Cocoa Black Bean Chili

I've never been one for chili. It's always just sort of looked repulsive, thick and chock full of kidney beans, which are just terrible. My Dad was always a bit obsessive over his chili my mom would make him and would never have let her mix up the recipe to stray away from anything but kidney beans, tomatoes and hamburger. When I saw a recipe for Vegetarian chili I thought I may take a chance at it and perhaps learn to love an old enemy....and while Im at it, do as the Aztecs do. Use chocolate. The 1st time I made it we couldn't get enough of it. I made it again this week for Nate's work's chili cook off... hahahahah. What work place really has a chili cook off? We laughed at it a bit and likened it to a church youth fundraiser....then decided I should make them a pot of our strange but delicious chili. The 1st time I made it was a bit of an adventure, so I was tossing in a little bit of this and a little bit of that and I really cant remember exactly what I did. I tried to recreate it and it was still really good, but something was missing. Maybe the fact that I had already made lasagna that night for dinner and it was basically like making 2 dinners in 1 night, I may or may not have devoted as much time as I should have towards this chili. Definitely tweak it to your own likes....as I believe it is a forgiving stew. I think the key is to really letting it have time to simmer. simmer is a gross word and i hate that i even just had to type it, but none the less, let your pot simmmmmer. 

p.s. Among the hilariousness of chili cookoff day at Area Agency on Aging, they had 11 people bring chili in crockpots and blew a fuse in the break room. that is when i want to work in an office. 

Cocoa Black Bean Chili

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 28 0z. can of crushed tomatoes

1 15 oz. can black beans

1 15 oz. pinto beans

1 c. frozen corn-I like using Trader Joe's Fire Roasted frozen corn

2 tbsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

4 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1-2 c. vegetable broth

Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot.  Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent...about 3 minutes. 

Add tomatoes, beans and corn and bring to a simmer. Add all other ingredients except for cinnamon. Turn down heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes. When about ready to serve add cinnamon and more broth if needed, depending on how thick you like it. 

Serve with shredded mozzarella cheese.