Rainbow Chili: Reducing Food Waste During Veganuary

I call my latest kitchen creation Rainbow Chili for two reasons:

  1. It contains red, yellow, and green veggies.

  2. “Rainbow Chili” sounds more appetizing than “chili made from what I found in my fridge.”

Before I continue with the chili saga, I should explain Veganuary. In case you can’t tell from the word, the idea is to go vegan for the month of January. I suppose you could combine it with Dry January if you are feeling especially health-inclined.

It’s too late to register for Veganuary 2023, but you can still consider a plant-based diet. At the least, cutting down on meat has many benefits that I won’t go into here.

I enjoyed Veganuary. I don’t usually eat much meat anyway. Plus, I’m lactose intolerant, so eating a vegan diet means I don’t have to worry about having lactase pills with me to digest dairy products.

My dinner plan one night was chili-stuffed baked potatoes. I didn’t settle on the details until I looked in the fridge. I knew I wanted to use the remaining two jalapeños, and I always have onions on hand. The previous week I bought three bell peppers—red, orange, and yellow—and still had half the yellow one left.

Early in Veganuary, I opened a can of black beans and used half the can. Unfortunately, the rest found their way to the back of the fridge. I didn’t see them until several weeks later when I made vegan street tacos. The beans were no longer good and had to go into the compost bin. I didn’t want the new can I opened recently to suffer the same fate.

Half a can of beans didn’t seem like enough, so I searched the pantry and found pinto beans. I was out of canned tomatoes. Finishing off the jar of salsa in the fridge sounded like a good alternative. I added the remainder of a jar of roasted red peppers, too.

Here is the recipe. Amounts are not exact because, as I said, I used what I had. Chili doesn’t need to be precise, anyway.

Rainbow Chili

Ingredients:

  • Two jalapeños

  • One yellow onion

  • Half a yellow bell pepper

  • Roasted red peppers (about half a pepper’s worth)

  • A large drizzle of vegetable oil

  • A few grinds of salt

  • A spoonful of chili powder

  • A somewhat smaller spoonful of cumin

  • Two cups of vegetable broth made from Better Than Bouillon vegetable base

  • A few tablespoons of salsa

  • A partial can of black beans, previously rinsed and drained

  • One can of pinto beans, drained (save the liquid) and rinsed

Method:

  1. Cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and pith. Toss those into the compost, along with the onion peel. Chop all the veggies (jalapeños, onion, and peppers) into bite-sized pieces.

  2. Heat the oil in a large stock pot on medium heat until it seems hot enough. Add the veggies and sauté for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

  3. Add the seasonings (salt, chili powder, and cumin) to the veggies and sauté for another minute or two.

  4. Add the broth, salsa, and beans, and increase the heat to bring it to a boil. Lower to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about half an hour or until the potatoes finish baking.

  5. Taste and add more seasonings if you want.

  6. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, add a large ladleful of chili, and enjoy.

The result, if I may say so myself, was delicious. The recipe made enough for leftovers the next day.

What ingredients have you rescued from the fridge and turned into a delicious meal? I invite you to comment and share your creative ideas.

Julia GoldsteinComment