Spicy Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili

Because soup weather is upon us!

I have a feeling there will be several soup recipes to come on this blog in the next few weeks.  I love soup.  I could eat soup for every meal in a day (and absolutely have before).  If I had to choose only one food to eat for the rest of my life, hands down it would be soup.  Soup makes me happy.  And it's so simple to make!  And the possibilities are endless!  And anyway, the weather is quickly turning to winter in Michigan- it definitely rain-snowed today.  So soup is totally appropriate.

I was in the mood for chili and cornbread yesterday.  Mmmm, good old fashioned comfort food.  I'm always looking for a new way to change up chili, and I have to admit, this version is pretty fantastic.  Of course, in true Deanna fashion, I ran out of some spices while coking (hey, way to plan ahead, lady!), and had to sort of make it up as I went along, but I'll post the measurements for the ingredients as if I hadn't run out of them.  It's just easier that way.  The pumpkin flavor is subtle and the spice is just right: not too mild, not too melt-your-face-off hot.  The cornbread recipe I used was from "The Joy of Vegan Baking" by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.  The bread was delicious and the cookbook has a ton of yummy recipes, I would recommend checking it out.

Another reason to love one-pot meals: the prep time was minimum and the whole meal was done in less than 30 minutes.  Which was nice, since I had a dinner companion and there was much conversation to be had, and I didn't want to be stuck in the kitchen all night.
And, as my official taste-tester for the evening, he approves of this chili.  Which is nice.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion,diced
1 bell pepper, diced 
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely diced 
28 oz can diced tomatoes
15 oz can pumpkin puree
15 oz can tomato sauce
3 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp (or more, if you like the heat!) chipotle chili powder
1 tsp coriander
dash of cloves (optional, but most excellent)
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups corn
Salt and pepper

Directions:
In a large soup pot, saute onion and garlic in a little water on medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Add bell pepper and jalapeno and cook for another 5 minutes, until soft.  Add diced tomatoes, pumpkin, and tomato sauce, and stir to mix well.  Stir in the cumin, chili powder, coriander, and cloves, if using.  Add the black beans and corn, and continue to cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes until all ingredients are heated through.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Devour with cornbread.