Tofu Chili

Well, we had one of our regular office chili cookoffs today and I brought my regular recipe:

Vegetarian Chili
by: Liz Applegate Ph.D.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/
0,5033,s6-53-0-0-5202,00.html

"This tasty, low-fat chili contains four different runner-friendly foods: canola oil, sweet red peppers, tofu and black beans. Eating vegetarian chili can warm you up after a cold or rainy run.Ingredients:
2 tsp canola oil
1 cup scallions, chopped
1 cup sweet red peppers, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ozs firm tofu, well-drained and squeezed dry
1 tbsp chili powder
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1 14 1/2-ounce can stewed tomatoes
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 1/4 cups canned black beans
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, choppedDirections: Warm the oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the scallions, sweet red peppers and garlic, sautéing for 4 to 5 minutes.Crumble the tofu and add to the pan. Stir frequently for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the chili powder and ground red pepper. Stir frequently for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and red wine vinegar. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in the black beans and cilantro. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serves 2."

I googled the recipe on the Runner's World website a while back. I'm not a strict vegetarian by any means but aside from certain social contexts (like chili cookoffs) I've tenth'd my meat intake and am still getting ten times more than I need (actually, with a correct diet you don't even need any).

So I say I'm a quasi-veggie and enjoy occasionally exposing folks to new foods. Like tofu. They seem to get a kick out of it.

I generally toss in an extra can of chili beans and have been ratcheting the heat. Every time I've made this recipe folks have asked for more spice and I've added more spice. I make it again and they still want it hotter.

I like spicy food as much as anyone but not to the napalm-nuke degree of excruciation some of my coworkers do. Some folks enjoy the pain. Personally, life hurts enough without me adding torment recreationally.

I'm not into that S&M stuff, though apparently a lot of folks are.