at it, add in the beans. Mix for 1-2 minutes.

Make sure it's coming back to a low simmer. Add in the liquid smoke, salt and black pepper and put a lid on the pot and turn to low, letting it simmer for another 5 minutes while you make the cashew sour cream.

For the sour cream, add all the ingredients into a high speed blender like vitamix and blend on high until smooth. Taste it and see if you like the acid level and flavor. If not add some more lemon of vinegar and salt.

Ladle the chili into bowls and top with a big dollop of the sour cream and desired toppings.