Vegan Cornbread and Chili Pie

The chili recipe is my own, cobbled together from whatever sounds good to me that day, so feel free to make changes. The cornbread is adapted from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's The Joy of Vegan Baking.

Chili:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion diced
1 carrot diced
1 red bell pepper diced
1 ear corn, kernels cut off the cob
1 garlic clove minced
½ teaspoon ground ancho chile pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cans black beans drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can vegetable stock (I recommend Swanson's; many other brands are inedible)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cornbread
1½ cups non-dairy milk
1½ tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons canola oil
Optional: ½ to 1 cup corn kernels or green chilies, or 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Heat olive oil in a large pot and add the onions, carrots, bell pepper, and corn kernels. Sauté until the vegetables are softened. Add the garlic and the spices to the pot and sauté for one minute. Add the beans, tomatoes (with liquid) and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook on the stove for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.

While the chili is simmering, prepare the cornbread. Preheat the oven to 375 º. Pour the milk and vinegar into a small bowl, and whisk to combine. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the oil and the milk mixture to the dry ingredients, and whisk until blended. Add any optional ingredients at this time.

Pour half of the cornbread batter into a greased 9" pie dish, brownie pan, casserole dish, etc. Spoon 3 to 4 cups of the chili over the cornbread. Pour the rest of the batter over the top of the chili. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Ladle extra chili over individual pieces of pie and enjoy immediately!




Colleen Boucher is the creator and writer of the blog Dinner Peace ( http://dinnerpeace.blogspot.com ). She is an evolving vegan eater, and recipe creator, health advocate, and wellness specialist. Dinner Peace is a blog for current vegans, vegetarians, and anyone interested in occasionally trying to go meatless, lose weight, or just get healthy.

Transitioning to a vegan lifestyle can be intimidating, and Dinner Peace was founded to combat that apprehension with numerous examples of delicious, plant based, healthful, compassionate, cruelty-free and animal-free dishes, ranging from breakfast to lunch to snacks, dinners, and desserts. The vegan lifestyle is also an effective tool for weight loss, or just to achieve your optimum level of health. If you are looking to make a positive change in your life, or just get a sense of the reality of a vegan diet, check out Dinner Peace!