Cocoa-Coconut Chili

I've been trying to update my blog everyday to get through the backlog of food I have to blog about, but I should realize that I won't really have time to update on weekends. I need to save the posts and space them out so as not to overwhelm people during the week! So my trip to Trader Joe's was a success of course. I wish I could say I came home with a virtuous bunch of food but I wasn't comfortable bringing back refrigerated or frozen stuff, since I didn't know how long it would take to cross the border. And they have so many different fun treats so I had to try some!

Mostly I bought junkfood and trail mix (which I guess the kinds I bought are kind of junkfood). I'm really looking forward to trying the garlic basil pasta and lemon pepper papparadelle! The box mac & cheese is for E as he loves trying different ones. The Blenheim California apricots are not good. I'm sticking with the Turkish ones from now on. I don't love dried apricots (or fruit) to begin with but want to start eating them more often for a small source of iron.

Onto the recipe! I've mentioned before that Eat, Drink & Be Vegan is one of my new favourite cookbooks right? It's an outstanding cookbook. I have so many new favourite dishes from it. One of them is this cocoa-coconut chili. I was super intrigued by it - cocoa + coconut in a chili?? Sounded weird but also so interesting. And it turned out really delicious. I'm not a big chili fan but really loved this.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Curried Split Pea Soup
Thai Coconut Corn Stew
White Bean & Roasted Garlic Soup
Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Cocoa-Coconut Chili
Adapted from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan

Makes 7-8 servings

1 tsp oil
2 cups onion, diced
1 1/2 cups celery, diced (I used about 8 ribs)
1/2 cup red or yellow bell peppers, diced
6 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tbsp mild chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
3 tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 cans (796 mL) diced tomatoes
1 can (398 mL) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (398 mL) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (398 mL) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (398 mL) light coconut milk
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup frozen corn kernels

In a large pot on medium heat, add oil, onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder, cinnamon, and allspice and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 7-9 minutes, stirring occasionally; reduce heat if onions or garlic starts to burn. When onions start to soften, add cocoa and stir for 1-2 minutes, then add tomatoes, beans, coconut milk, and coconut, and stir to combine. Increase heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in corn kernels, and cook another 5 minutes to heat through. Remove cover to let liquid reduce if desired.